Al_4_ISU

By the time we tip Saturday, we’ll know if we control our ability to grab a share. Thanks BYU! And now we have to cheer for Baylor (vomits a little bit).

Cold

I would think songs like it and "If We Were Vampires" are probably out for a minute.

I think ditching the "Democrat" label would help a lot. It's just become so damn poisoned. People like Democrat policies here, but they hate Democrats. We have a Democrat State Auditor who has been relatively popular, and is absolutely loathed by the Republican politicians. He's from a small town just down the road from me, is an avid hunter, and has never leaned too far into far left positions. He's really sharp, and could absolutely make our governor look like a fucking moron in a campaign. He didn't run against her in 2022, but I suspect he will in 2026. If the national party pumps money into his campaign, he has a real shot to win. He's proven he can win a state wide election, and if you actually hear the guy, you can tell he's not some urbanite trying to cut off dicks to win swim meets or whatever the RWNJ boogey man of the day is.

This is the most confounding part to me as a lifetime Iowan who is basically a Democrat, but doesn't embrace the label due to my chagrin with how the party handles it's business. Iowans aren't that fucking conservative. They just suddenly started voting that way a decade ago. When you talk to people in large swaths of the state, they support a litany of Democratic policies, don't harbor resentment to minorities or the gay community, but they've become utterly convinced that voting for Democrats at all will result in the most extreme and cartoonish examples of left wing excess. So now we have a Republican party at the state level absolutely running amok because the kind of people who are willing to sign up to be low level politicians these days are essentially psychotic zealots that have no fear of being voted out due to the letter behind their name. It will either take the Republicans doing something that tangibly causes rural people some serious pain (their attacks on public education might actually do this), or Des Moines and the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City corridors getting large enough and blue enough to override rural Iowa. One of the cruelest ironies in all of this, is the fact that rural Iowa is doing quite well in comparison to the rest of rural America, and that has lead to a rural population that's been fairly stable for 25 years, but is now enacting policies that will eventually doom them. Sorry for the rant. This shit pisses me off, and discussing it on the ISU boards is depressing as hell (most people there are even more liberal than me and are actively trying to encourage liberals to leave the state for greener political pastures, when that's the exact opposite thing we need).

It has little to do with that and more to do with how "Democrat" has become synonymous with "urbanite who is trying to ruin your way of life". Until 2014 there were a lot of rural white people in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin that voted Democrat. Facebook in particular has convinced rural people that every Democratic politician wants to force them to drive electric vehicles, take their guns, mutilate their childrens' genitals, and make everyone "woke". Minnesota and Wisconsin are urban enough that they vote Democrat, but Iowa essentially became the last state outside of New England, to be A) Predominantly rural and B) still voting Democrat. Now it's been a decade of near complete Republican stranglehold and the only hope in sight is that eventually the growth in Des Moines and the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City overtakes rural Iowa enough to get a Democrat back in office here. Iowa's culturally more Great Plains than Great Lakes/Rust Belt, and has finally started voting that way. Of course, the rural areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin vote the same way Iowa does, they just comprise less of their respective state populations.

Wisconsin has a chance because it's becoming more urban. Milwaukee and Madison are starting to dominate the state's population pool. It's why Minnesota's blue. Minnesota isn't blue because it has rural Democrats. It's blue because most of it's population lives in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro, and major cities are blue. Wisconsin is becoming more this way.

I actually laughed when he blew up, given the first half FT disparity. A rubber match between us and Houston in KC for the Tournament title would be electric. Both games went essentially the same way: home team opens absurd lead, road team comes clawing back but can never get over the hump.

Underrated moment in tonight’s episode: Larry casually offering Ullman wine. One of those jokes they bury and call no attention to which makes it better.

The perfect foil to the tidy neuroses of Jerry and Larry

Leon has always been black Kramer and I’ve never realized it fully until now. You genius.

I had no expectations of winning, but scoring 40 would be optimistic at this point

This episode was top shelf Curb.

Europeans hear Minnesota and think Mike Lindell and Louie Anderson.

I was referring to Iowa, of course.

It's a lot more fun for me knowing Houston's remaining slate vs ours. There's a very good chance they pick up another loss, and maybe even 2 more. We can absolutely afford to lose this game tonight and still be fine for a share of the conference crown. With unbalanced schedules, and us splitting the regular season it would feel like a truly shared title unlike back when the Big 10 (now I'm talking football) had 11 teams and someone would miss Ohio State and Michigan and finished tied with one of those squads, and everyone knowing that OSU/Mich would pummel the co-champ if they had actually played.

#2 vs. #6 tonight. As tough as Houston played us in Hilton, I just don't see a win here. If we somehow pull this off, I'm going to lose my shit.

It's not anywhere close to enough to create a stereotype, but I know a few guys that completely fit that description. They grow weed that they sell to 15-20 friends and relatives, usually go by a nickname like Whisper or Swinger or something like that, and are usually bachelors. They'll generally have some form of menial legitimate income too, to keep anyone from sniffing around too much.

The paper plate is a big part of my assessment, but creative usage of processed snack food is always Shankworthy.

This belongs in Steel Shank, but well done.

I like the fact that it’s theoretically possible for any team to play their way into March Madness with one final, furious rally. Even if it’s wildly unlikely.

Well, if you keep winning it’s not meaningless

Hah. Fuck them. Especially Tang. Sorry Kenny.

Wonder if she was there when my wife was running track for UNI

I do think our tendency to blow these giant leads will catch up with us. I just hope it’s in Big 12 play and not March Madness. You guys are salty and will make noise in March at full strength