1inStripes

I had to resurrect this thread due to last nights events.  Thanks for the opportunity by starting this thread GMan!
 
My 7 year old daughter plays soccer in the Galax recreation department 8u league.  Last night, a dad for the opposing team paced the sidelines the entire game screaming at his son in such a fashion several parents called local police.  One comment struck a nerve with me and I politely asked him to "sit down and allow the rest of us to enjoy our children running around enjoying themselves".  He didn't really respond and repeated the offensive comment, "don't you let that f*&king Mexican take the ball away from you, kick his ass".  I wasn't as polite the second time, positioning myself between him and the field so he couldn't see or concentrate on what was going on.  Others got involved and began to embarrass his family so his wife and daughter started arguing with him.  He finally sat down and shut up.
 
It was a shameful experience I had to share.  It was a great teachable moment for our two daughters, however.  We had a nice conversation at home following the game last night.

Thanks for all the prayers for Derrick , he was transported to UT medical center Monday and moved from ICU to a regular hospital room Wednesday night. He is getting better each day but has a long way to go. Just continue to remember him in your prayers if you can thanks to all that have. With God all things are possible.

not moved - Thursday all along, just like the 3 games in the NRV
to not compete? no. But it is Tech related

The Hurley/Grundy matchup has been set for Thursday night for quite some time actually. I wondered if it was moved to not compete with the VT game.

Whatever Richmond and Tidewater want...

Years ago when I was living in Maryland I was coaching PeeWee football.  I had a great time with the kids,  but the parents were another thing.
I had a great little team and we went undefeated and after each game I would take all the kids to Micky D's and get them a burger, fries and drink and the kids loved that about as much as the games itself,  but the parents were never happy. 
Always calling me at all hrs and times wanting to know why their kid wasn't the QB or RB or starting and why was little johnny starting over my future "hall of famer".
All I really cared about was making sure the kids at that age learned the fundamentals of the game and making sure they had a good time and enjoyed the game of football,  but after having to deal with SOME of the parents  ( some were great )  I just decided it wasn't worth the hassle to me or my family.
It's a shame what a few can do !

One thing I will say about the KY situation that still makes me scratch my head a little (and maybe I am wrong about it but what I researched says otherwise).  Federal law allows the marriage of gays and lesbians.  KY state law on marriage is defined as the marriage between man and woman.   Since she was in a state elected position, wasnt she by default actually doing her job?    How is the federal/state difference on the law much different than how marijuana is being treated in Colorado and other states?
 
My personal views on same sex marriage does not agree with the Supreme Courts decision.  But if her job says she should perform these permits, then she should or resign if she isnt comfortable in doing so.  I do respect everyones freedoms and thankful for the freedoms I have in the US and dont want them infringed upon.  I like hearing someone speak about something I disagree with because I dont want to be closed minded to only my beliefs.  Doesnt mean it will change my mind but it doesnt bother me to hear it most times.
 
Im sure UVAObserver will be able to bring better light to the first statement for me.   

As a youth league coach who has coached kids from the age of 4 to the age of 18.... I've had teams that have won every game.  I have had teams that have not won a game.  The MOST important thing is that those kids are having fun and that they are being a part of a team and working together.  The LAST thing they need is for an adult to belittle them for their efforts.  I can tell you that I haven't met a kid I didn't like while coaching.... but I have met quite a few adults.  

And that in a nutshell is why a lot of well qualified coaches don't coach anymore. Whether it be peewee, little league or at the varsity level and beyond, a lot of the parents are complete idiots.

I absolutely hate the "give 'em all a trophy" society that we live in, but the other extreme can be just as, if not more disgusting.

Federal law trumps state law. If federal law is in conflict with state law, federal law prevails.
 
Although this instance is not so much "law" as interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Sparing an intensive legal discussion, the Supreme Court ruled that laws/constitutions prohibiting gay marriage are unconstitutional under the 5th and 14th Amendments.
 
Therefore, all state laws or state constitutions prohibiting gay marriage are unconstitutional federally, and federal trumps state.

I am probably not as versed in politics as some on this forum given my growing disenfranchisement of the political landscape.  It seems most want to appear to be the candidate most similar to Ronald Reagan.  That seems ironic to me since everyone wants smaller government, less expenditures, and lower taxes.  Reagan increased our national debt 13.8% per year, on average, each of the eight years he was in office.  A greater percentage than the previous 39 presidents combined.  
 
A few of the issues I have...............
 
I have never considered myself to lean entirely left or right.  I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal, to put it in general terms.  I take each issue as it is presented to me, affects me and my family, and how it affects those I care about.  I don't think abortion is ethical and wouldn't consider it as an option personally but I don't want my government legislating it.  It far too important to be mishandled the way social services or healthcare has been, historically.
 
I don't consider myself to be religious, at all!  I was raised in church and have never bought into what they are selling.  Once I was old enough to make those decisions for myself, I made the decision best suited for me.  That is my choice and my absolute right as an American citizen.  Those who consider themselves "christian" have my complete respect.  I would never attempt to force my beliefs onto someone else.  However, I demand the same respect in return.  This often leads to my pissing someone off when they make every attempt to convince my of the "error of my ways".  Religion has no place in politics and I cannot understand how one party or another became associated with being the "christian" party.  Jimmy Carter may have been the most "christian" president we have ever had and he was a Democrat.  If a couple, regardless of sexual orientation, want to marry, I absolutely do NOT want my government legislating that.  It is nothing more than  binding contract between two consenting adults.  This batshit crazy lady in Kentucky was elected to serve the people.  All people!  Not just those of like-mindedness.  It is very ironic to me, she has been married four times to three different men.  Her children were conceived by a man she was not married to while being married to another man.  Her stance against marriage in general is a complete contradiction to her own life.  If she wants to infringe upon others civil liberties, she shouldn't be permitted to hold an elected office, any elected office.
 
Healthcare has been an atrocious mess well before "Obamacare".  It isn't Obama's fault our healthcare system is broken.  He hasn't done much to help the situation but neither has anyone else.  It is well beyond time to stop pointing fingers and start working together to fix these issues. 
 
Education, the single greatest thing we can pass down to our children, has been a train-wreck for decades.  It has become such an issue, students are having to weigh the cost of higher education versus the mountain of debt likely to be incurred attaining said education.  This practice can only work to lower the value of a college education while the cost of that education skyrockets.  We spend less and less every year on our public schools and more and more on being the "world's police".  This policy has "dumbed down" our society and made us the target of hatred around the world.  Someone said it earlier in this thread, the post World War "reconstruction" (I use that term loosely) era has played itself out and no longer works.  That's assuming it ever did!
 
Obama was uniquely qualified to be a transcendent president.  He failed miserably in living up to that potential but not for the reasons most people would argue, in my opinion.  But that is for another time.
 
I spent eight years in the military.  I respect the office of the presidency, without exception!  I may disagree with the personal politics of the person holding that office but I must respect the position.  We should all get back to that philosophy, especially Congress.  Our nation can only be strengthened by it.

I wish Christie would shut up about 9/11.  Almost every response he has gets sidetracked back to the day his wife was on her way to work near the twin towers when they were hit.   It was 15 years ago and he wasnt the major political figure involved with the solutions of 9/11 so quit going on about it.
 
Trump is about done I believe but has lasted longer than I expected.  If they only sent 5 people to the next debate it should be Fiorina, Rubio, Bush, Carson and Trump at this moment.   I still think the smart move is Rubio or Bush  aligned with Kasich for VP although I like Fiorina more and more each time she holds court.

I resemble that remark.

I resemble that remark.

One of the main reasons I cant get behind Cruz or anyone else that stands there before a national audience and goes " On day 1 Im gonna do this.  On day 2 Im gonna do this.  On day 3 Im gonna do this..etc etc etc."    First, if it was that easy, do it all on Day 1.  Second, well your obviously just blowing smoke, and its too warm for a fire right now.

Allen Dershowitz called Cruz one of the, if not the, most intelligent law student he ever had.  That is quite the compliment coming from a very left  of center law professor.  Carson's intelligence is unquestioned.  I find it telling that these uber intelligent people are conservative. 
 
Regardless of who gets the nod, I hope he/she has the wherewithal to actually stand up to the left and right this ship.  Reagan did it against incredible odds so there is hope!

"We're on to Cincinnati"

Just because you go to the school doesn't mean that you have to down a gallon of maroon-colored Kool-Aid.
 
You're fining players who are largely on the lower socioeconomic rungs of society, players who largely wouldn't come remotely close to college without athletics. And the one doing the fining is literally THE highest paid assistant coach in the country.
 
Make them run, sure. Taking food off their tables?!
 
It's morally disgusting, and there's not enough server space to blast Foster for doing this, Beamer for condoning it, and Babcock for being so blind as to not see it on HD TVs around Tech's practice facilities.

People forget the Emancipation Proclamation only pertained to those who were a part of the CSA.  Kentucky was the last state to legally maintain slaves.  That was not ended until 8 months after Lincolns death.

The southern states desire to retain the institution of salavery came from their belief that it was their right to keep slavery legal, I.e. states rights. It's all in how you cut it.
 
Personally I(and MANY others) identify with the 90% of the CSA military that went to war to protect their homes from an invading army (I will admit that's painting things broadly).

I've found it hard over the years to discuss the Civil War.  On the one hand, there's literally limitless amounts of information that need to be absorbed for someone to give a well-reasoned take on the subject.  On the other hand, it deserves the most sincere amount of reverence in each and every detail.  In short, it's often too monumental a task and too easy to be incomplete.
 
In discussing the Civil War, as with other historical events that did not happen in our lifetime, we have to look through the lens of history.  We have some contemporary accounts of the War to guide our perceptions, but the victors write the history, and for me it leaves much to be desired in terms of a holistic account.  Despite the existence of a few octogenarians who may be able to relate stories told by their octogenarian grandparents/great-grandparents, 99% of those people who have heard firsthand accounts are long since gone.  So we're left to infer what has happened.
 
To say that "the Civil War was all about slavery" is far too narrow a generalization.  There existed, from revolutionary times, a stark cultural divide between the industrial North and the agrarian South.  The North in part relied on workers paid no more than life's bare necessities by powerful monopolists, while the South in part relied in on slaves given no more than life's bare necessities by powerful plantation owners.  Before the age of government entitlement, the only meaningful differences between the Northern lower class and the Southern slaves was personal liberty.  How much personal liberty can exist when the only other alternative of work is death?  The South empowered formal ownership of human beings, while the North empowered virtual ownership of its lower class.  But that literal ownership served as the flash point for browbeating the South.  
 
And when I say "browbeating the South", keep in mind that barely half of southern landowners (read: by no means all men) owned slaves, and of those who did, 90% owned 3 or fewer.  More often than not, the landowners were in the field toiling every bit as hard as their slaves.  The image of a plantation owner looking like Harlan Sanders, sipping mint juleps at a house that looks like J.R. Ewing's, while his children beat his slaves mercilessly is fanciful dreaming for 99% of southern landowners (again read: by no means all men).  
 
Slavery was evil.  Pure evil.  Human beings are not property.  But by the same token, perspective should be kept.
 
The northern federal government actively undermined the south for the 70 years that preceded the Civil War.  It's not coincidental that the North retained the commercial industry while expecting the South to provide its food.  It allowed the North to dominate trade (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.), while the South had little more than a port in Charleston.  It's not coincidental that the Missouri Compromise was allowed to be drawn at a level that was 2/3 south of the current U.S. territories.  It's not coincidental that the federal government displaced the Indian nations to a territory in the South, and refused to grant it statehood despite repeated requests.  It's not coincidental that the federal government started ushering through northern states in the 1850s like it was going out of style.  It was far less than overt, and the South decided to form a separate Union.
 
As for the flag itself, the ONLY flag that bears a reasonable resemblance to the modern "Confederate Flag" is the rectangular Second Confederate Navy Jack, which was based on the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag.  All other flags were amalgamations of designs, most of which ended up looking humorously like the U.S. flag.  I would love...LOVE...to take a random cross-section of 10 inner-city residents, show them the Bonnie Blue flag, and ask them what it stands for.  How many of them would guess anything to do with the Confederacy?  2?  1?  Probably 0.  That was the original "Confederate Flag", the first battle flag.
 
Needless to say, the ignorance of the Civil War is stupendous.  Not unforgivable, but stupendous.  But the number of people who act like experts when history clearly tells opposite is staggering and disappointing.  Many of them fall into the SJW crowd.

I don't pretend to like or be comfortable with the confederate flag, given it's history.  Not the invented history we read about on social media but it's actual history.  I am not going to get into that here!  My concern is, and has been since this all started, where does it end?  Is Patrick County going to change its county seat from the Town of Stuart to something nobody recognizes?  Is Staunton going to change the name of it's high school?
 
We can try to run away from our past to show how "evolved" we are today but it doesn't change who we were and in many cases, still are, as a nation.  Christians demand from non-christians what they would never tolerate in reverse fashion.  Minorities demand from the majority what they would never tolerate themselves.  No american alive today has ever been held in human bondage or persecuted for their beliefs.  Toughen up, get some thicker skin, and deal with it.  The world doesn't owe the Julianne Moore's a damn thing!

DB has a great reputation, but they should be head and shoulders of anyone between Roanoke and Knoxville due to enrollment.  They probably arent the best team in the TriCities again this year though. I think the tide has turned in the rivalry between SH and DB.  DB may be lucky to go 6-4 this year, and 5-5 is what I think is most likely for them.