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The Tampa Bay Rays, for the first time in their history, will actually play their home games in Tampa. The team’s home slate will take place at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees.

Encouraging: https://www.carolinajournal.com/libertarians-played-spoiler-in-key-nc-elections-prompting-dialogue-with-major-parties/

Interesting read: WSJ Going to war is now a rational economic choice in Russia’s impoverished hinterlands. Facing heavy losses in Ukraine, Russia is offering high salaries and bonuses to entice new recruits. In some of the country’s poorest regions, a military wage is as much as five times the average. The families of those who die on the front lines receive large compensation payments from the government. These are life-changing sums for those left behind. Russian economist Vladislav Inozemtsev calculates that the family of a 35-year-old man who fights for a year and is then killed on the battlefield would receive around 14.5 million rubles, equivalent to $150,000, from his soldier’s salary and death compensation. That is more than he would have earned cumulatively working as a civilian until the age of 60 in some regions. Families are eligible for other bonuses and insurance payouts, too. “Going to the front and being killed a year later is economically more profitable than a man’s further life,” Inozemtsev said, a phenomenon he calls “deathonomics.”

I agree with all your points. I honestly, as of right now, would put the Rays at a 50/50 chance of leaving Florida permanently before 2028. The November 21 vote will go a long way in revealing the local sentiment. To me, this is the most interesting MLB story this offseason to this point.

I have always found the Yankees to be offensive 😉

This is a really good piece on the challenges the Rays new ballpark faces going forward. https://www.draysbay.com/2024/11/11/24293445/the-rays-new-stadium-plan-might-lose-its-funding

Indeed. I read that as well. I think they did that only a year ago. Perfect timing!

Tropicana Field will not be ready for play until at least the start of the 2026 season, according to a three-week damage assessment report provided to the St. Petersburg City Council and reviewed by The Athletic on Tuesday. The 412-page report, published by Hennessy Construction Services, estimates that the total cost of repairs will be $55.72 million following significant damage to the facility due to Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10.

I commended Harris for acknowledging the election results early and calling Trump that evening. I would hate to see the reverse happen at the inauguration. But who knows.

Our son went to a parochial school all twelve years. He met his wife there. No regrets at all.

Ah, late stage capitulation.

So what do you say to the millions of inner city kids that don’t have a chance in hell of getting a decent education and have zero options of escaping the trap they’re in? These public schools are literally failing these kids and their future. Are vouchers not a better choice if the kid can find better options than some holding cell until they can quit? Politicians talk all kinds of promises but they aren’t interested in really addressing the problems that I’ve seen.

Competition will do that. The better options will generally come out ahead in a free market.

Vouchers aren’t a scam. The state of North Carolina’s Constitution promises that every child in NC is to be provided a good education. If the current status quo isn’t working, and that’s up for debate, the General Assembly can approve vouchers that go to the child/family rather than funding the school itself. The money follows the child, not the school. The Democrats in North Carolina oppose any system or plan that doesn’t tie the student to their district school. Like any other state, NC has schools that are not serving the purpose set forth in our constitution. Vouchers are not a scam.

If you look at the way Harris ended up at the top of the D ticket, it does raise questions about the expectations of success. She was the first out in the 2020 primary. She wasn’t moving the needle at all and wisely dropped out. She was hand picked because of her gender and color to be the 2020 VP. And lastly, Harris was literally handed the top of the ticket to defend in the general election. She was never “elected” for anything after leaving the senate. Yes, she was elected with Biden in 2020, if that’s any consolation. In my opinion the Biden administration never gave her any real responsibilities that would allow her to pad her resume. Being serious, this jumps out at me. I wonder if this combination of circumstances had ever occurred in a presidential race before. I would doubt it.

Well played.

Do you believe third party votes cost Harris the election?

Musk for Postmaster General 😉

The Department of Education (ED) misled taxpayers for decades. Policymakers have claimed that the federal student loan program would pay for itself—this is utterly false. In fact, because of faulty budgeting, this system has been costing taxpayers billions each year. Despite this, Democrats are still lobbying the Biden administration to enact massive loan forgiveness. Here’s what you need to know… NEW ANALYSIS by a government watchdog finds that ED radically underestimated the true cost of the federal student loan program. While originally expected to generate revenue for the federal government, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office analysis finds that ED underestimated the cost of the federal Direct Loan program by $311 billion. ———— A few dollars here and a few dollars there and pretty soon…

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who awaits trial in a sexual abuse case, was arrested for his involvement in an armed altercation in the Dominican Republic countryside, police said Monday. Meregirdo Espinosa, a Dominican police spokesman, told The Associated Press the altercation happened in a parking lot in San Juan de la Maguana, a city that is located 116 miles (187 kilometers) west of Santo Domingo. Franco was arrested Sunday. Another man and a woman were also detained, and two firearms were seized, police said. Espinosa said one of the guns presumably belonged to Franco, who was allegedly fighting with the other man over the woman's attention.

President-elect Donald Trump is selecting former congressman Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a role with considerable influence over the incoming administration’s energy and regulatory agenda.

Nothing other than an fyi. Not you specifically, but I would guess there are others here that may not have realized that we actually educated many generations successfully prior to the existence of DOE.

Who do you think is paying the tab on the $240 billion 2024 budget for the boondoggle DOE? It’s the little guy. How much say does the little guy have in deciding where that money is spent? There is a gentleman that oversees a private school system that is between 6,000-7,000 students the last I checked. This gentleman made his money in business and was very successful prior to founding these schools. In the past two years he opened one of his schools in the Wake Forest area. He did this in an existing building that a communications company moved out of due to competition in their industry. The attendance at this particular school is in the hundreds. Unless something changed very recently, this school is tuition free. The school had to turn parents away because it was immediately filled as soon as news was out before the doors actually opened. Need more of these stories.

The DOE, in its present state, has only been around since 1980.

Regarding the immigration conversation as it related to the election, it is reported that 20% of voters considered that as the number concern through this election cycle. The other top concern was inflation. Not surprising on either count.