The James Caan Appreciation Thread

[ya_boi_j 64,061]

1 minute ago, RandomFan said:

Meh, I disagree pretty strongly about him lacking offensive game. He can initiate the offense as a point forward, has handles, can drive, pass, shoot (which keeps improving yearly), post up smaller players (which most are smaller than him), screen and roll, pick and pop. I just don't really see an offensive weakness for him. Watching some breakdowns of Bogdanovich recently showed a big reason why he and Jrue were needed in MIL. Giannis would constantly make the right pass to someone after drawing double defenders, but those players would not knock the shot down consistently. Hard to make your teammates better when they can't take advantage of the gravy you give 'em. 

I'm like Skip Bayless. I need to get a new tv lol. I just dont see it in him

[Baby Dik Dik 6,552]

35 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

Do you think Giannis is really that good? Personally I think he’s overrated asf

He's amazing.  He has some holes in his game that are holding him back right now, but nothing that can't be improved.  I would buy season tickets if they had Trae and Giannis.

[ya_boi_j 64,061]

1 minute ago, Baby Dik Dik said:

He's amazing.  He has some holes in his game that are holding him back right now, but nothing that can't be improved.  I would buy season tickets if they had Trae and Giannis.

It would be lob city that's for sure

[Sponge 20,047]

Just now, ya_boi_j said:

I'm like Skip Bayless. I need to get a new tv lol. I just dont see it in him

Watching the 4K tv right now that you found for me.

[ya_boi_j 64,061]

Just now, Sponge said:

Watching the 4K tv right now that you found for me.

My man. 

[Sponge 20,047]

Just now, ya_boi_j said:

It would be lob city that's for sure

Okongwu will be Trae's lob guy now. The more film I watch of him, the better I like him. 

[RandomFan 10,105]

 

THREAD:

I was reminded of that realization when I read this important NYT article about how Facebook keeps weakening news source quality controls because conservative content gets disproportionately effected by them.

Facebook Struggles to Balance Civility and Growth

Employees and executives are battling over how to reduce misinformation and hate speech without hurting the company’s bottom line.

Unfortunately, this great piece of reporting by @MikeIsaac didn't mention the greatest challenge in AI news signal processing: Humans can barely separate conservative & far-right content. Which means computers can't either.

This techno-semiotic conundrum originates from the fact that in the US, because there is no moderate conservative tradition, the gravitational center of the right is far removed from the political center.

More plainly, this means that almost all the energy and organizing on the right exists on the far right. This is not the case on the US left where there is a strong moderate tradition capable of organization and force projection. Ask Bernie Sanders if you disbelieve.

For the past 50 years, the best way to win a Republican primary was to say that you were further to the right than the incumbent. This dynamic has primed GOP voters to support extremists since the former extremists get to become the mainstream. First Ted Cruz, then Alex Jones.

Because of this dynamic, it means that somewhat more established outlets such as Fox News or National Review must engage with material and ideas from the far right in order to retain relevance, market share, and dollars.

This is why Fox occasionally reinforces white nationalist fears that increasing numbers of Hispanics and Asians will doom the GOP. 

Or why every conservative magazine periodically runs screeds criticizing evolution.

The Fox News host has a history of peddling white nationalist talking points.

As another examle of this, I have reported how in 2008 future white nationalist Richard Spencer was actually pressured into running racist material on a website he edited that was, at the time, more libertarian oriented:

What's now called the alt-right actually began as a conservative resistance — against George W. Bush

There are many other examples of this co-mingling of conservative and far-right within the same media outlets. I talked about several instances in a recent Twitter thread:

For a more academic look at the right/far-right information ecosystem, I highly recommend this research paper from @JonasKaiser @nikkiboura. It focuses on Breitbart as a bridge for extremist content but the overall principle is shown as well:

The bottom line is that because there are so many rhetorical and topical intersections between extremist and conservative media, this makes it essentially impossible to devise an algorithm that would not disproportionately impact conservatives.

A similar dynamic exists between Republican politicians and fact-checking organizations. Conservatives simply cannot compute the idea that maybe GOP officials get fact-checked more because their beliefs and rhetoric are less factual.

Facebook can't publicly admit this reality because that would expose them to charges of being "biased" or "unfair." But in truth, conservative media have enormous, fundamental problems which no conservative journalist ever wants to confront. It's easier to whine about evil libs.

Edited November 25, 2020 by RandomFan

[ya_boi_j 64,061]

4 minutes ago, Sponge said:

Okongwu will be Trae's lob guy now. The more film I watch of him, the better I like him. 

I'll have to check him out. 

[falconsd56 24,841]

I am pretty excited for tomorrow.

I am making the chorizo and green chili cornbread stuffing muffins, 

A top loin pork roast that I rubbed down with a sweet and spicy rub and vacuum sealed it last night...there is just enough fat that once rendered bit is going to me succulent and juicy but not fatty.

My turkey breast has been brining since Monday night so that is going to be ridiculously tender and juicy.

I am also going to serve a cranberry and apple compote  that is always a hit.

The first Thanksgiving in a new house is always great.

[RandomFan 10,105]

19 minutes ago, ya_boi_j said:

It would be lob city that's for sure

 

18 minutes ago, Sponge said:

Okongwu will be Trae's lob guy now. The more film I watch of him, the better I like him. 

It's already Lob City with John Collins. 

And now Capela. 

Will have to see how many minutes Okongwu gets as a rookie on a suddenly deep roster, but he should definitely be in the mix once he starts earning time.  

[Corn Pop 4,356]

@Sponge @Carter

 

[lostone 17,706]

This is my first time in Walmart in a long time... really hate it.

[RandomFan 10,105]

4 minutes ago, Corn Pop said:

@Sponge @Carter

 

🤣

[Mr. Hoopah! 79,529]

 

[Mr. Hoopah! 79,529]

11 minutes ago, Corn Pop said:

@Sponge @Carter

 

“Twas the night before Christ. . . hey,  don’t be stingy with that popcorn from the tin you little *******.”

[Ezekiel 25:17 16,944]

1 hour ago, Big_Dog said:

Nothing but. I hope Biden brings back some of the dedicated Justice Dept folks Trump fired like Sally Yates and give them back pay and reinstate seniorty. Some were dumped within days of their earned retirement day.

At some point, we will have true liberals running the Democratic Party, if not form their own. 

When that happens, the conservatives will truly see what liberal idea really look like.

[Sponge 20,047]

21 minutes ago, Corn Pop said:

@Sponge @Carter

 

I just hit mine. I'm down here in my shop and it's raining like ****. Called the mrs and told her I'll be up at the house when it stops. I can sit back right now and chill without worry about her walking down here in the rain catching me. 

[Leon Troutsky 26,164]

WASHINGTON — Early this year, Senator David Perdue, Republican of Georgia, sold more than $1 million worth of stock in the financial company Cardlytics, where he once served on the board. Six weeks later, its share price tumbled when the company’s founder announced he would step down as chief executive and the firm said its future sales would be worse than expected.

After the company’s stock price bottomed out in March at $29, Mr. Perdue bought back a substantial portion of the shares that he had sold. They are now trading at around $120 per share.

^^^Clearly they know how to talk to rural working class voters.

[Sponge 20,047]

19 minutes ago, lostone said:

This is my first time in Walmart in a long time... really hate it.

I just got back. 1 outta 10 people there are not wearing mask. There was some girls checking receipts on the way out so I asked them why they wasn't enforcing the mask policy. She said because people get hostile when the try. 

[Sponge 20,047]

25 minutes ago, Mr. Hoopah! said:

 

Wish I had that NBA money. I'd probably buy a yacht and live on it. Probably never leave the dock. 

[Mr. Hoopah! 79,529]

3 minutes ago, Sponge said:

Wish I had that NBA money. I'd probably buy a yacht and live on it. Probably never leave the dock. 

[Sponge 20,047]

You guys see this on the news? Monolith with pop rivets has people mystified 

 

[RandomFan 10,105]

13 minutes ago, Sponge said:

I just got back. 1 outta 10 people there are not wearing mask. There was some girls checking receipts on the way out so I asked them why they wasn't enforcing the mask policy. She said because people get hostile when the try. 

Went earlier today myself, in Floyd County where it was 70% for Trump. I'm sure everyone is very very surprised when I say less than half the people in Walmart were wearing a mask. 

[Corn Pop 4,356]

3 hours ago, Mr. Hoopah! said:

@Corn Pop what do you think #Resistance grifters and Trump reply guys are going to do after January? Besides remaining homophobic and trying to bilk people out of money of course. 

[Mr. Hoopah! 79,529]