mtutiger

That section was a political master class... Biden and the speech writers just knew the the marks couldn't help themselves, and now got some tape to put in the can for later.

The Toddler Caucus sure made their presence known tonight... lol

Yiiiikes

Why just this time?

The extension of the beliefs expressed above is basically that there is no truth and that it's cool to just go with whatever sounds good. I don't buy that... until given a reason to believe otherwise, if the Pentagon says that balloons were flown over the US Mainland during the previous administration, I will take them at their word. Full stop.

I'll address the TikTok piece since that was mine... the TikTok thing isn't a Dem talking point... if anything, GOP politicians, to their credit, actually take the security risks from TikTok more seriously than most Democratic politicians do. But my bringing it up doesn't mean that I believe it is silly to take the balloon thing seriously, it means that I consider the proliferation of that app far more concerning than the balloon. And, by extension, wish that the media would give even one quarter of the attention that it has given this incident toward that particular issue.

I didn't realize The Pentagon were all Democrats.

Hey, at least they are covering actual Tigers and not Harold Castro

Didn't I already say that it was a vice signaling exercise? I'm just saying that the characterization that I highlighted in your initial post isn't some caricature cooked up in a lab somewhere, it derives from actual GOP messaging on this issue. The bolded is pretty revealing. I honestly don't give a shit about "narratives" and what's convenient for who.... on something like this, I care more about what actual risks would happen from shooting down the balloon, or the truth about why this happened in the first plavce. That's really my biggest problem with this whole affair.... "what may have actually happened" has been placed on the backburner in favor of the usual political food fight. And as much as you try to frame your view as "non-partisan", politics largely have been front and center in your view of this affair.

They are sure as **** more credible than internet randos inventing the possibility out of thin air, yes.

The explanation that maybe intelligence emerged after Trump's departure that alerted the Biden Administration that this was a possibility makes the most sense to me. But that's also the least politically expedient possibility, so clearly that's gonna be a less popular option for some

Interesting, this sounds pretty useful actually. I stand corrected

Setting aside the fact that votes McCarthy has voted in favor over the years account for a sizable chunk of the debt, in terms of the metaphor, is it really common for teenagers to get credit cards these days? Just sounds like bad parenting to me, although it's more informed by growing up in the mid 2000s

Also seemed to suggest the possibility Pentagon made up the existence of balloons under Trump because people on Twitter and GOP pols hurt their fee fees. Like, that's just not a serious suggestion... I suspect no one in the Pentagon gives a **** about the Ben Shapiros of the world and what they are transmitting on Twitter.

There were actual GOP politicians out there messaging along the lines of sitting out there with their piece and shooting it down. It's not the caricature you seem to imply it was, it is a reflection of where much of the party and it's base of support is right now. Just not serious about the implications of the balloon and more concerned with the political messaging around the balloon.

I may have missed it... either way, it's not like it's a made-up characterization or even a caricature when you have the actual GOP politicians out there messaging that stupidity. But, I know, "both sides", yada yada

To be fair, this sentiment was at times in response to actual idiotic right wing vice signaling by some GOP pols (see JD Vance, for instance)

I would assume there are ulterior motives until given a reason to believe otherwise. My comment about TikTok is more the fact that, in terms of national security threat, the fact that millions download and use that app bothers me more than the balloon does.

Especially considering how many TikTok users there are in this country....

I don't think anyone at the Pentagon gives a **** what the "shoot it down immediately" crowd thinks about anything, tbh. So I'll go with the latter.

This is all sarcasm I know, but in all seriousness, part of making sure people remain interested in the sport is making sure that it is still accessible to the average fan on television or streaming device. Which brings you back to the discussion of Bally and RSNs and what kind of impacts a bankruptcy might have on the marketplace.

$10 seems more reasonable. I would be curious to know what market research led to setting that price...

Ahhh

The thing about a Bally Sports subscription is, when you look at it over the course one one season of baseball, you are paying about the same as someone like me (who lives outside of the Tigers viewing market) pays to have MLB.TV. It's true that Bally also gives you the ability to watch the Wings and Pistons, but if you aren't especially interested in the other content being created (or in this case played) locally or are a casual observer of any of these teams, the odds that you avail yourself of the service at $19.99 a month is pretty low...

People talk about shooting it down over land as if it's NBD, but if any of the debris came down and killed anyone below, I would imagine most the armchair QB types would be singing from a different hymnal.