Ghost of LL

I'm not sure about that. For one thing, I don't think it's at all clear that Iran is coordinating this. Iran supports Hamas; that's apparent. But I don't know that Iran put Hamas up to this. If Iran were coordinating this, it seems to me that you'd also have Hizbullah also attacking Israel from the north. The fact that you don't see anything more than a handful of rocket attacks--something that could be put together on a very spur-of-the-moment basis--indicates to me that Hamas may have completely Leroy Jenkinsed this shit. But for another, Israel has its hands full right now. It still has infiltrators trying to kill Israelis in Israel. It doesn't yet have its defenses fully manned in the north. I don't think it really wants to bite off a full-scale war against a major regional power without first securing its own situation.

Yeah, it's Russia. And this time there needs to be a proportionate response. They're testing us with the mining of Romanian waters and drone strikes that have strayed into Romania. If we don't respond to the test, they'll push even further until the only response available to us is a full military commitment.

It had peace because it was peaceful. Well, I mean, you had the Crusades. But there wasn't any dispute between Jews and Arabs . . . primarily because there weren't any Jews. After the Jewish Revolt was put down in 70 CE, there weren't very many Jews left in the Roman province of Palestine. That's the whole genesis of the Jewish Diaspora--they fled and settled throughout the Roman world. In Palestine, all that was left was a small Jewish community in and around Jerusalem. And a whole lot of those who were still there a thousand years later were killed in the massacre at the hands of the Crusaders when they took Jerusalem in 1099. Jewish resettlement of Palestine didn't start until the Zionist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Zionism didn't have any real traction before Herzl's publication of Der Judenstaat in 1896 and the founding of the World Zionist Organization the year after. Between 1882 and 1914, the Jewish population in Palestine increased from 24,000 to 94,000. It was 450,000 in 1939 (roughly a third of Palestine's population). This dispute is a creature of the 20th Century and the Jewish desire to have a homeland. And I'm not begrudging that. But the need for a homeland in Palestine arises directly from the fact that they didn't have one there for 2,000 years. That's a good analogy. I would only add that it's slightly off because there aren't a bunch of Aztecs scattered throughout North and South America who are being discriminated against and routinely pogrom-ed. . . . because blowing up children is the humane way to do it.

Ummmm, do you even Viking, Bro?

Yeah, ability does limit aspiration . . . as evidenced by the fact that you didn't have a threesome with Sela Ward and Suzanna Hoffs last night. And by the way, if you think merely aspiring to commit genocide merits the intended victim wiping you out, then you ought to be real careful. By that formulation, Russia ought to have an FSB hit squad tracking you down. And by your formulation, they'd be justified in doing so. But even if they were justified in killing you--a point I do not for a minute concede--it would have very negative consequences for Russia. And so even aside from the moral and legal point, there is a practical point. And so from every standpoint--moral, legal, ethical, and practical--Israel needs to show a little restraint here and not follow the Brisketexan Guide to Justifying Genocide. Yeah--that's a war crime. And it's fucking gross. But beyond that, Israel's supporters in America don't do Israel any favors by loudly encouraging it to commit war crimes.

Well, there is an equivalence. But it doesn't really matter. Because the slave labor that was used to build the Capitol is as irrelevant to the World Cup as the World Cup is to the current war. My point is simply that you cannot dismiss Qatar as a player based on its use of slave labor to build the World Cup venues. If you do that, then you need to appreciate that the same argument is going to be thrown back at us, no matter how unrelated the issues may be. If we want to talk about Qatar in this discussion, then let's focus on its role in supporting Hamas and whether it has played a constructive or destructive role over the years. Hamas hasn't chosen "total war," because Hamas can't carry out "total war." Israel is the only participant in this war that can carry out a genocide. Were Israel to do that, then I have no trouble saying that Israel would be wrong. Israel needs to defend itself. And it's going to take rough measures to do so. But Israel also needs to exist in the world after this war. And being a genocidal ethno-state is going to make that pretty damned difficult. As someone who supports Israel, I really hope it doesn't choose that path.

I think that's a pretty ridiculous take. Hamas doesn't have the wherewithal to exterminate Jews. It has the ability to kill a pretty decent number of Jews who live in Israel. But it has no ability to commit a genocide. Perhaps committing a genocide of the Jews may be an aspiration of Hamas. But Hamas isn't alone in that aspiration. It's an aspiration shared by a huge number of people worldwide, including a fair number in the United States. But those aspirations are not a license for Israel to kill people who hold it. Hamas has the ability to kill people inside Israel, and Israel has the right to eliminate that ability. And Israel should and will avail itself of that ability. But answering Hamas's aspiration to commit a genocide with an actual genocide is an unacceptable outcome. That's a fantastically bad idea. It would destabilize Egypt and do nothing to improve Israel's security. If we're now objecting to facilities built with slave labor, well we're going to have to abandon quite a lot of American infrastructure (starting with our Capitol).

Last year, we stayed at the Renaissance St. Elm and walked over to the Pearl Station around 8:15, and it was pretty empty--just a handful of fans on the platform and plenty of room on the trains. Since that is roughly the timeframe @YGIFS is talking about, Pearl makes a lot of sense. Of course, if he goes later, that station is going to be more crowded and the trains going through it are going to be full. So it really is a question of timing. That was not the case last year. But then again, I left Pearl at 8:15 last year and didn't get back on the train until around 5:30. So perhaps closer to gametime the set-up is different.

Delays and irregular operations. If there is a cancelation, you can go up to the club and the staff there will help you with rebooking. It beats the hell out of dealing with a frazzled gate agent after waiting in line for a half-hour (or sitting on hold with the reservations line). And then after the staff helps you with rebooking, you can sit at the bar and have a complimentary martini. So that's nice.

The best station is going to be Pearl. It is the last station in Downtown before the train crosses under I-345 and heads to Fair Park. The real benefit to the Downtown stations versus Market Center is that all of the trains from Fair Park will go through downtown. But past West End Station, they'll split off, with some going south and some heading north (or, I think, some heading back east to go back through Downtown). But every train leaving Fair Park is going to go to Pearl. The other benefit of Pearl is that it has a very quick entrance to I-35E. Just go straight up Pearl, take a left at Woodall Rodgers Frwy., and the exit onto I-35E is a mile away. At the time you're going to be going, you should be able to park at one of the surface lots that are at Pearl and Bryan right next to the Pearl Station.

Can we talk about the brunette in the blue top behind the plate?

It really is disturbing to me that we all know all of Brisket's stories. I mean, he does only have like five of them. And he tells each one of them at least once a year. But still, . . . .

Fuck--I'm trying to watch a baseball game and prep two witnesses for deposition. I can't keep up with this third thing. Can someone tell me when they're voting on the MTV?

Jesus, guys--I saw this thread bumped and was afraid for a second that he wasn't dead. So Rush is still rotting in his cold, cold grave? Yes? Good.

1) If you're not staying downtown, there are two surface lots at Pearl & Ross downtown. Drive down there, park, and get on the DART from the Pearl Street station. That's the last downtown station on the way to Fair Park, and the ride is less than 10 minutes. If you're staying downtown, just walk to the nearest DART station. 2) You probably want to be at the Fair not later than 8:30. Get your coupons immediately--the lines start to get long around 8:30. Get your corn dog and wax-paper cup beer. 3) The State Fair has a good website with maps of the Fairgrounds. I just go in for a corn dog and beer before the game--no need to upset the stomach too much before the stress of the game. But if you want to stress your constitution with a deep-fried birria bomb, have at it. 4) Post-game, losers should depart as quickly as possible. Winners own the Midway. 5) I go over to Craft & Growler across Parry Ave. from the Fair (right across from the DART station). They have a great selection of beers, and there are plenty of televisions to watch the other games. It makes good sense to have a couple beers over there while the crowds at the DART station die down.

And by the way, I particularly enjoyed the out-of-town scoreboard flashing "SCORES FROM AROUND THE SEC" and only showing SEC scores all game. Not once did it show a Big12 score.

Oof--we're still in this conference, and there's not a single game that I have any real interest in seeing.

Not necessarily. There was never a negotiated settlement in Korea, or in Cypress, or in the Golan. Realistically, this is what that is going to look like.

Fuck--Optimistic Brisket is Worst Brisket. I need Brisket on that Wall Ledge.

You think?

The fucking DJ today was great. Volume was fine. No complaints.

I never would. Wow--your dad is as old as @Armybrat? Does he also have some cool stories about the Battle of Hastings?

So what are we doing about Alabama, since the Legislature refuses to pass a legal map?

My Brother in Christ--Diane Feinstein was born in 1933. She is definitely not a Boomer.