Two Things: A Plea for a Return to NO POLITICS; a fun activity to occupy five minutes of your time. Good post Marvin!
Part I. I probably visit this site at least five times a day. There are plenty of sites where I can stoke up the ol' blood pressure with political stuff, but when I visit MGOBLOG what I like is the camaraderie that goes along with being a Michigan sports fan. Period. I look forward to reading even idiotic posts from the smart people who love Michigan sports, but who also know that there is something inherently absurd about it all. In other words, for me at least, this site USED to be a nice break from politics, work, divisiveness etc. Lately, however, I see one post after another that's filled with the same banal right/left nonsense that I'm perpetually bombarded with everywhere else online, and it SUCKS! Can we PLEASE make a pact to keep politics OFF THIS BOARD! I mean what is the fucking point? Is this website really the best place you can find to rave like Lear on the heath about your political views?
Part II. Here is a fun activity! List five of your favorite non-sports Michigan alumni of all time, followed by a few words explaining why they made your list! Remember, they can't have been Michigan athletes. Good job Marvin! Top poster of the day! Here are mine:
1. Marvin (me); top person
2. Arthur Miller: decent playwright, married Marilyn. Wore cool glasses.
3. James Earl Jones: made some of the best chicken soup in the history of soup. Cleared the sinuses right out. I have the recipe beside me as I write. Secret ingredients: fennel and fresh cayenne peppers diced as fine as mush.
4. Theodore Kaczynski: a solid guy and a top-notch mathematician; passionate.
5. Mark Lenard: played Sarek, Spock's dad on the original Star Trek series. I am not a Trekkie, but this seems like a fun fact. He must have been the "non-human" parent of Spock who had no capacity for emotion. This makes him the precise opposite of Marvin's dad, a child of Russian immigrants with an almost unimaginable capacity for unwarranted histrionics.
Hot Ice: you heat up. The ice cubes. It's the best of both worlds!
This is the time to discuss politics.
1,000s of other sites to discuss politics. Doesn’t need to be endlessly discussed on a sports blog.
Yes we should focus on the sports that are happening.
Threads have to be structured properly in order to not fall into political dribble. The 2 I made regarding COVID pathophysiology and economics were engaging and very informative with people who actually know stuff, which makes MGoBlog quite unique compared to other sports blogs.
That’s drivel Cube.
This, however, is not the place to discuss politics... I sincerely hope you're capable of understanding this rather basic idea.
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I like the political convos on this blog. I feel like it's about the only place I can go to get educated opinions from both sides of the aisle.
All I want is balanced, non agenda driven commentary. It seems impossible to find.
At least here I get a smattering of smart opinions on both fronts. Yeah, there's some douche bags that drag everything off the rails, but that's true with every topic, not just politics.
Cheers
Yes. This board has done a good job at mostly keeping it free speech and open for people to put out their points of view.
People calling for mods to delete more posts / users should be mocked and ridiculed. We dont need this place becoming an echo chamber.
Of course most of the "orange man bad" crowd will strongly object.
I can't really say my mind has been changed on political topics here, but there have been many times (including during the past month) that someone with a different view and presenting some facts I didn't know or hadn't considered has really challenged me to consider why I think what I think. That never happens on any other message board I read (and this is the only place I post).
Well stated.
Okay here are mine too OP!
1. HH Holmes
2. Ted Kaczynski
wait a minute...
You forgot 3. Ann Coulter.
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Yeesh.
There are no sports, only Zuul.
Ergo, politics on MGoBlog. They have to keep the clicks coming somehow.
Also, wtf OP? You picked like 3 of everyone's top 5 already.
Unabomber, himself... and who is the 3rd favorite?
This blog needs more politics and name calling.
Sometimes politics would seem like a good alternative to recruiting dong punches.
I'm not sure how you remove politics from many of the issues and decisions we are facing these days from COVID-19. When and how we go back to work, when we reopen our universities, when we resume sports on all levels...these decisions are going to be made by people from various vocations with different interests and agendas, one of which is political.
These days, with no sports taking place, what's the harm? With as much vitriol spewed on some of our purely sports threads, are political threads really that much worse at a time when there is little beyond recruiting to discuss?
Yes. I mean, I’ll take a hot-headed political debate over more recruiting dong punches any day... Please. I’ll even say ‘thank you’ for them!
Damned straight.
YESyesyesyesyes!
Dr Sanjay Gupta - no politics
Jim Hackett - don’t like how he’s running Ford but a good guy
Lucy Liu - Charlie’s Angels
Gerald Ford - goes without saying
David Alan Grier - hilarious, from Detroit
I was thinking Gerald Ford, but he played football...
I always forget about Lucy Liu. She's still smoking hot.
I'll add Gilda Radner and Jack Kevorkian.
As an Indian American who grew up in Northville, my mom wanted nothing more in life than for me to become the next Sanjay Gupta (who's from Novi). "He's so handsome, a doctor AND on TV!!"
Hello fellow Desi who probably disappointed their parents and didn't become a doctor!
My favorite UM non-athlete would be Laurie, the senior in my freshman history class who invited me to join a group of other students at a bar after finals. The crowd gradually melted away until it was just me and Laurie, in her car in a secluded spot. I went home smiling and much wiser.
Although I don't know if she qualifies as a non-athlete. Considering what she was able to do in the back seat of a Camaro, Laurie was VERY athletic. Or at least very bendy.
But she told me her name was Amy...
She was my favorite too.
I think I met her mother when I was at Michigan.
I will break your rule about non-athlete and non-politics by mentioning Gerald Ford! The only Michigan Wolverine who became POTUS.
How is it that a state as large, populous, and awesome as this one has produced only one president? And he only got the job because both Nixon and Agnew were criminals and had to quit.
It's weird.
Fucking Truman
Maybe because there have been 45 presidents and there are 50 states. Plus there was no Michigan until 50 years into the deal.
Even worse, Ford wasn't born in Michigan but 7 presidents were born in Ohno.
There have only been 44 presidents. Cleveland was elected, lost re-election, and ran again after to win. So he’s the only president with two numbers. 22&24
And that’s also assuming you’re talking about since the Constitution was written. There were several under the Articles of Confederation, but history tends to push those aside and not count them.
Look at where most Presidents went to college. Pretty awesome we got at least 1.
Live long and prosper
These COVID threads have become like Olympic Curling threads. People follow it for two weeks and then talk about it like they are experts.
Add a healthy dose of angry political rants, wishing COVID on people with whom you disagree, and no mods, and you’ve got what we have now, MGoToilet.
It’s really disappointing that the mods don’t exercise their power to delete threads more often. I don’t get it.
All clicks are good clicks?
COVID = clicks
I get that but one of the MGoBlog leaders made it clear in the Mod Action Sticky that there should be really only one COVID thread per day.
It ain’t my blog and I’m not a mod, but it would really clean things up if mods were a little more assertive in their moderation. The rules are clear. No politics, if someone starts vomiting their politics in a thread, dump it. Same with any COVID thread after the first one each day.
Top 5 list of alumni.
1. Me, and everyone knows it. All the best people are saying it.
2. Myself - I'm rich and know all the best words.
3. I - am the biggest and best stable genius doing a great, great tremendous job.
4. My wife - She's a ten, everyone know it. My daughter is a ten too.
5. The best people - the one's who support me and the perfect job I do.
that was a perfect post... huge and perfect
so plus 1
I vote for a complete moratorium on COVID posts -- like immediate removal.
4 weeks into stay at home orders we're to the point where the discussions conform to a "template":
Person1: Lockdown sucks
Person2: It's for the good of society
P1: Fuck you
P2: Fuck you more idiot
There's nothing new on the thought leadership or cogent discussion front. It's just rinse, lather, repeat from day to day.
Then there will be nothing on the board. And no clicks means no ad revenue.
Then you and I will have to set aside our political differences and start our own MGoBlog, with blackjack and hookers.
But but but Front Page.
.
.
.
BTW... I'm okay with any political differences you and I have. We don't line up 100% but we do agree on things. Never negged you for expressing an opinion.
Considering the social distancing rules, you'll have to make it blackjack and phone sex girls. It's still lucrative, though. You'd be amazed how fast $4.95 a minute ads up.
Or so they tell me.
Phone sex? Not a good idea.
Hey baby, whatcha wearing?
(I think conversation about personal grooming is completely out the window though)