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So..., what is Israel's next move against Iran?  Can the US avoid being drawn into this crisis, or is it Biblically predestined?  Does this bode well for Biden?

Asking for a friend.

Thomas Alleging Racism in Superintendent Search

It could be argued that these cries of racism are self-perpetuating. Thoughts?   

I'm positive Misty Her is willing to stand on her own accomplishments and does not welcome the racism card being played on her behalf to perpetuate someone else's agenda. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/03/15/buying-a-home-realtor-commissions-could-shrink-after-legal-settlement/72985989007/

I'm hoping someone can explain the impact of this ruling.  While most consumers don't realize it, real estate commissions have always been negotiable.

Maybe one of you is an agent/broker and can explain from your perspective. 

Should the NFL, and soon-to-follow NCAA, do away with chain gangs and start using optical tracking?

I say no for the same reason I think umps should call balls and strikes.   

Article from the Economist:  January 31, 2024

Did an Israeli hospital raid breach the laws of war?  Disguising a soldier as a doctor can be an act of "perfidy"



The man in the wheelchair, pushed along by three companions, looks like any other patient in the Ibn Sina hospital in the West Bank. So does the woman in a headscarf apparently carrying a baby. Others, in scrubs, look like medical staff. But moments later they pull out rifles and kill three Palestinians. Within ten minutes they are gone. Israel says it eliminated three terrorists during the raid on January 30th and staved off a major attack which was imminent. But disguising combatants as medical personnel probably breaks international law, which prohibits "perfidy". What is that crime?

Under international humanitarian law (ihl), which governs how armies may wage war, it is illegal to kill or wound "treacherously". Specifically, that covers "acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to...protection". This is distinct from classical military deception. The classic example of perfidy is feigning surrender. If you wave a white flag and then pull out a gun as the enemy approaches to take you prisoner, that is a straightforward breach of the law.

But perfidy also includes a number of other acts. Soldiers cannot use the uniforms or signs of United Nations peacekeepers, or those of neutral countries. They cannot pretend to be wounded to lull the enemy into approaching or simulate the "distinctive emblem of cultural property", for instance disguising a command post as a mosque. Air forces can broadcast transponder signals that make their planes look like enemy ones—which enjoy no special protection—but they cannot pretend to be medical transports or send distress signals.

Medical personnel and doctors have particular protection, over and above that granted in general to civilians and civilian objects. Israel has accused Hamas of using ambulances to move its troops. That is obviously deceptive. Whether it is also treacherous, in law, is harder to answer. "Proving the war crime of perfidy would require showing how the transport of weapons or Hamas fighters in an ambulance led to the injury or death of idf or civilians," notes Luke Moffett, a professor in ihl at Queen's University Belfast.

Indeed, the law on perfidy does not prohibit all forms of disguise. It is acceptable, for example, to feign injury in order to escape during a battle. Moreover Israel has long used "Mista'arvim" (meaning: disguised as Arabs) units that operate undercover in Arab areas. That is not necessarily illegal, argues Ido Rosenzweig of the University of Haifa in a paper for the Israel Democracy Institute, a think-tank.

But such units should be used for intelligence-gathering or destroying objects, not lethal operations against civilians, he concludes. They also need to carry their arms openly, he says, and wear distinctive signs from the point at which the enemy can see them and might confuse them with civilians. Countries have often blurred these lines. During America's raid against Osama bin Laden in 2011, one cia operative wore a jacket indicating he was a member of Pakistan's isi spy agency, notes Wesley Morgan, a journalist.

The raid on Ibn Sina hospital, which was carried out by an Arab-speaking unit of the Israeli police's elite counter-terrorism force and Shin Bet, the country's security service, seems to be a clear-cut case. The Israeli attackers use their medical disguises as a key part of the assault. "If soldiers dress up as doctors to attack otherwise legitimate targets that is a clear case of perfidy," writes Janina Dill, a legal expert at Oxford University. Moreover, notes Aurel Sari,  a law professor at the University of Exeter and a fellow at nato's Office of Legal Affairs, if the three targets were being treated at the hospital for wounds or sickness, it would be illegal to attack them even without perfidy, using uniformed soldiers.

Some in Israel argue that the raid's location in the West Bank, rather than Gaza, means that it was not an act of war, subject to ihl, but a form of law enforcement. The West Bank is under formal military occupation by Israel. Yet in that case, a separate body of law—International Human Rights Law (ihrl)—still applies. And ihrl does not permit assassination. The latest episode will intensify a raging debate over Israel's compliance with the law. ■

Article Link: Helmets don't eliminate concussions. It's time for the NFL to ditch them.

I'm interested in Ant's response.  We all know what the direct impacts would be - more rugby style tacking, but what are some of the subtle changes we would see when our skulls are no longer weapons. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/markwayne-mullin-fight-teamsters-president-sean-obrien-senate-hearing/

So, Markwayne Mullin, the senator from Oklahoma, accepts a challenge to fight from Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

I don't know anything about O'Brien, but my money is on Markwayne.  Anybody from Oklahoma who has a two-name first name, is a former undefeated MMA fighter, who is in the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame, and who calls you out on the floor of the US Senate, must be a badass.

It's too bad Uncle Bernie was able to calm things down.  This country needs a good cathartic televised ass beating. 

"I know our country isn't as divided as Washington wants us to believe. We share common values of family, freedom, democracy, dignity and a belief that together we can overcome any challenge. We need to take back America and not let this divisive hatred further pull us apart."

This could get interesting. 

It looks like Israel is mounting up for what is sure to be brutal urban warfare.  The IDF is a different breed.  This is existential Biblical proportion stuff.  Sweeping the streets of the most densely populated area in the world, where Hamas is deeply rooted, might be a little harder than it sounds. 

Most of the world is cheering Israel on today, but I wonder how long it will tolerate photos of dead Palestinian children or mothers wailing in the streets.  I woke up this morning with the news showing large buildings in Gaza virtually disappearing in massive explosions.  I got a little excited, like Sunday night with the Niners hammered the suckhass Cowboys.

But then they showed a Palestinian girl around 5, sitting in an ambulance with her father.  Both had sheer terror on their face as the father was holding the body of another child, presumably dead.  The little girl's eyes reminded me of my 5-year-old granddaughter, and something seized up inside of me.

It's unfortunate that Hamas and other terrorists hide behind human shields.  It's also unfortunate that they raid villages and decapitate children.  With these sorts of atrocities, Hamas must be eliminated and Israel will not throttle back.  It can't throttle back now. 

Interestingly, in the past, the IDF would send 'roof knocks' before shelling a building, by sending a relatively harmless round onto the targeted building which served as a warning that a more lethal missile was coming.  For now, the IDF has dispatched with that formality.

And what to do about the hostages?  It already sounds like the Israeli families are giving them up as martyrs.  If I was kidnapped, I'd want the IDF special forces coming after me, and I'm sure they will try.  But Israel won't let the tail wag the dog.  The US might not be so quick to give up its hostages.  I'd love to be a fly on the wall of those strategy meetings.

Any thoughts?

https://tennisuptodate.com/other/what-an-utter-joke-navratilova-reacts-to-transgender-athlete-winning-womens-race

When a female athlete with more testosterone than Teddy says transgender athletes are a joke, that pretty much settles it. 

I realize that for some of you young bucks, playing on natural grass or mud is archaic, like driving a stick shift or having to tune-in your car radio, but what do you think?  It seems like the NFLPA's opinion should carry some weight.

NFLPA Calls for Natural Grass

Finally, the grown-ups in the room are taking over the conversation.  Artificial turf should be phased out immediately.  IMEO, anyone who thinks you need a pristine low-maintenance playing surface all the way through December doesn't understand the true nature of the sport. 

Real champions can win on any surface (except Aaron Rodgers...).  The uglier the field, the better. 

I only caught last night's highlights, but it sounded like the state of education got some attention, and the blame was placed squarely on the teacher's unions.

I am not too familiar with the inner workings of the educational system, but you don't need a Ph.D. to recognize we are spitting out functional idiots, and something needs to change.

I assume there are plenty of educators on this site.  What does it look like from the inside looking out?

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article278456524.html

The city began to see a spike in interest from developers and investment firms from across the country after the announcement of the state's $250 million investment for improvements to the city's downtown infrastructure, a city official told The Bee. Multiple experts who spoke with The Bee say the investment will help cut down on development costs, making downtown more attractive and leading to more private investment. But some also warned that careful attention needs to be given to the long-term viability of the state money and that planning has to be done right.


Good luck.  If pouring $250M into the epicenter of Fresno permanently turns things around, we might have stumbled across the cure for cancer.  This is like thinking an expensive remodel of your home will automatically kill the termites, reduce neighborhood crime, and encourage the homeless to move elsewhere. 

Somebody asked about information in the CW game programs regarding Hartigan, so I dug a couple out.

As I mentioned, the print quality was as high or higher than Fresno State.  Each game had an updated cover and spine showing the game information, with inserts and game photos from prior games (gold paper).  I've also included a copy of the Booster's Club president's message (no mention of Hartigan's residence but a good description of what the TC Club did) and a copy of the impressive advertiser index. 

Enough copies were printed for each game to cover the printing costs.  We never printed too many programs and always sold out.  The ad money was already in the bank, and it was substantial.

Maybe somebody in Bakersfield can answer this for me.

My wife and I were returning from SoCal Sunday night and hit Bakersfield around 1:00am.  Just south of town they started merging lanes which brought the traffic to a stop.  After three merges, they took all traffic off at Ming.  From there, we circled around onto the frontage road and went north to California, where we got back on the freeway.

Here's the weird thing.  There were no lights, no construction crews, no CHP, nothing for the entire stretch of 99.  When we got back on at California, I looked back into absolute darkness.  It was almost like they were practicing their detour skills.

But the weirdest thing was the twilight zone drive up Oak Street.  It was bad enough that my wife reached back and handed me my HK 40 without me asking for it, like a well-trained surgical nurse reading the doctor's mind.  When we got close to California St, I noticed a marginally attractive lady in a mini skirt carrying groceries along Oak St like it was noon.  Then, there were two tweakers practicing their slow-motion karate moves at the AM PM, and a small group of kids around 10 years old chasing each other on their bikes at the Chevron.  Remember, after a 20 or 30-minute delay,it was now close to 1:30 am.  These inbreds were acting like it was the middle of the afternoon.  Fresno is a cesspool, but at least we know when it's time to go to sleep.   

If anyone has any idea what the pretend road closure and detour was all about, please enlighten me. 

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article277426928.html

Is it possible to oppose the renaming without being a racist?

Homelessness Is Paralyzing the West

The 9th Circuit has as much as guaranteed the right of anyone to sleep on any public property free from harassment, requiring towns to surrender their public spaces to homeless encampments. 

The dissenting opinions are pretty strong.  The solutions are already difficult, but with this sort of protection, they are almost impossible. 

Somebody posted this on FB.  "We are standing on the precipice of the destruction of the greatest nation the world has ever known. We are standing, right here, right now, transfixed in horror."

Ok, let's hear it. 

I think the court is saying that if admissions systems consider race, for the sake of race alone, then that student is being pre-judged for no other reason than the color of their skin, and we all know how abhorrent that is.

Short of hard quotas, the admission process is very subjective.  If a school wants to have a diverse student population for the sake of diversity, they can probably get there. 

Remember, it's a zero sum game.  There are far more applicants than seats, so if a student is given preference for the color of his skin, there is another student who is being punished for the same reason. 

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=5f7f21a4-7b20-4f1d-8738-7e96f26f09aa

I worked at a law firm for 20 years before going in-house.  Outwardly, all buttoned up and tight, but behind the scenes, pure debauchery.  Email wasn't as evolved then as it is now, but if those messages were ever released, I know three current judges who might have to retire.

Synopsis:  Very large law firm in LA.  Over 1,000 attorneys world wide.  Two attorneys broke off, started their own firm, and recruited 100+ attorneys to go with them.  To explain their move and persuade clients to move with them, they came out very critical of the old firm.

The old firm decided to go nuclear.  It released years of internal emails from the two attorneys which were brutal.  Nobody was immune from sexist and racist attacks.  End result, those two attorneys had to resign from the new firm, and most of the 100+ who left are trying to get their old jobs back. 

Moral of the story:  don't F with a bunch of 80 year old independently wealthy attorneys.  They'll cut off one of their hands to watch you drown. 

Come to think of it, Bigskin is a millionaire and doesn't even know it.  If he ever threatened to release our real names and a few of our choice posts over the years, most of us would be divorced and unemployed within a month.  If any of us ever run for office, expect a late-night call from Bigskin...

Is it just me, or does Fresno have the most pitiful cemeteries in the state? 

Both of my parents are buried at the same local cemetery, largely considered the nicest in Fresno.  Getting there requires a trip through a third-world country with crazed addicts roaming the streets of ghetto houses.  The cemetery grass is half dead and the ground is about as level as a minefield.  When you mow weeds, they sort of look like grass from a distance.  It's actually pitiful.  If I had a choice, I would pay a lot of money to do better for my parents.

I'm thinking about buying some land in the foothills and getting it approved as a cemetery.  It would be cared for up to country club standards with professional staff and nice equipment.  It wouldn't be cheap, but funerals are already expensive.  The local cemeteries must be making an absolute killing.  I know what it costs to maintain large swaths of turf, and these guys are not doing it.

It wouldn't be for everyone, but I know there are plenty of people out there who would gladly pay the price.  Upright headstones and mausoleums would be allowed too. 

I already had a bad taste in my mouth after my parents passed, and attending a graveside service today just confirmed it.  It was pretty bad.  From the condition of the lawn, the facilities, the personnel, the area..., all around pitiful.  Somewhere between sad and a Monty Python comedy.  I don't think people in Fresno actually know what a nice cemetery looks like.

Let me know if you're interested.  CWTD Club members and CVHS Preps members will get a discount.   

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article275737996.html

The City has $4M to give out in $100,000 forgivable loans to assist with home purchases.  If you live in the house for 15 years, the loan is forgiven.

Good idea?  I'm curious how they will choose 40 recipients from the 40,000 applications they will get.  Some people are not meant to be homeowners.  You not only have to pay the mortgage, you have to maintain it, be a good neighbor, and a good citizen. 

Maybe they should limit the purchases to homes with CCR's.  Otherwise, the City is putting $4M in the pockets of a few sellers and spitting into the wind. 

What's wrong with these renderings of a rail station in downtown Fresno?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12005015/Chicago-boys-aged-14-17-charged-MISDEMEANORS-stealing-car-killing-infant-wreck.html

And here I was, thinking they should get the firing squad for a felony murder charge.  (If someone dies in the commission of a felony, it is automatically murder..., sort of an incentive to not commit crimes.)  I guess now, stealing cars (felony) and killing people, is like stealing a candy bar from Rite Aid.  If that was my child, I'd take justice into my own hands.

This is all part of the same massive departure from reality which will lead to a day of reckoning on our society.  Children can be indoctrinated in sexual perversion at a young age, nobody can define woman, boys can be girls, and now they can commit murder.   

I'm not shocked, becasue we have always had morally corrupt people in society.  What I'm in awe over, is somehow the left has embraced this idiocy and promotes it to harvest votes and now they're making the rules.  There has to be a line that not even a politician will cross, but I don't think we've found it yet.  Society might get there before the government does.   

To the extent any of you know or understand the charges, do you believe they are politically motivated?

Also, will this impact the election?  This is what GOP operative Terry Sullivan had to say: "At the end of the day, not one single person's opinion of him will be any different after indictment than it was before.  All of his perceived negatives are already baked into his name ID with voters."

There is zero wrong with confidentiality agreements or hush money.  The notion that the payments amounted to campaign contributions (the core of this case) was already rejected by federal prosecutors and the Federal Elections Commission. 

But Alvin Bragg is a pretty sharp guy himself.  This could get interesting.  I don't think it will slow Trump down at all.  In fact, a politically motivated conviction for Trump might be like Covid was for Biden. A totally unexpected boost that takes him over the top.

[I'll tell you what they're doing," he said. "Nothing.]

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=2796af29-eb87-4397-a936-fe168454e9c2

Not sure if this a subscription article, so it is pasted below.

Fentanyl dealer penalties debated

SACRAMENTO — As thousands of Californians die each year from drug overdoses fueled by fentanyl, a bitter fight has emerged in Sacramento over how lawmakers can hold dealers accountable without refilling state prisons and waging another "war on drugs."

On one side of the debate are Republicans and moderate Democrats calling for stronger criminal penalties for dealers who sell the deadly drug, which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and contributed to nearly 6,000 overdose deaths in California in 2021.

On the other are left-leaning Democrats who've spent the last decade retooling the state's penal code to favor treatment and rehabilitation over long prison sentences, and who are reluctant to embrace policies they fear could devastate Black and brown communities.

The disagreement reached a boiling point this week at the state Capitol, as Californians whose family members died from fentanyl overdoses packed a hearing room where Democrats voted down a bipartisan bill that would require warning convicted fentanyl dealers that they could face homicide charges if they sell it again. Meanwhile, a Democratic lawmaker shelved several other bills to increase sentences for fentanyl dealers.

"I was around during the crack cocaine epidemic, and this is really very similar to the hysteria around crack cocaine," said Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Los Angeles Democrat who chairs the Public Safety Committee. "And we rushed to come up with a solution, instead of looking at it from both a public health crisis and a public safety crisis and to bring them both together."
A desire to not repeat that history led him to shelve several fentanyl bills for the rest of this year, Jones-Sawyer said. He said many of the proposals focused on "how can we fill up the prisons again" instead of a long-term solution to addiction.

Jones-Sawyer said he wants the Legislature's approach to align with recent funding and enforcement actions on fentanyl from Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. Newsom proposed nearly $100 million in the 2023-24 budget for prevention, treatment and education efforts , and expanded the California National Guard's operations at the border. Bonta has also ramped up enforcement, leading to the increased seizure of fentanyl pills and powder.

The Legislature's public safety committees have a record of sidelining bills that would lengthen prison sentences or create new crimes, because the Democrats who control them do not want California to incarcerate more people. But the severity of the fentanyl crisis has invited criticism of that commitment and forced a broader discussion over what role the criminal justice system should have in solving the problem.

"Fentanyl is causing an unbelievable number of deaths, and the trajectory is, unfortunately, headed in the wrong direction," state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Orange) said at a hearing for Senate Bill 44 before it was voted down.

The proposal would have required courts to provide a written admonishment to those convicted of fentanyl drug offenses, warning them of criminal liabilities if they sell a fentanyl product that kills another person.

The proposal could make it easier to secure a future conviction, because the warning could be used as evidence for prosecutors to prove that a defendant was aware of the risks in drug dealing. It was modeled after the state's DUI Advisory, which is used to deter repeated drunk driving. Two other versions of the bill have failed to pass the committee in recent years.

State Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, a Yucaipa Republican who co-authored SB 44, fought back tears during the hearing as family members spoke of those lost to overdoses. She said she was "heartbroken" by the bill's defeat.

"Make no mistake. A policy like SB 44 would make a difference," Ochoa Bogh said.

Umberg asked for reconsideration of the bill, which means it could soon get another vote. But he'll probably have to accept an amendment proposed by Democrats to limit the bill to dealers who explicitly know they are selling fentanyl or laced products — a recommendation he has so far rejected.

State Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) said the proposal was reminiscent of the tough-on-crime era of the 1980s and '90s that led to thousands of Black and brown people serving life sentences for drug offenses. "Simply making it easier to prosecute someone for murder will not address or solve this problem," Bradford said.

Jones-Sawyer plans to hold an informal hearing this fall, when the Legislature is not in session, at which everyone who has a stake in solving the fentanyl crisis will have a seat at the table, he says. That means holding off until then on considering legislation such as Assembly Bill 367 , which would have increased criminal penalties for those who sell, furnish, administer or give away fentanyl products that result in great bodily injury.

"I felt like fentanyl is such a serious issue that it could pass the committee," said Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, a San Diego Democrat and author of AB 367.

Watching in the hearing room as the Senate panel killed SB 44 was Matt Capelouto of Riverside County. The bill is called "Alexandra's Law" in honor of his 20-year-old daughter, who died after taking a fentanyl pill that she bought from a dealer on Snapchat while she was home from school for the holidays.

"What are the politicians of the Public Safety Committee, the people charged with protecting the lives and livelihoods of their constituents, actually doing? What are they doing about the drug dealers, the people responsible for knowingly jeopardizing the lives of the people they trade dollars for death to?" Capelouto said after the hearing.

"I'll tell you what they're doing," he said. "Nothing."

Wait, aren't these the same guys screaming 'do something' while refusing to protect our schools?  They seem very content to let innocent people die at the hands of bad guys. 

The end is near.

FUSD's First Lantinx Graduation Ceremony

What's wrong with this picture?

Fresno Area Schools Districts Have Higher Suspension Rates

"We're in a real conundrum," said FUSD Board President Veva Islas in an interview, "in that we want to hold our students accountable, right? We don't want them to be disruptive."

Choose a side.  Creating the best possible environment for those students who want to learn and excel or dropping your standards to the lowest common denominator to promote a sense of belonging for those disruptive students who don't want to be there in the first place.  That forces the better students to endure the nonsense which brings down the entire system. 

This goes along with 'everyone gets a diploma' which now means little more than you hung around long enough without committing any serious felonies.  Instead of teaching our kids to achieve and live, we are teaching them to sit on the couch and survive.