Self-defense. Also found him not guilty of felony aggravated assault. Hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
I don’t know how self-defense laws are writtten in other states, but I’m guessing he would have been found guilty of one or both offenses in other locales.

Fresh off hip replacement surgery, Nancy Pelosi, 84, secured another victory. House Democrats on Tuesday afternoon decided that 74-year-old Gerry Connolly—who announced his throat cancer diagnosis in November—will serve as ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, besting 35-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a closed-door caucus vote. "Gerry's a young 74, cancer notwithstanding," said Virginia Democrat Don Beyer, a Connolly ally. Pelosi had opposed the 35-year-old's run for the role, "approaching colleagues urging them to back Connolly over Ocasio-Cortez," Axios reported last week.

Connolly will join fellow septuagenarians in top committee spots next year. Richard Neal, 75, will lead Democrats on Ways and Means while Frank Pallone, 73, will be the party's top representative on Energy and Commerce. Eighty-six-year-old Maxine Waters will be the ranking member on the Financial Services Committee, and Rose DeLauro, 81, will helm the Democrats' presence in Appropriations.

The elderly are not too old to govern. But they may, in this case, be too attached to a failed way of doing things. The job of the Oversight Committee, for instance, is to "ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and all its agencies," including the Pentagon. Connolly this past cycle accepted $118,500 from political action committees linked to the defense sector. Ways and Means is the House's top tax-writing committee, with jurisdiction over the revenue-related aspects of Social Security and Medicare, among other programs. Neal is a top recipient of donations from the insurance industry, having accepted $412,000 from insurance industry PACs during the 2024 campaign cycle, plus generous six-figure donations from HMOs and pharmaceutical companies. Frank Pallone has gotten more than $1 million from electric utilities since joining Congress in 1998.

In other democracies, the leaderships of parties that have endured humiliating defeats like the one Democrats saw in November—or even just regular defeats—resign. That kicks off a process by which members determine a new, ideally more successful direction, represented by different people. But the Democratic Party isn't really a "party" of the sort that exists in other democracies, with memberships and official constituencies, like unions, who have some say over how it's governed. Members mostly make decisions based on their own interests rather than to drive some shared, democratically decided agenda forward.

But the Groundhog Day of it all adds a special layer of dread: Once again, Pelosi and AOC are fighting a proxy battle over the future of the Democratic Party. In 2020, Pelosi squashed AOC's bid to join Energy and Commerce over a perceived lack of loyalty. Now Pelosi has gotten her way again.

This is an early line. Be interesting to see where it goes during the week.

As of 9:00 AM Iowa -1.5 with o/u of 163.5

I doubt that all of those laid-off D voter government workers who go without a paycheck during the holidays will be happy.

https://time.com/7200904/athlete-of-the-year-2024-caitlin-clark/

"Clark is cognizant of the racial underpinnings of her stardom. “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” says Clark. “A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing.”

So disappointed she bent the knee to the woke mob and a league that hates everything about her after being apolitical up to this point.

Jordan Dwyer… looks good to me but his level of competition is suspect but that doesn’t always translate to not being good enough by any means

6pm FOX

Tennessee (6-0) finally faced some real competitive in beating FSU 79-77. They like to get up and down the court and can score in the waves.

Iowa is getting Lucy Olsen back after a two game absence with will be huge for this game.

I think the hawks lose a close one, 82-75

With the ruling that JUCO athletes retain all 4 years of NCAA eligibility regardless if they play at a JUCO for two years, how does that impact recruiting in sports? I would think it makes jucos more enticing for players to attend as they are pretty much a prep school now, especially with DI rosters being cut in most sports. Login to view embedded media

One QB in the stable

Badgers offered already

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Just got a note from a source.

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To me, these 2 make the most sense for Iowa. 1(ish) years that aren't 5+++ stars but very talented i.e., versatile run/pass. Would be pricey, but not Miller Moss type money. Both upgrades to B. Sullivan.

Last night at a middle school basketball game the opposing coach threw a tantrum that would make Fran McCaffrey blush. This idiot not only started cussing out the officials but also started cussing at our boys while flailing his arms and turning psychotic. It got so bad they ended the game with :14 seconds left and a police officer had to escort him off the court.

Middle. School. Basketball.

I won’t mention the number of stupid parents who reeked of marijuana and knew about as much about basketball as MAGAs know about inflation.

Over the years, I have seen this type of behavior get worse and worse. I’m curious what others have seen. Any anecdotes?