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Vikings Discussion and Random Thoughts
Slow news front regarding the NFL. The “experts” have the Vikings win total at 8.5. I am all over the OVER on that bet, as I was last year. I feel that 10 wins is the floor with this team. Plenty of political crap out there. The left and right both remind me of the monkeys at Como zoo throwing poop at each other.
NFL News
FTP!
Media Selection – This song makes me wish I could play guitar, while also making me grateful that I can play the saxophone.
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Shooting near Coeur d’ Alene. Active shooter targeting firefighters at a fire in a heavily wooded area.
Reports are still early but at least two dead and once in the hospital in critical condition.
https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/law-enforcement-reported-incident-coeur-dalene/293-59f58018-4e0e-4ade-a24e-3c50d3b31c2b
Glad i grew up when i did, this country is fucked up beyond belief.
Shooter dead.
I’m a broken record. Another particularly good monologue on the Mark Levin Show tonight. Good brief on the Judiciary and rogue judges.
Another plug – last night’s show was ordinary but patriotic. But he provide a three minute clip of Ronald Reagan’s from 40 years ago on dealing with terrorists states that is better than anything I have ever heard on the subject. And as true today as it was then. Highly recommend listening to it.
I liked the Army Band/Choir as well.
Didn’t understand the Israelis but it sounded nice.
You an I are Army so we probably like the Army Band more than many might.
They were pretty ‘rank’.
SSG was the lowest I saw, I know soldiers who worked really hard to make that much rank, much harder than playing an instrument.
See Tillis is quitting, no running for reelection. Not sure if this is good or bad.
His is a reliable GOP district, I don’t see a downside since he does not seem to be much of a team player.
Maybe he can start a podcast and discuss all of the ideals he thinks are more important than working to make the majority of Americans lives better.
Unlike Murkowski who they bribed with some $50,000 income tax deduction for whale fisherman in Alaska. And it seemed Alaska got some huge setback against medicaid cuts – and she is a horrible Republican and team player.
Making laws, much like making sausage, is an ugly business.
I could never be a politician.
She’s actually a great typical Republican.
She has TDS.
MEL Tillis?
People are leaving California, New York, and Illinois… maybe the Dem’s will see their voters moving out too.
California and New York were followed by Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire as the states that lost the most residents in 2023.
Wouldn’t you – who would stay? If you are there and work making a pretty good income, those states are going to take it all away from you.
The Dem’s have told people for years they will raise your taxes, and want Socialism. Rich people have no right to be rich, and they must be taxed more. Yet it’s the rich academic elitists that are at the heart of the party. There is no rational sense in what they pursue and proclaim. I’m surprised how many people support them.
Because there’s a difference between rich and rich. Dems are always saying they are going to tax the hell out of the millionaires and billionaires, yet they don’t. Those cats can shelter income and don’t get touched.
The dirty little tax secret. The 1% who pay 40% of the taxes are the working professionals ( doctors, business people etc) that make between 400 and 900K thru salary and bonus. That is the group that gets soaked.
Buffett take most of his income in share options and pays little taxes – no one cares. All the guys running hedge funds, guys making like 800 million a year pay a 10% tax rate. Both parties say they are going to fix that, but both never do.
Can you imagine living in DC with three kids in private school and paying a federal rate at 35%. Guy next door makes 10 million gets a lot in stock futures and is paying at 15% rate.
People support them because they want the big shots to pay at least 25% and are pissed what they have to pay.
And the real point – the Dems aren’t going to touch the super rich and the Repubs aren’t either
And you could confiscate ALL of the 1% wealth, and it wouldn’t be enough to fund the government for a year.
Zohran Mamdani calls for tax hikes on ‘Whiter neighborhoods,’ asserts billionaires shouldn’t exist.
Saw a Statue of Liberty meme sitting down with a cigarette knocking down a couple beers saying “i’m moving to Florida”.
Man, that is a very sad visual. Very poignant though.
It’s a Sunday at Skoloholics
SoCa forgive me, a short thought on golf.
As Surly mentioned you do lose distance with age and I’m pretty old. To deal with this, at least for a while, I’m doing a sort of counter intuitive thing.
I have actually moved back and playing the championship tees. It actually takes a lot of pressure off my long game. Right now I drive about 225 – 235. So on all the long par fours I know it’s going to be driver, 5 wood or hybrid. And as such I seldom over swing on a drive and try to hit it too hard. It’s also been great for improving my short game. The added length of the course and me not being able to hit it as far as in the past is working to be sort of a benefit right now.
Someday I’ll move back up to the whites again and try to hit some gorilla drives thinking I should only hit a wedge to the green.
You are forgiven.
You are of course free to speak on any topic that you wish, as is everyone else.
Just like I am free to complain/joke about/ridicule/mock whatever anyone else posts.
Since you have ‘forgiven’ I shall feel free of guilt.
‘Live long and prosper’.
See I can even agree with some posts/ideas/thoughts as well.
I am usually at least a seven wood out on my second shot on a par four on the regular courses I play. There are some shorter courses I play though where I am within an 8 iron or less of the green after my tee shot. These courses make up for a lack of length with lots of hazards, trees impeding shots, and small landing areas around the greens. Also, narrow fairways with tight landing areas, forced carries or lay-up decisions, etc. I’m OK with either type of course. Any hole over 360 yards is going to be a length challenge for me, so I just play them conservatively. I swing within myself, and play shots I am confident I can pull off routinely. I just keep it in play, and try to make no worse than bogey on any given hole.
Just saying while length may seem an issue, if a golfer plays smart and within himself as you do they can shoot very good scores.
Saw this… can’t disagree…
It isn’t OK and is in fact dead wrong!
Well I had a colleague a few years back in the DoD, who argued that every federal building should be required to have a prayer room, as well as schools, colleges, libraries, etc. Any building paid for with taxpayer dollars.
A non-denominal prayer room, chapel, quiet space for prayer and meditation?
No… an Islamic prayer room. He also wanted the PA system to sound prayer call during duty hours as well.
Does he want a Chapel for all Christians as well?
This was my “pushback” to him, and he said, “Christians are not required to pray 5 times a day”.
Believe our country got by just fine for like 220 years without prayer rooms.
Saw this… have to say I don’t disagree…
https://x.com/its_The_Dr/status/1938815693161443368/photo/1
Minneapolis becomes first large U.S. city to allow Islamic prayer calls over speakers.
WTF?
I do not live in Murderapolis, but this entire state is going down quickly.
Everybody should start hitting their horns on their cars when this starts up.
If I lived near one of those places, I would blast AC/DC Highway to hell every single time that noise started.
Extra speakers pointed right at the Mosque.
Now that’s a great idea.
Little slow today – what does this mean?
It means we’re 23 days from training camp, and not much Viking news is going on.
Islamic prayer calls over speakers?
I think it means that public Islamic prayers are allowed. I assume Christian prayers land you in court.
Says “In God We Trust”, doesn’t say a word about Allah.
Same thing basically.
‘Allah is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God of Abraham’
Don’t believe that was what our ‘founders’ had in mind.
It is the same ‘entity’/god just a different name.
The religion is different and has different rules. So the founding fathers didn’t mean god just the religion that followed the rules that they wanted??
The founders were christians, and Islam is not Christian. They accepted that there were different forms of Christianity. Protestants, Catholics, Judaism, etc.
Islam is the only religion that condones killing non-believers.
So it should read ‘Under Christ’ not ‘Under God?
Again, same God, different religion and way of honoring him.
Don’t think the Jews would have gone for that.
True, Jews are not Christians.
‘A person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ’
SoCal, you are conflating language with religious concepts. Yes, Allah is the Arabic word for God, but their concept for God, and Christians concepts are very different.
They worship the God of Abraham and even honor Christ as a holy man.
Religions are man made and controlled.
Unless you subscribe to the Catholic idea that God guides the successors of St Peter (“Upon this rock I will build my church”)
There are many ideas that are subscribed to christians that I don’t agree with same as with Islam and Jewish ones. There are also ideal I can get on board with from many religions including eastern ones.
This isn’t to do with you or your beliefs though. This is about two very different religious views and cultures. This is about subjugation to a religious concept by one of those cultures, while our country believes in religious freedom. Obviously religious freedom is not accepted in Islam. You are either a believer, or an infidel, and infidels are lesser beings in Islam. They can be killed in the name of Allah.
That concept is in direct conflict to the core beliefs of our Nation.
So you are moving further away from my original post. ‘In God We Trust’ is the same God that the Muslims call Allah.
Now you are arguing that it should be ‘In Religions that aligned with our beliefs we trust’.
Not saying that Muslin are all good, although millions of them are. My point is that it is the same god and mankind has manufactured the difference.
I’m saying clearly… the God we trust in, is different than their concept of God.
Our God does not tell us to kill people. We do not believe in, or trust a God who condones this.
I guess you missed the whole crusades thing or the heretic burnings or the Inquisition or the ……
I did indeed and so did you.
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. The Muslims had taken Jerusalem, and the Catholics fought to take it back.
I live in the here and now. Today.
OH JR, sorry.
The prayer call, known as Adhan, is sounded five times a day in Islamic countries.
Timing of the Adhan:
Having lived in a number of Islamic countries, I had to hear this every day. Everything is supposed to shut down. No one is allowed outside. Businesses must close.
Golf talk. Ignore if you hate golf.
Been having issues with my left shoulder, and doing PT to help ease the pain of a muscle/rotator cuff thing. 7 weeks of the PT exercises, it finally just feels a bit sore vs being in pain after golfing.
Golfed last night with my wife, and the tee shots were going 230-250 yards and I only missed one fairway. Shot a 46 on 9 holes, birdied a par 5 (driver, 6 iron got me there, and I two putted). One birdie, no pars, and plenty of bogie golf happening with one double. Lots of 3 putts, but I can fix that.
Golfed with two teenagers who play for their respective high school teams, and one was even for the day, the other was 1 over. Amazing to see 16 year olds that good at golf. 300+ yard drives. Making 6-10 foot putts, and the short game was excellent for both.
Going to try and play 18 next Saturday.
I am off this week, so if Brad does not post a thread, I will be able to once I get my lazy ass on the PC.
Just lit the smoker. Pork Chops, chicken, and peppers going on the Smoker today.
SKOL!
Hey Surly, glad to hear your shoulder is getting better. I have never reached a par 5 in two with an iron, and it’s been probably 25 years since I reached one at all. I think they need to make more 350 yard par 5’s.
Pork chops, chicken, and peppers sounds delicious. My wife talked me into going to a Texas Roadhouse restaurant for lunch yesterday. I had marinated steak with peppers and onions over rice. It was so good. They have these yeast rolls too that are killer.
Never been to a Texas Roadhouse, but there is one close by. I have heard the steaks and rolls are both very good. On the list of places to go when I do not feel like cooking.
Same, before yesterday I had never been. They built a new one about 4 miles away, and we decided to try it. Lots of food I like on the menu. They even have homemade applesauce. Don’t find that much. Just good, down home food.
We like Texas Roadhouse.
Sometimes it feels like we don’t eat our enough and are missing out.
Other times it feels like we make good, healthy, tasty food at home for much less.
Did Panda Express the other day, the Honey Sesame Chicken was sooo good.
Love Panda Express. Closest thing to Chinese food we have in the whole area.
Same boat – will never reach a par 5 in two again. But that’s OK just makes things more challenging. Now the shoulder issues, I have lots of experience with that, will make you swing under control which is sort of good.
You guys are making me hungry for a big lunch.
Laughing. You’re welcome.
Relatively short par 5. 450 yards. I got excellent rolls on both shots, and a favorable bounce on my second shot. I was actually laying up and got lucky.
If I nail a driver and a three wood on the screws, I’m still gonna be 60 yards short of the hole… grin.
Yeah, I know I lose 10 yards or so each year off the tee.
Driver is normally 225-250. That one rolled 260+.
I try to get illegitimate distance by hitting the cart path.
We go for the rolls.
Reasonably priced steak too.
Look for our new G to be dealing with a groin issue.
Man, those are some pretty big guys to be doing that stuff. Alcohol induced?
Of course.
And I suspect it took quite a bit of it to get those four inebriated.
What was the injury Kelly was dealing with? Reaggravated now I assume?
Ok, I’m broke. Just bought a new refrigerator.
We are eating hot dogs and Mac and cheese for dinner.
Laughing. Yeah, with all the electronics and gizmo’s on fridges these days, they can cost a shit ton of money.
We spent under $2,000, so not too bad.
But yeah, $4,000 fridge? Not in my wheelhouse.
You no doubt being a good citizen bought a ‘ go green’ one. Thus you are eligible for a $3000 dollar rebate – only good in blue states though.
It didn’t come with a hamster wheel to keep it running, so we decided against it.
Did you get one with a TV on the door?
https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-RF29DB9900QD-Stainless-4-Door-Refrigerator/dp
Didn’t see one with a TV.
But there was one with a screen and internet browsing.
Headed out to lunch with my wife. I’ll leave you with this:
The left is not interested in making the country better. They are interested in making it theirs.
Well said.
Bon appetit.
Just finished lunch at a local Oyster Bar. Spicy grilled oysters and hush puppies. Yum!
I love raw oysters, but never cared for them cooked. Where are you in Florida?
The northwest panhandle. Near Destin.
good seafood up there
Oh yeah, very good.
Spent some time in Fort Walton Beach and Navarre. Eglin and Hurlburt.
Yep, the Emerald Coast. Beautiful emerald green water and soft bright white sandy beaches.
Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, there in Destin.
Spent a lot of time in Pensacola and used to get great seafood at Hemmingways on the beach.
I haven’t been there in a long time. I need to go back, it is excellent.
Oh no, I just looked it up. It is permanently closed. Damn it.
Wow… too bad. Loved that place.
There used to be another great place downtown called Jacksons. Don’t know if its still open. Interestingly it was located at Jackson Square, thus the name. But also believe the square has been renamed when Andrew fell out of favor.
Interesting picture.
I did not know Saturday = Saturn’s Day.
Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday diēs Sāturnī (“Saturn’s Day”) for the god Saturn. His planet, Saturn, controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens.
Nice SoCal. I knew nothing of this. Very cool.
VikingPhillip sharing the knowledge.
I thought it was just an amusing picture. Didn’t realize there was more to it.
The Romans and Greeks had says of the week named after celestial objects, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn (Sunday through Saturday, in order)
The Norse Gods associated with Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus were favored by early English and their names were used instead, thus giving us Tuesday (Tyr, god of individual duels and justice…associated with Mars), Wednesday (Woden or Odin), Thursday (Thor) and Friday (goddess of love -Frigg … obviously associated with Venus)
We get a lot of our English words from old Norse
We borrowed most English words from other languages.
Chaucer started a lot of that by using old english words (from the lower class) along with French (from the noble class) and latin words (from the legal/science class) in his stories.
That has continued thru our history, taking so many words from so many cultures and adopting them as ours.
This is a great course from the Teaching Company, highly recommend it.
https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the-secret-life-of-words-english-words-and-their-origins
Interesting course……if you have 18 hours!
It would be something to listen to in the car
I listened to it too and from work.
It was a 40 min trip each way and 30 min lectures.
Perfect.
I’m seeing Sen. Tom Cotton is targeting the “bloated and politicized” intelligence bureaucracy with a new bill to reform, streamline, and refocus the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Cotton argued that ODNI has strayed from its core duty of protecting Americans from foreign threats, saying that his legislation would cut red tape, eliminate redundant layers, and reassert the ODNI’s original mandate, which is to coordinate intelligence.
I agree with Cotton here. ODNI has lied to the American people about a lot of things, including the Hunter Biden laptop, and they have become a tool of the left against conservatives. The intelligence community (IC) itself is pretty bad, and needs reforming. We can do a lot more, a lot faster, and more effectively, for a lot less money.
A noble idea, it needs reforming but so does just about every agency in DC. I find the irony though that the totally inefficient Congress would think they are capable of reforming another group. My gosh, clean up your own mess.
Currently my thought is ‘just pass the BBB and then we will figure out the next steps’.
I hear DJT has $1.4 Billion in his War Chest for the midterms. Hope it helps grow the majority or at least keep it.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-secures-record-shattering-1-4b-political-war-chest-dominant-force-gop-midterms
Happy to hear the war chest is in good shape. While both sides of the aisle have their faults, the left seems to have gone completely looney tunes over the last 10 years. The fact that there is a focus on allowing men to beat women up in sports, and that’s OK, is about all you need to know.
$1.4 B is Cackles money, hope that he has better results with it. Hard to do much worst.
$1.4 B now, expect it to grow quite a bit by the midterms. Big money jumping onto the winning bandwagon.
The Dem’s big donors are holding onto their money at the moment. They don’t see a clear winner on the ticket anywhere to back.
After Cackles blew thru $1.5 B and still ended up with $20 M in debt I would be pretty pissed and reluctant to give more if I was stupid enough to give in the first place.
Congress has pretty much focused on everything but doing their job for the American people over the last 25 years.
Correct – just do THEIR jobs!
Heard something about a month ago (Mark Levin) applicable here.
First, keep hearing yesterday on news we have three EQUAL branches of government. Wrong according to Levin and he was quoting Madison from the Federalist Papers. According to Madison, author of the constitution, the Judiciary was to be secondary to the other two.
But then, how did they get so powerful. Because Congress stopped doing their jobs which prompted Presidents from both sides to start merely ‘creating law’ thru Executive Order. And thus a stronger Judiciary became necessary to limit extents of Executive Orders.
Congress – do you damn jobs!
Actually, the left did this on purpose. They could not pass legislation in Congress to move the country in the direction they wanted, so they started loading the courts with liberal judges to legislate from the bench. It was a conscious move by the Dem’s to take power.
And it worked for awhile.
They are mostly stupid but sometimes they find something sneaky to pull off.
Think it’s actually Congress did not legislate so Presidents took to Executive Orders, and federal agencies created law thru regulation, requiring decisions to be made by the Judiciary that should never have gotten there.
Congress hasn’t passed a balanced budget in 25 years and goes right to the brink on every single debt ceiling event.
Surley, republicans don’t throw poop. We throw around 30,000 pound bombs.
If ever a President demonstrated Peace through Strength it has been Trump. Not since FDR bombed Japan in August of 1945, have we seen such force used to stop a threat to our country, and really the world’s security.
Article about how Trumps ‘Power Move’ and ‘Blunt Diplomacy’ has turned NATO around.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-nato-turnaround-from-threatening-pull-us-out-daddy-alliance
Trump is changing the world (for the better) with his actions. He has been the most impactful, powerful President I have seen in my lifetime.
Truman maybe in 1945?
Yes, Truman took over from FDR after he died. Duh, my bad. FDR was the one who led the efforts to develop an atomic bomb, and the plans to use it, developed by Curtis LeMay.
Gavin Newsom has officially filed a $787 million lawsuit against Fox News, accusing them of defamation.
The lawsuit alleges Fox New knowingly spread false information that damaged Newsom’s reputation.
In particular, the Democrat governor argues that the network’s primetime host, Jesse Watters, “falsely” claimed that Newsom lied about speaking with President Donald Trump on the phone while on air.
OK, the liberal media says things that are patently untrue about Trump, 24/7. The facts of this case are trivial in the extreme. Certainly, not worthy of a $787M lawsuit.
Dem’s being Dem’s.
Suing the Fake News has worked for DJT so Newscum figures he will give it a try.
Just like getting arrested, Trumps mugshot is so popular and he has been so successful since being arrested that Newscum wants to try that as well. That is why he told the Border Czar to ‘Arrest’ him.
Newscum wants to be like Trump so he is following his playbook.
Newsome only wants power, and wants to be President. His inability to Govern effectively though has been clearly demonstrated in his past years. He is a political animal, nothing more.
Agreed.
He is trying to change his stripes hence the moves to mimic DJT. He doesn’t have any ideas of his own so he hopes to copy Trump and see if he can get similar results.
The stock market is up nearly 30% since Jim Cramer’s prediction in April about a market collapse…. the tariff terror really spooked investors and the market plummeted. But it has roared back after the trade deals started coming in, oil and gas prices came down, and Trump brought in over $15T in new business investments to the country.
We’re safer, more secure, and more prosperous since Trump took office some 130 days ago.
You have to admit, Trump has had a remarkable first few months in office. Unbelievable really.
Trump is bringing back the American Dream, while the Dem’s are pushing the American Nightmare.
Just when I was getting used to calling everyone Comrade.
Jim Cramer, and all the other self proclaimed experts are idiots.
When Jim Cramer gives his advice, I search for the opposite and then make a decision.
As I maintain, and will continue to do so, ‘experts’ in politics and sports are only expert at making money for themselves.
Cramer is a stock picker “expert”
So throw in the “expert” market analyst and economics “expert” to your list.
But yeah, making money for themselves.
Kind of like a former QB.
CNN live coverage of dead Iranian terrorists.
This is CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-conflict-us-trump-06-28-25-intl-hnk
Mess with the bull, you get the horns.
One of the many reminders that you don’t hate Fake News enough.
CNN showing more sympathy for Iranians than for the riot victims over the last number of years.
Communist News Network is a disgrace. Pure, unadulterated, liberal hate for the United States of America.
Can Trump end the war between NLNVF and Canada? 🙂
I tried yesterday but failed miserably.
I tried to inject some humor into the situation but it didn’t slow down the war for long.
Laughing. I’m no fan of Canada, and haven’t been for awhile. They denounce us routinely, take our money, and tariff us to death, but claim they are our best friend. With friends like that, who needs enema’s?
???
Well Plaid.
Good morning, SKOL!
FTP!
We’ll win more than 8.5 games.
I think we’ll win at least 10 games this year.
#nojinx
FTP Auto Rec.