Burgold

I think there's a good counter argument for this. I think we all know some people who would make marvelous teachers, who love teaching, and have those intangible qualities (patience, empathy, ability to view a problem from multiple perspectives etc.) that can't be or are very difficult to teach who have chosen not to even consider that profession because the money made it a nonstarter. How many better candidates would join the pool if there were better compensation and if it were a position valued in our society? That's hard to gauge though a lot of studies have looked at the question. On the flip side, how many pro athletes don't have those elite qualities and yet make it anyway through grit, determination, moxie and hustle. I bet there are posters on Extremeskins who are better physical specimens and better athletes than Mason Foster. I bet there are people who can throw farther (and more accurately) than Colt McCoy or any number of third string bench warmers making half a million per year. So, not every pro athlete is a demigod just as not every teacher is a replaceable cog. That said, Trent Williams is a rare human being with an amazing blend of physical prowess, size, speed, and pain tolerance. That's why he got an elite contract for his position. As to your other argument, I bet a hell of a lot of pro athletes would play sports even if they were being offered 30k a year. They are drawn to that profession the way others are drawn to teaching, law enforcement, the law, music, etc. I think the love of the game would make them put on cleats even if the money wasn't there. So, it goes back to what society values and what it chooses to pay for. But, as I think everyone is probably thinking... this is more of a Tailgate discussion.

So, I'm going to quibble with this. Most people can not teach. Rather, they can teach to the level I can play football. I can run routes. I can block. I can catch. I can punt. There is nothing on the football field that is done that I can't do. Now, I am not as big as pro players and for the most part I am not as fast or as strong. Likewise, there are elite teachers out there. These teachers do not get paid elite money, but the idea that anyone can teach is a fallacy. Hell, as someone who matriculated through the public school system, I would say that there are many teachers who can't teach. In fact, it is possible many of my teachers were drafted by Vinny Cerrato. We deify celebrity. We deify athletes. As a society, we have chosen to value and compensate actors and athletes to a degree that is often ridiculous. This is even more true of athletes and actors who turn out to be talentless hacks or lazy bums. Was Albert Haynesworth so elite at Fed Ex Field that he warranted a 100 million dollars? But to my major point... As a society, we are taught to disrespect and undervalue our teachers. We should stop doing that.

I guess that's why conservatives are against prenatal care and the red states have the highest infant mortality rate in the nation. Moreover, it's why the overall infant mortality rate in this country keeps getting worse. Pro life is anti-life just pro conception.

You'd think this thread is about gun control or capitol punishment except then the pro-life crowd would be cheering enthusiastically for the right to kill.

It's because of the salary cap. We want our team to succeed. If a guy is sucking up all our cap and can't produce (injuries) or plays far below their salary level then it hurts the team's prospects in a big way. Think Alex Smith. If Bruce Allen hadn't repeated the same exact mistake he had with McNabb then the Redskins would have been able to address other weaknesses easier, he would have had more flexibility to address the Trent Williams situation, etc. A bad contract hurts fan experience. There's also the fairness aspect. Many of us look at our professions or the professions that matter (soldier, paramedic, teacher, policeman) and there is the innate understanding that our value scale is tremendously out of whack. I think this plays a lesser role because most of us have come to grips with the money celebrity brings, but hell, even a third string qb who will never see the field once in his life likely makes more than 90% of the posters on this board.

I'm not sure that I get this argument that Red Stater Conservatives ought to be pro-abortion because it would sync with their racist objectives? Are people really saying the Republicans don't vote and act against their interests? Have you looked at any of the Red States at all? They vote against their self-interests all the time be it economically, environmentally, educationally, etc. Why not on abortion, too? If they can stick it to the other guy they don't care how much they get ****ed over.

I don't know that this is entirely fair. I don't know that it is unfair either. I do question what the state of immigration would look like had there been no Mitch McConnell under Obama or Paul Ryan? We do see the direction the Republicans want to go when they control the Executive, Legislative, and to a large degree the judicial branch. I suspect that Obama could have done more wielding only Executive powers, but I also think that the changes needed required legislative cooperation. He had zero.

Just to be difficult, Joe Gibbs was ten years removed from his game during Gibbs II. So, the fact that a completely rusty and 0ff-HIS-GAME Joe Gibbs took two Vinny Cerrato teams to the playoffs and won a playoff game earns bonus points in my book. It's a cup half full versus cup half empty exercise. You can look at the two losing seasons and say, "AHA!" I see what he accomplished despite being out of the game, out of the business, etc. To me, it's all the more remarkable. You take anything and not do it for ten years... when you come back to it you will be a shadow of yourself. His shadow was playoff worthy 50% of the time with crap teams. We'll never know, but I contend that if we got Gibbs in his prime and at his best, he would have made those teams perennial playoff teams and a challenger. Heck, Joe never had a "great" team to work with even in Gibbs I if you listen to the pundits.

The outlier to this is, of course, the scab year. Gibbs was able to coach up and chess-up, off the street nobodies and beat a team stuffed with Probowlers and future HOFers. To an extent, Gibbs II showed that Joe was so good that even far removed from the game and with a crap Vinny-built roster he could guide a team to the playoffs twice. That's extraordinary. Shanny, Gruden, etc. would have taken the same teams to a 7-9 ceiling at best and probably a 4-12 season. That said, 30% isn't an unfair number. I think Gibbs at his best was worth a two letter grade jump. I think a crap coach can be lifted a grade or two by an elite roster.

I sympathize with Trent to the extent that I think our training staff, equipment, and medical staff has to be part of the problem. On the other hand, there is this little voice that says, "Hey, we lost with you surlely we can lose without you. And don't call me, Shirley." I do think he is well compensated well enough to afford a second or even third opinion. He's had six consecutive years of not being able to complete a season. You'd think the epiphany that the medical staff's opinions ought to be viewed with some skepticism would have occurred to him sooner.

I think this is what is galling. Trent is being paid. He's being paid handsomely, absorbitantly. This isn't the case of a guy who isn't being paid market value. His contract is still top five. It's tough to figure out what he's worth because he plays hurt so much of the season and hasn't finished six seasons in a row. When he plays he is still among the best, but even then when Ty Nshke came in the drop off wasn't that huge. OTOH, we have no tackle depth. There is no one on this year's squad who can replace him or even step into his shoes. Coupled to that is the fact that because of Alex Smith, the Redskins have much less cap space to build a team. Frankly, I don't think Trent has earned a new contract and I think he is on the down slope. Problem is, they need him.

It was fantastic. Great people, fantastic guide, outstanding wildlife and scenery. Plus, enough adventures to test you like the snorkeling or the 20 k hike up the volcano. I haven't gone on a vacation like this in a long, long time. A big part of it was to see if I could still pull it off and I could! I guess I'm not officially old yet. The only difficult thing as it turned out was the kayaking and that was because I was paired with another novice, but she couldn't get the handle of alternating strokes. Every third stroke she'd decide to only go to one side. On top of that, she dangled her feet off the side of the boat. Then, she wound up using the bowl and not the scoop of the oars (which turned out to be a good thing) so she contributed very little to the row other than managing to keep turning us off course. However, misadventures are a great part of a vacation. It gives you stories to share and laugh about.

Impeachment would be the right ethical and moral move. He has done more than enough to warrant it and arguably done much worse than Nixon and magnitudes worse than Clinton. Politically would it be the right move? If the answer is no... it tells you how much of a cesspool the Republican Party in general and the GOP members in Congress in specific have become.

Isn't it crazy how good smart phones and point and shoots have become. Those are pretty much all raw photos. Maybe just some minor cropping on two or three.

This farming village is nestled in the crater of Vucan Pululahua which is an active volcano! Tortuga Bay This is a volcanic vent from what I was told was the second largest caldera in the world. This is actually a posed shot. It's in a tortoise reserve. The tortoise started well to the left of me and I hoped we could get a shot. Then, it decided to march right on by. One of my tour group got a video of the whole thing. This is Quito Ecuador. The statue of the Madonna is huge. This was an alpha male sea lion. Bugger chased me for about a 100 meters before giving up. It was funny as hell and one of the highlights for the whole group. Possibly the only grumpy sea lion in the whole of the Galapagos.