Your 2.13.19 Playpen

To kick things off, I have, not a political question, but a question about politics.

What kicked this line of thought off was this Ben Shapiro tweet I saw the other day.

 

Ben Shapiro: "The only reason to have a conversation or be friends with anyone on the left is if you're in public in front of large audience & your goal is to humiliate them as badly as possible."pic.twitter.com/cFOZkkTGpS

— saeen (@_Saeen_) February 3, 2019

Now Shapiro’s just another pseudo-intellectual grifter, so the source isn’t what I’m going into here.  It’s the sentiment.  Is that the mainstream now, or just provocation for provocation’s sake?

I know that Macallanlover and I have lamented that the days when we were growing up and friends could have different political opinions without it affecting the friendship seem to be long gone.  We live in an especially polarizing era when it’s… if not easier, exactly, but more reflexive to demonize than tolerate.

The reason I bring all this up is the number of times I’ve seen people express opinions, both here and at other Dawg sites, that because I’ve expressed certain views on political matters with which they disagree, they don’t enjoy reading the football posts at GTP any more.  As hard as I’ve tried to understand that point of view, I just don’t get it.  I’ve got readers here of every political stripe (okay, almost every political stripe) and nobody’s politics have affected the way I look at and react to their sports comments.

What I’m curious about is whether I’m the outlier here.  Does anyone’s political expressions — mine, commenters here or folks elsewhere — inform the way you process their thoughts on Georgia football?  I’d like to think not, but I have a feeling I’m going to be saddened to hear some of your answers.

Have at it.  Try to be civil about it, though.

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Your 2.6.19 Playpen

(Aiken County Sheriff’s Office/Getty Images)

I had a totally different subject in mind to kick off today’s Playpen, but this absolutely bonkers piece on James Brown changed my mind.

It’s lengthy (three parts) and batshit insane.  A sample:

Mr. Brown, you don’t want to do this, she said.

He did not turn around. She kept pleading. Finally he put a hand on the shotgun and said if she didn’t take her clothes off, he would come back there and help her.

Now he did turn toward her, as did the gun. His face was still twitching. She began taking off her clothes. A rhinestone headband that she wore every day. The red bandanna from around her throat. Her white boots with gold tips. A long denim skirt that a friend’s mother had given her.

Brown came to the back of the van, smelling of Brut aftershave. He grabbed her by the hair.

It lasted for hours. The pain was excruciating. He talked about being a stallion, about the way God was blessing her. She pleaded and pleaded, then gave up. He slammed her head against the wall of the van and tore an earring from her ear. He said if she told anyone, her family would be killed.

She couldn’t breathe. Her heart raced. He wanted to finish, but couldn’t, and so he kept going. She had never felt such pain. She felt as if she were floating away, looking down at herself from above. She asked God not to let her mother find her naked and dead in the woods.

She told him her family would be looking for her. Her husband would come looking. This seemed to affect Brown. He left the van for a while. The back door was partly open, possibly damaged when he’d smashed a tree. She could see fog, and lights from the highway. The lights illuminated a barbed wire fence.

Brown returned and started the van. He drove back to the road. Cold wind sliced in from the broken door. Jacque saw more lights, and a bridge. She put on her clothes.

Back at the office, Jacque got out of the van, carrying her boots. Brown sat in the driver’s seat and said nothing. She was bleeding, and her head hurt, and she couldn’t think straight, although she knew she would have to find her in-laws’ house in the dark. She started her Cadillac and got on the highway. Then she saw the black van again. Brown was trying to run her off the road. She drove faster, but he stayed beside her, and finally she pulled onto the shoulder. He got out, yelling at her, banging on the window.

What do you want, she asked through the glass.

You forgot to tell me you love me, he said.

That’s just a taste.  Really, I’ve got nothing else today.  Read it all, and if you’ve got anything left afterwards, well, you know where to go to share.

Your 1.30.19 Playpen

Chomping at the bit to get at it, eh?

Well, before you do, let’s chuckle together.  From the “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” division comes this:

Not in my administration https://t.co/RM1JgKRGsC

— Wilford Brimley (@RealWilfordB) January 30, 2019

Should you need further context,

You don’t want to mess with Wilford Brimley when he’s pretty damned serious about something.

Oh, and one other thing:  2019, you’re killing me.  This sounds like an appropriate time to ask you where you get your favorite fried chicken from… and maybe how often.

Okay, now you can bitch about Trump.  Sorry for the delay.

Your 1.23.19 Playpen

The funniest thing I’ve seen this month, non-politics division:

The story of 2019 is here. pic.twitter.com/l1MX8ZJoTv

— Eric Alper (@ThatEricAlper) January 17, 2019

I swear, I laughed so hard at that, I had tears.

The funniest thing I’ve read this month, politics division:

A GOP lawmaker has a novel idea for how a border wall with Mexico should be funded: Force every Arizonan who wants to access pornographic material on an electronic device to pay $20.

That’s just the lede.  Add in a random John McCain reference and this touch:

The bill also appears to be connected to a prominent anti-gay activist who is most famously known for attempting to marry his computer in protest over gay marriage.

… and you’ve got a complete laugher.

One thing you’ve got to say about politics — it’s reassuring to the cynic in me to see how morons of all political stripes are constantly willing to display their ignorance in public.  This really is a case where bothsiderism does apply.

And with that, the floor is yours.  Keep it light!

Your 1.16.19 Playpen

As expected, the White House had a political card it wanted to play when it invited the national champs for a celebration.

The Democrats’ refusal to compromise on border security and reopen the government didn’t stop President Trump from hosting national champion @ClemsonFB tonight. He personally paid for the event to be catered by some of America’s great fast food joints pic.twitter.com/eK4CuuBXGM

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 15, 2019

The kids did their best to ignore that and enjoyed themselves.

In the end, it didn’t matter because as usual somebody managed to step all over the message.

The tweet was taken down, but the damage was done.

due to a large order placed yesterday, we're all out of hamberders.
just serving hamburgers today.

— Burger King (@BurgerKing) January 15, 2019

Live by the tweet, die by the tweet.  Better luck next time, POTUS.

And with that, the floor is yours, peeps.

**********************************************************************

UPDATE:  Now this is how you troll.

Given how much Trump craves the spotlight, Pelosi postponing the SOTU hits him where it hurts him most (aside from an organized boycott of Trump properties). pic.twitter.com/dOetl6DvRt

— Robert A George (@RobGeorge) January 16, 2019

Your 1.9.19 Playpen

I’ll throw out two topics for you to chew on in the comments.

First, a political one.  Is there anyone in the country, on the left or the right, that still has a shred of respect for Lindsey Graham?

Sen. Lindsey Graham Says Clemson Win Could End Govt. Shutdown https://t.co/30CF2dQRXu

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) January 8, 2019

Hell, does Lindsey Graham still have a shred of respect for Lindsey Graham?

The second topic is decidedly non-political and actually comes as a reader request:  tell us how you came up with your username/moniker.

Those comments aren’t gonna write themselves, so get to it, peeps.

Fabris Pool results, bowl edition

The results from the last pick ’em of the season are in and there’s no tiebreaker.

STANDINGS for WEEK 1

Rank	Selection Name	Standings Adjustment	W-L	Pts	Tie Breaker Game 44-16
1	raven316	Adj	25-14	25	30-29

Congrats to raven316!

And that’s that… until next September, that is.