GreatWhiteNorth

Those URL-Shorteners, like tinyurl.com, seemed like a great idea. Instead of some super-long URL that clutters up a post - it is shrunk to a small link that doesn't take up much space on the post. Which seems cool. But - the downside - is that if the person providing the link isn't someone you trust, you don't know where it is ACTUALLY sending you. In other words, that tinyurl.com link above could send you to a web site that is prepared to infect your browser and PC. And you'd have no way to know. Never trust any of the shortened-URL's if they aren't from someone you actually know and trust. I never heard of DANTE CASTO, especially with only 2 posts, so I wouldn't click that link for any reason. The "PLEASE SHARE THIS POST AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!" below the link is a red flag that the author wants to see it spread. Much like... hmmm.. a virus. "Anyone who has wrestled in college or above" - another red flag. A strange description - doesn't seem like many wrestle 'above' without wrestling in college. "Fixed link" edit by BobDole. Interesting that perhaps the first link didn't lead to the correct location? Red flag there, too. So, is this bad? Maybe, maybe not. But I wouldn't click the link due to the amount of evidence pointing to it being risky. Then again, it could be BobDole's nephew who is new to wrestling and posting and accidentally made a sketchy looking post because he's new. Doesn't matter to me - I'm not clicking it. On the internet, when it comes to safety, it is always best to assume the worst.

I don't think credibility can be attributed based on quantity. In other words, even if you see 'basically the same' news on a bunch of sites - doesn't mean that all the sites are doing equal due diligence. It may just be that some sites are copy/pasting from others. It may also be that the details are being modified by some of the sites to match their specific agenda. But I do agree that some of the links you listed are credible. Just not the first one you linked to in the earlier post - which is the only one that had been listed at that point. We all have to be VERY aware that sources do matter. And, just like emails you receive, never trust them unless you have sufficient reason to think you should. This is absolutely critical - and relevant to the conversation. I also agree with you that this guy was an idiot for what he said about killing. Was he going for 'shock value' or was he as deranged as it sounded? I don't know. In any case - he is clearly a bona fide idiot, perhaps a very dangerous one at that. Wackos like this guy seem to be coming out of the woodwork these days. I formed this opinion based on what I read from a couple of your credible links. I didn't - and wouldn't - read a single thing from the Russian propaganda site. It would be both a waste of my time and potentially cyber-dangerous if I were to even click on the link.

Still saying, very clearly, that you shouldn't accept news as fact on an illegitimate site - in this case, a Russian propaganda web site. Steer clear - don't believe anything, at all, that you read there. If you read it on npr.com, or cbs.com, etc. (aka reputable sites - which, of course, that list will vary from person to person) then that is an entirely different story. Don't make the mistake of confusing "garbage sites" with "fake news." Garbage sites may post somewhat true or even fact filled stories from time to time - but that doesn't make them trustworthy. They are still garbage, and you should always distrust their content.

Politicians have been proven to be mostly weasels, across the board, both parties. No backbone. It's too bad that a wrestler has joined that rank of weasel. It's a damn shame. Must be no fight left in him.

Thank you. I easily spent well over 2 minutes on it, and nobody gave me any credit until you. Appreciate that.

Art, I realize this wasn't directed at me - but I do have a couple things to add. I can't imagine taking the time to scour through so many sites in order to identify the inconsistencies between the legitimate ones and the illegitimate ones. And then trying to make sense out of the whole mess. Liars have learned how to hide - weeding them out isn't a quick or simple task. And even if we attempt to do this today, there'll be more tomorrow, they multiply. Bad guys monitor the stuff that is being read, and if it is popular - they continue to push it through other BS sites. It's what they do, they play us, and they get paid well to do it. I strictly recommend that everyone consider the web site you intend to view before visiting it. And if you find yourself at a site you aren't familiar with, then close out. Trying to judge what illegitimate sites have to offer is dangerous (potential infection of virus, malware, ransomware, etc.) and a tremendous waste of time. Simply best to avoid them.

There are never any shortages of internet sources that will back whatever you want to believe. Seeking them out is a waste of time, and potentially harmful. Outside "safe space" on the internet? That is ill-advised. Much better advice would be - "If it isn't a trusted web site, don't go there."

I don't believe anyone swept covid "under the rug" - it may not get much press, but our medical system is still fully invested in Covid research. I agree we need to think independently. Speaking of that... Who's this OffTheMat dude? He's describing the vaccine like nobody ever heard of it before? WTF? You support this clown?

That is complete and utter bullshit. If I could check your IP Address - I'd guess you're posting from Russia. ***duck duck goose** Russian's and the constant lying.

I am grateful Roy Wilson saw through the politics of this and sees it for what it is. The professor should have been fired outright, not placed on paid leave. mspart Serious question here: Is this post based on actual facts? Looks like a load of BS to me. Let's check the source... WTF, source is 'lifenews.com' - never heard of them. Nobody I'd trust. Hmmm... I'll check... Life (stylized as L!FE, formerly LifeNews) is a Russian pro-government news website owned by Aram Gabrelyanov [ru; hy; uk] and published by News Media [ru].[2] Its offices are in Moscow. The brand is most commonly associated with the now-defunct LifeNews channel. It's a boatload of crap from Russia. mspart - tell me you aren't pushing this garbage?

In my best LJB impression... "them" - the opposite of "us"... They must be bad, since we are clearly good... I've done the research; Hunter Hilary's email laptop server is where the answers will be found.

I didn't assert that. But I can see where you may have misunderstood what I posted. When it comes to guesswork, there are more than a few countries that could have been predicted to have done better than us. But that's merely guesswork. So much we didn't know about Covid at the time. It's easy to claim otherwise in hindsight. As I've said, we all have our own personal morality - as it should be. We're all very different people, with different perspectives. We are all relevant and important. How you've warped that into you judging my morality isn't particularly good. I'm being as calm and as reasonable as possible. I don't get it - what axe do you have to grind with me?

I don't disagree that Sweden did better. When there are no concrete answers at hand, we soldier on as best we can. When faced with a zero-win situation like Covid, some will do better while some will do worse. Not because anyone has answers or got it correct. If it wasn't Sweden, it would have been some other country that did better. Sweden had no crystal ball, they suffered just like everyone else - just not as badly. That's not a win as much as it's not as bad a loss. I agree - there were certainly serious moral issues involved. And even more moral issues than either of us has yet posted. But that wasn't my point, I was specifically addressing the "correct from... a moral perspective." I don't agree with labelling anything correct or incorrect because it agrees or disagrees with my personal moral position. Going down that path leads to, at best, nothing good.

I'm sure you believe that those you listed "got it right, more or less" - I just don't agree with you. IMO, DeSantis was no more correct than Fauci - and it would be easily argued that he was less correct. Which I wouldn't argue, because IMO, none of them got it right and they were all just flawed humans who got it wrong to different degrees. This was a zero-win scenario. What you said about "correct (from both a scientific and moral perspective)" doesn't sit well with me. We all have our own versions of morality - which is fine, and to be expected. But to somehow claim those that agree with our personal morality were correct - while those that didn't agree were incorrect... isn't logical. Earlier Covid conversations on themat.com were helpful in that they allowed us to exchange perspectives and learn as we tried to figure out how to deal with something none of us had ever seen before. It was valuable, personally I learned a great deal. But what we're seeing from various posters now is mostly politically based, finger pointing garbage that serves no useful purpose. Like I said earlier, better to let sleeping dogs lie. But that's just me.

I think you're right; it does set a new standard. If 'undefeated' is important, only those 10 are possibly on that list. That makes picking finalists easier and less subjective. (Aka, less for fans to complain about.) All the "early" Hodge talk is virtually meaningless (which was really mostly complaining) - it now gets rolled into the "who will win NCAA" discussion where it belongs. Going forward, they could eliminate those with too many losses, etc. to streamline it and not weaken the vote from teams with multiple champs (ex: Star*/Brooks.) And, lastly, this year it set a way to legitimize not listing Spencer Lee as a finalist without causing the pitchfork types to start burning the place down. This was, by far, the easiest way out of that potential mess.

I know a lot of people that have done this. They got so accustomed to wearing the mask all day that they sometimes forgot to take it off when they got in the car. Some places (ex: hospitals) still require masks. We're all creatures of habit, and it's easily been long enough to develop the habit. I've done it on my motorcycle... but only on cold days. I liked the way the neoprene mask kept my face warm. I imagine some people who saw me thought I was crazy to think I needed to wear a mask riding, maybe even had a laugh at it. Amazing how judgmental people can be when they haven't taken the time or effort to try to understand first. I imagine that's the product of the "us vs them" caveman mentality. Covid is finally receding, but that caveman mentality is going strong as ever.

The reason being that most have moved on. If, as a country, we did too much - some will feel the need to point fingers. If we did too little - more finger pointing. It simply wasn't possible to make all the decisions to make everyone happy. All of the bickering is as relevant as the stink in the cow yard. We can all point fingers all day long and it won't accomplish anything. It happened, we dealt with it, none of our leadership did it well, it was a cluster, and now we can finally stop bitching. Which I'm honestly thankful for. By all means, continue to bicker. I doubt that my post will change anyone's mind. Just leave me out of that stink.

2006 NCAA 1/4's Fleeger v Reiter... and the "slam" heard 'round the world:

Ahem... like I said Jayson Ness.

No, no, no. More conspiracy theories need not apply. We're getting to the end of that mess - that sleeping dog is just fine.

I'd put Dylan Ness ahead of Lee.

C'mon be nice, my farm never stank like Greeley. Cow pies dried up just fine on their own.

Don't know him - I'll check him out and get back to you.

You'd do well to wait until it dries and use a pitchfork (or potato fork if your older brother already has the pitchfork.) MUCH lighter and easier to handle.

No, I did not. Used either a pitchfork or a potato fork. Not a shovel. Perhaps you have no experience?