One of the lines that’s always stuck in my head from that show is when Bill asks for a ‘smoking section’ in the studio, Dave asks him where he thinks it should be and Bill replies ‘a mobile 10 foot radius around me’.
ETA, last time I went looking for this clip I couldn’t find it. I’m glad someone reuploaded it.
Yeah, call it a character defect, but I wouldn’t be able to resist either.
I shared this story with a friend and he said he’d be totally up for a regular feature of political interviews with people who have the same names of politicians. I could see it.
Too bad Steve King is no longer in Congress, because I’m sure something really interesting could have happened there.
That’s probably my favorite episode of the show.
I could see that as the end bit of a regular podcast. What should the rest of the podcast be?
Ha, that’s one for the books.
(In DeBlasio’s view, “low-class Italians use a little d.“)
OK, I hope you all know not to take that seriously. That is not a thing. He’s just trash-talking, or as vulgar Italians say, rompere le noci. A culture based around mutual male insults.
Of course there was that legendary time some radio DJ in England called the PM’s office in Canada claiming to be calling on behalf of QEII who wished to speak to the PM. And was promptly put through to the PM. Embarrassment ensued.
Where are the sharks with frickin’ laser beams when we need them?
More like, where are the local constabulary? The harrassers can be rounded up easily enough and the context continue after a brief hooligan delay.
Not coming in here to stir any pots, but to post this article, which is so far the best explanation for the Graham Platner situation I’ve read. Full disclosure - I support him against Mills, but will vote for the D whomever they are.
What the National Media is Missing About Maine’s Senate Primary
So recent polling highly favoring Mills is just an “outlier”?
That a majority of younger Democrats back Platner for now is nice. If only younger voters had a greater tendency to actually vote.
Though it’s impressive that the Platner backer who wrote the supportive piece talked to some people who bothered to come out to a Platner rally and shockingly, found few whose support was wavering. 
“If you got it, baby, FLAUNT IT!” isn’t always a great idea.
I am none the wiser after reading the article. What is “NIL money”?
Stands for “Name, Image, and Likeness”. In simple terms NCAA players are now allowed to earn money from their celebrity.
Whereas before NCAA was trying to keep alive the stupid fiction that these “student athletes” were not doing any of this for any current or hoped-for future remuneration. It was all for the love of athleticism. Yeah right. 
And of course since this money they’re now making from their celebrity isn’t being funneled through their college, that keeps the colleges’ hands clean: they’re not paying for a team of pros disguised as students. Nosiree Bob. Nothing to see here.
Yet another reason to hate college sports.
Pre 2021, NCAA players were restricted from any sort of renumeration other than a full scholarship from the school. Even though the schools and staff, especially the coaches, made ludicrous amounts of money from football & basketball, the people most responsible for that money saw almost none of it. But a series of court cases, new laws, and horrible missteps by the NCAA (like selling jerseys with players actual names on them, that the person with that name never saw a single penny from) made it appear that pretty much every NCAA rule restricting players from making money were going to be struck down in court or by legislation. To forestall that, and to come into compliance with laws/rulings already made, the NCAA modified the rules so that players can profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) - so they can make commercials, endorse products, do paid appearances etc. They still don’t actually get paid for playing however.
There are a few reasons the guy in the article was a dick - he’s 25 and in his 7th college season, so he’s certainly never going to go pro (the brass ring for all NCAA football & basketball players). He’s apparently not all that great either. And it’s likely many of his teammates aren’t making any NIL money (if no one knows who you are, no one’s going to pay you to endorse their stuff), so he’s likely pissing them off as well.
Except that in a lot of cases, the “people most responsible for that money” are the student body as a whole and (for public universities) the taxpayers. Most college sports programs are solidly in the red, and only stay afloat by constant infusion of money from the university (often in the form of “athletics fees” paid by all students). Why do universities pay all that money? Because college sports are so important. Why are they so important? Because they make so much money for the school.
To the case at hand, bragging about how you make more money than your teammates is probably crude and rude, but I’m not sure I see how it’s stupid.
In all but a few states, a college coach is the highest-paid state employee, earning more than the president of their college, or even the state’s governor!
I meant the people most responsible for the product that generates the money, not the people who pay it.