Cases Per Capita

Mine

Bernie: Beyond March 15th

There's a LOT left.

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NFL Week-1 2014 is Finally Here!

Source: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images (Via)

To The American Public

In response to all the recent crap I've seen on the news regarding citizens, who are worried that their guns will be taken away... And also to all you non-gun-owners in a position of power, please take a moment to read this. You'll be educated for the better.

Image Source

The term "assault weapons" has misled you.

When people see weapons like the AR-15, or the .223 Bushmaster, they call these assault weapons. Way, way too many of you don't know what the hell an assault weapon is. There is actually no definition of an assault weapon!

But OK, there are also assault rifles in existence. If you read that, you'll see that most "assault rifles" are fully automatic. They also cost many thousands of dollars.. Usually upwards of $10,000. These are the weapons you see during war, where there is a "rope" of rounds being fed in by another soldier.

Wait a minute. What's the difference between semi-automatic, and fully-automatic? Read that. Please.

ANY semi-automatic weapon will fire one (and only one) round with each squeeze of the trigger. However, most fully-automatic weapons will fire multiple rounds with one squeeze of the trigger. They will continue to fire until the trigger is released. These are machine guns, as most people think of what it means to be a "machine gun". Many people think the term "assault weapon" MEANS "machine gun". That couldn't be further from the truth.

Here is a very well-done slideshow for you to check out from assaultweapon.info. ~ Read that too!

Semi-automatic technology has been around for over a hundred years. This includes semi-automatic handguns. Any gun that can be fired repeatedly as fast as the shooter can squeeze the trigger is a semi-automatic. This includes revolvers! It also includes most shotguns. Most shotguns are either semi-automatic or pumps. The pump shotguns require the shooter to pump the prior shell out, the action also loads another shell, and it's very quick. It's not semi-automatic, but most pump shotguns can hold 7 shells, or at least 3-5. Semi-automatic shotguns can shoot 7 rounds as quickly as the trigger is pulled.

Anyone can take any semi-automatic rifle - or a hunting rifle - and change many various parts of the rifle, and make it look just like an AR-15, or.. what people think is an assault weapon:

Via

The AR-15, the .223 Bushmaster, are exactly the same as all semi-automatic hunting "long guns".

Period.

By the way, most of these lunatics who go murder people with guns got their guns legally. This is an important fact.

Via

I've already mentioned that semi-automatic technology has been around for over a hundred years. If all semi-automatic guns were banned in this country, all criminals would have an absolute advantage.

The point is this: If there were a semi-automatic weapons ban, we would be suddenly thwarted back to the late 1800s. In those times the only guns in existence were single-load weapons. So the answer to the gun violence of 2012 is to make only single-load guns available? Right. It will never happen. But if it did, all criminals would have a serious advantage.

The more important message is that everyone needs to understand the difference between a rapid-fire machine gun, and a semi-automatic weapon.

Five Finger Death Punch - "The Pride"

Best heavy band in the last 5 years - no doubt about it.

Beast Mode

Source

When they say Marshawn Lynch goes into "beast mode," this is what they're talking about. Here's a bigger version if you wish..

American Indians and Alaska Natives Map

Source: U.S. Census Bureau / Via - (NSFW)                                                               CTE!

Very informative! I love maps..

C'Mon Cowboys

3-1 is so much better than 2-2 at this stage, we know you can do it!

Cowboys' offensive line is gonna be the key to this game. Having already faced three fierce tests against the G-Men, the Seahawks, and most importantly the vicious Bucs, we know the Bears D-line is also one of the best. It's not gonna get any easier with this schedule, either. After the week-5 bye, we have to visit the Ravens in Baltimore! Ouch. Let's all say a little prayer now that we see Romo alive & well for week-7's game in Carolina.

And Just Like That - It's Over

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Thank you, NFL, for coming to an agreement. We appreciate it more than you know!

Drafting a Fantasy QB Early

Via / Source

This was a cool graphic I found - making the point that most fantasy football owners who drafted top QBs early are likely to be losing this season.

Updating this graphic with week-3's stats, Rodgers had about 8 in week-3 against the Seahawks. In week-3 of 2011 (and I have no idea why this is N/A in the graphic to begin with), Rodgers had about 24.

So the graphic is, in fact very accurate - in that if you drafted a top-5 or top-6 QB this year, you are likely not winning much so far this year.

I tried to get Cam Newton in most leagues, but I wound up getting Michael Vick. After the season I had last year (waiting a long time to draft a QB) I wasn't about to do it again. Trying to get Vick was still pretty early (probably 6th or 7th QB drafted), and he's got 9 turnovers through 3 games. The league in which I have been starting Romo is 3-0.

If you waited for a QB this season (unlike most seasons) you are probably doing very well.

Robbed!

Via

This is a travesty! I'm willing to bet we've just seen the last of these stupid replacement refs.. Goodell has got to mandate these owners pay the refs what they want, and get on with it. It was already ridiculous before this MNF game - the way this one was called has got to make it clear as day to Goodell. Oh, and give the Packers this game in a monumental reversal.

Are You Kidding Me?

Yahoo fantasy football

So yeah, this week I lost by 0.06 & 0.12 in two separate leagues. I guess that's your argument for fractional points, since I probably would've won with non-fractional points. Still.. what is this, like 1 yard?

Fantasy Football is Ever-Changing

...and I'm about to pull my hair out.

Every year it gets further and further away from the way it was back when I began playing.. in about 1996. Back then you could comfortably draft a decent QB, two studly backs, and two good receivers, and could count on them to produce week-in and week-out. Of course there are gonna be bad weeks here and there. And of course once in a while (maybe a half-dozen times a season back then), someone you'd never heard of would go nuts because he got the chance to do so.

Miami's Reggie Bush had a monster game today (Source - Rhona Wise/AP)


Let me show you something.

If you had fielded this line-up this week:
QB - A.Dalton CIN
RB - A.Brown NYG
RB - J.Battle SD
WR - D.Amendola StL
WR - D.Avery IND
FLEX - L.Miller RB MIA
TE - B.Myers OAK
K - J.Tucker BAL
D/ST - SEAHAWKS
(comma)

...using a normal PPR scoring system, you would've beat the guy who fielded this team this week:
QB - A.Rodgers GB
RB - D.McFadden OAK
RB - C.Johnson TEN
WR - A.Johnson HOU
WR - L.Fitzgerald ARZ
FLEX - B.Marshall CHI
TE - A.Hernandez NE
K - D.Bailey DAL
D/ST - PATRIOTS

...by a score of 181-41.

Yeah you know Andy Dalton, and you've heard of Amendola, and Jackie Battle, but what about the other guys? Does anyone even use Tucker this season? Anyone outside the state of Washington brave enough to use the Seahawks this week? Isn't it time to declare that CJ2k, or whatever he's called, is no longer a stud? How many of you started Reggie Bush this week?

Did anyone other than me look at an available Patriots defense on the waiver wire, and start drooling upon realization that they're hosting an Arizona Cardinals team with their back-up QB? Granted Skelton's not a superstar, but Kolb is still the "back-up". This is also a team that has had trouble running the ball for what, 6 years now (including their Super Bowl team)? And no one wins at New England, right?

Did anyone else, like I did, see "Patriots win by 15+" -vs.- "any other result" on ESPN's Streak For The Cash today, and still think it's a lock, even given the 15 points?

Did anyone else, like I did, have Antonio Gates on their roster, and no back-up? I mean the guy's almost always on the injury report, and how many games has he missed in his career, 2 maybe?

I'll not even mention Vick's SEVEN turnovers in 2 games. OK maybe I just did.

I know how to make fantasy football better, but most traditional FFL-ers aren't gonna like it. The way most leagues have evolved is adding more owners. Hell, I saw some 20- to 24-owner leagues when signing up this season. That's all fine and good if you want one or two studs, and you have that many good friends. I still prefer 10 teams, or 12. Each owner has several studs, and the NFL team depth stays pretty even.

I say starting rosters need to expand - again. A lot of leagues now start 2 QBs. I still am not a proponent of this. Why? Because there are still only 32 starting QBs. What has continued to change in this league each year without fail is the amount of players who are being used at RB and WR. And yes, even TE now too.

I remember when we started 1-2-2-1-1-1.. 8 roster slots. Then a few years later someone noticed that teams' 3rd WRs were having good games, and a 3rd WR was added. Then to help even-out their scoring, or to counter drafting urges, there was a FLEX put in so that 5th RB or WR could be just that.. either.

Perhaps it's time to graduate to 1QB - 3RB - 3WR - 1TE - 1K - 1D? Maybe even two TEs, but starting that 6th RB/WR each week might be fun!

Honest Logos for NFL Teams

Click the image to see the rest!

Via / Source: Grantland

My Team

After 8 Mock drafts and 3 weeks of preparation, this is my main team:

Forte RB
Murray RB
A.Johnson WR
Vick QB
Gates TE
Gore RB
DJackson WR
VJackson WR
Redman RB
Boldin WR
Palmer QB
DWilliams RB
GLittle WR
Gonzo TE
Detroit D/ST
Prater K

I had the 10th pick in a 10 team league.

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On vacation Mon 27th - Wed 29th. Great posts will resume when we get back. See you then!

American Government Spending

Source / Via - (NSFW)

Universal Health Care

"It looks like that 'socialism' thing seems to be working out pretty well for the rest     of the world."



Click the image for the full-page version, or explore the source listed below..

Via / Image Source: Oliver Uberti, National Geographic Blog

Faces of the Franchise

Click to enlarge!                                                                                                 Via

Natasha Lyonne Still wears a Belted Nokia

Via - (NSFW)

The NFL Right Now

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Defensive lines are getting much much stronger as time goes by. The entire line of scrimmage as a whole is being more & more controlled by the defensive side. The value of a QB who can - in 2-3 seconds - escape pressure, and turn a likely sack into anything positive, or even the possibility of a big play, is skyrocketing as we speak. The great QBs of today will accept the worst possible outcome from that point on. There's even a slight few who will usually turn it into something positive.

Fewer and fewer teams are finding RBs who can game-after-game find the holes, produce the extra 3-4 yards more times than not, make the first guy miss, and more importantly do it for four quarters.

Because of this.. defenses are focusing more on stopping the pass, but I still haven't figured out why yet. Superstars at corner and safety don't necessarily make the defense a great defense. The entirety of the center of the field must be controlled, and that's why most corners these days suffer. Once both safeties realize they must control the deep center of the field (8-20 yards from the line), teams might realize that they need to be much more worried about the quality of their players at the line.

Offenses are starting to realize that the "pocket passer" thing isn't working nearly as much as it used to. How Peyton Manning performs next year will be huge news. He and Tom Brady are a bout the only ones left. These two will likely continue to get it done. But I think the trend is more towards a Brees, or a Romo, who routinely turn bad plays into good ones. The other extreme is the Vick & Newton who completely confuse defenses. These two are in a class alone, but because they do the same thing that Brees and Romo do, but from a RB's perspective. If there is ever a player who is so equally both a back and a quarterback, NFL defenses will have their work cut out.

Then again, pressure on the backfield is the key, and the solidity of the line of scrimmage will ultimately win.

Why is San Francisco overrated? Because they don't have the offense to conquer the elite defenses. Dallas? Baltimore? Yeah those are two of them.