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WTF, Joe?

Trump pulls out of second debate with Biden after commission says it would  be virtual

God knows these waters break liberal, and sharks patrol them for that globular red Republican meat. But sometimes sharks have to eat their own; true reporters can’t help their nature.

And, as the headline suggests: What the fuck, Joe?

On Thursday, the Infection-in-Chief announced he would not participate in next week’s debate because the bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates reasonably decided to hold a virtual argument instead of a live one, given Trump’s alleged positive COVID test.

In response, Trump announced he will hold a rally. Biden’s camp attempted to reschedule the show, and Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, added: “We look forward to participating in the final debate, scheduled for Oct. 22… Donald Trump can show up, or he can decline again. That’s his choice.”

Why in the hell would Joe want another debate? For that matter, why did Kamela Harris debate Mike Pence last night?

For months, the CDC and other medical professionals have urged citizens to look upon COVID the way we view smoke to grasp the contagious nature of the virus. Understanding that analogy, they have told us, is vital to understanding the scope of the pandemic.

Ok, let’s use the smoke analogy. Say Harris, Pence and moderator Susan Page were the only ones in the room (they weren’t). Each had a lit cigarette on their desk that burned the entire hour-and-a-half. Every time one of them spoke, they puffed their respective cigarette. Even with the 12-foot distance between them (was that just a random doubling?), how smoky would that room smell?

2020-10-08-pence-harris-page.jpg | The World from PRX

Now substitute the term smoky with “contagion-filled.”

If the administration is to be believed (which this is granting them everything), Donald Trump is still actively ill with COVID-19. By the CDC’s own recommendations — which Harris said she believed — Pence should not have been within throwing distance of a non-infected person. Particularly one who is vying to be vice-president.

Because we know Pence is interacting with an unwilling patient. Does anyone believe Trump is following doctors’ recommendations for getting better? The Biden-Harris team don’t know when he contracted it, if he contracted it, or where he is in the recovery process.

Covid-19 positive Donald Trump gets criticism after taking off mask in  front of the White House | Trending News,The Indian Express

Dems need to say “We are done talking until the election, when you will be receiving a phone call from us to pack your shit.”

As for the remaining presidential debates, America saw all it needed to see last week. Other than rubbernecking a grisly car accident, what would future debates illustrate? Is anyone going to be swayed, one way or the other, by any revelation in what would inevitably be a screaming match? If a town hall debate were held on the 22nd, would you want to be in the petri dish?

More importantly, there’s a danger in giving Trump an unedited national stage. His rallies are unhinged enough. Do we want to give this man a hot mic? The Michigan militia already tried a coup after his first order to stand by.

If the last two weeks have told us anything, it’s the cost of underestimating what can kill us. Joe, don’t fumble that message on the 2-yard-line.

R.I.P., R.B.G


Mushrooms

Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly

Our toes, our noses
Take hold on the loam,
Acquire the air.

Nobody sees us,
Stops us, betrays us;
The small grains make room.

Soft fists insist on
Heaving the needles,
The leafy bedding,

Even the paving.
Our hammers, our rams,
Earless and eyeless,

Perfectly voiceless,
Widen the crannies,
Shoulder through holes. We

Diet on water,
On crumbs of shadow,
Bland-mannered, asking

Little or nothing.
So many of us!
So many of us!

We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,

Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:

We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot’s in the door.

— Sylvia Plath

The Ass-to-Risk of Pandemic Sports

With COVID-19 well entrenched where is sports heading to? | COVID-19

First off, let’s be clear. It’s great having sports back. Fall is traditionally the finest season in professional athletics, as baseball, basketball and hockey wind to championships in their fields and football begins its ceremonious unveiling.

And athletes, in particular, deserve praise for putting their asses on the line during a global pandemic. In a time of virulence and existential uncertainty, it’s clear that sports means so much because they mean so little. We human beings need the trivial, particularly when treading the River Gravitas.

But any championship this year (and perhaps next) in worldwide sports will come with an asterisk. And that’s a good thing.

Because what we’re watching now, however entertaining, is essentially a sublime scrimmage, a professional practice, an elegant exhibition. For without an audience, how do we accurately measure athletic achievement? Can we really claim expertise in anything if we can’t display it in front of others?

Take the NBA playoffs, which began last month. As in all sports, teams typically compete for the best record during the regular season to secure home-court advantage throughout the championship run. Now, however, there is no such thing as a “home” game for any sport. There is no advantage to having a home crowd cheer you on — or, just as importantly, to jeer your opponent.

Consider the seismic effect COVID had on major sports. Before coronavirus, this was the winning percentage of teams playing at home, by sport:

MLB53.9%
NHL55.7%
NFL57.3%
NBA60.5%
MLS69.1%

The percentages go even higher during playoffs. Now, though, sports have been left essentially spectator-less, and already, basketball has been upended. The Milwaukee Bucks, which were favored to win the Eastern Conference title this year, are down 1-3 and struggling to survive against the middling Miami Heat. At this weekend’s Kentucky Derby, Authentic, an 8-1 longshot, beat heavy favorite Tiz The Law.

Both developments would be big news had they occurred in front of raucous crowds. But does anyone consider Authentic a great horse? Or that the Miami Heat are The Bad News Bears of this year’s basketball season?

Why 'Bad News Bears' Is the Greatest Baseball Movie Ever Made - Rolling  Stone

Alas, probably not. Part of athletic prowess has to include a measurement of a player’s nerves under pressure. Would quarterback Tom Brady be great without staring down belligerent crowds in opposing stadiums? Reggie Miller once scored eight points in nine seconds, a feat made famous only because the Indiana Pacers guard taunted hostile New York Knicks fans while doing it.

The Story Behind Reggie Miller's 8 Points in 9 Seconds! Greatest NBA  Comeback? - YouTube

And so it will go, for all sports. During the U.S. Open tennis tournament (also in full bloom) this weekend, an ESPN commentator noted how loud the players were this year, perhaps because of amped-up virus tensions, time off, etc.

“No, that’s how they normally sound,” replied retired tennis champ Lindsay Davenport. The announcer was just hearing a match without crowds, she explained.

This isn’t to say sports haven’t been a blessed respite from the world. Many of the games have been thrilling buzzer-beaters, unlikely upsets and multi-period sudden-death overtime matches.

And god knows I’d dance a jig if one of my teams won a Super Bowl, NBA crown or World Series. I’d be just fine with any grammatical addendum.

But lets face it. Professional sports finds itself facing its own existential question: Does a tree make a sound if there is no one around to witness it?

The the case of sports, the answer is yes. It just sounds like caveat.