diehardtwinsfan

If people are concerned about vote fraud, then they should be downright frightened by the electronic voting system put in place. I don't know if it's been used in that capacity, but what I can say for certain is the lack of security controls in place certainly allows for it (this is coming from someone who understands IT security all too well given that this is in part of what I do for a living). Back to voter ID. It's a mix Smerf, and I think you know it. I agree there's issues there, but it's also born as a reaction to a very real problem. Sadly, this one is probably solvable, as there are reasonable ways to put some basic voter verification out there without it turning into Jim Crow part 2. The problem, like always, are rather vocal groups of people on each side who are for more concerned about shouting really loud then coming up with solutions.

How about the simple fact that both Hillary and her husband should be jail (for very different reasons)? Perhaps it is b/c no one has ever bothered to investigate the family for insider trading. Or perhaps it is the trail of dead bodies that has followed her family for the last few decades. Perhaps it is because her husband (while being one of the better Presidents in my life time, which not a complement btw) was an absolute embarrassment of human character, who knows. That family is Teflon, and it's something that Bill took advantage of quite nicely, and Hillary in her career has managed to do as well. Scandal after scandal has followed them and somehow disappeared, and while I have no doubt that some of this is simply BS by people looking for a reason to 'hate' her, way too much of it is very real. Perhaps hate is a strong word, and I understand (I think) where you're coming from Chi, but there's good reason why people on the right consider her evil. The evidence is there if you want to look, and the fact that this is already being framed into choosing between the lesser of two evils ought to give most rational people pause. Hillary is NOT a good candidate. She may satisfy a few your bigger personal fears, and she might be the lesser of evils with Trump (and I'm not saying that to be clear); but this country cannot afford another Clinton in the WH, just as they couldn't afford a 2nd year of Bush (or really 1st in retrospect), Obama, or Trump. Honestly, this country cannot afford many more years of Dems and Reps. We have real problems in this country that neither party is addressing. Eventually, those chickens come home to roost. This is why I started voting independent back in 2004, and it's why I'll continue. Both parties are so corrupt at the core that if things don't change soon, this country is going to be in for a whole world of hurt. I just hope enough people wake up to it sooner than later. It may already too late. That's one thing a lot of those Republicans that hate Hillary have figured out. Unfortunately, they haven't figured out that their proposed solution is also part of the problem.

I guess the question with Nunez really lies on whether or not he's going to be here when the team is competitive again. If the FO is not sold on Buxton, Sano, Kepler, Arcia, and the other young guys in AAA/MLB, then yeah, trade him. If they think this can be the next wave, then keep him unless you get a good offer. Otherwise, you're always selling.

So are we posting to the death now or are we expecting the Twins game to do that for us?

Maybe he just liked Major League?

Inflation hurts just about anyone but the super elite. But don't kid yourself, the rich benefit from it because (as you pointed out), they can make their money work from them. Likewise, that 3% COL adjustment they get on 6/7 figure incomes outpaces the increases in the basic costs of living, something that the poor just don't get. It's a regressive tax, and a nasty one at that. The simple fact is that wages are the last to rise and expenses are the first to rise, and over the last few decades, expenses have far outpaced wages. The poor get destroyed in that arrangement, and it is the biggest reason for while the bottom parts of the middle class are transitioning to the poor. As for whether or not it's unreasonable for those in higher brackets to pay higher taxes, I tend to think that everyone should pay the same percentage of tax. You may not like it, but as the rules are currently set, the richest of the rich are paying the lowest taxes, not the highest, as they have the ability to get the rules to work in their favor. Our problem is that we've built so many exceptions and loopholes into the tax code that the code is some massive 70000 page tome that no one can understand and that has ways out for too many people, socking the pressure of taxes on everyone else. That's before we get into the real problem with how those tax dollars are wasted. It's a different issue, but as someone who works with government workers on a near daily basis, let's just say that your dollars could be spent far more efficiently.

I think you guys are really underestimating just how disliked Clinton is. I'm no Trump supporter to be clear, but plenty of people will show up and vote for him b/c he's not her. He has the same problem I might add, but Clinton is no shoe in.

I'm quite the picky eater as well.

Let's tone down on the bickering please.

I do like Cider, but that isn't beer in my opinion.

More into reds than whites. Whites are too sweet.

OK, I seriously don't get this. Cody didn't sign with us b/c we came in and offered him less after his physical. It's well within his right to bet on himself, and I don't understand why we should wish that on him. Besides, given his performance his senior year, it was a good thing he didn't sign as we'd likely be calling him a bust right now.

correct. OF, DH, and 1B knowing the Grossman and Buxton are the only real CFs of the group... but it can be done. That was my main point. I want Arcia getting consistent PT.

just looked him up. Not the worst pick. Probably a ceiling of a back end starter but his K and BB numbers improved in his 3 years at airforce. He did a good job keeping the ball in the park too.

quite possibly. they may need to punt on a pick or two to make sure they get everyone from yesterday under contract.

I suspect Chargois will get some low leverage opportunities to start... but if Molly doesn't use him, well let's just say I have no words. Other than Abad, is there anyone in the pen that is trustworthy right now?

I just never acquired a taste for it... not from lack of trying. I like my wines though.

This is probably more addressing a weakness in the low minors. We have corner guys in the high minors galore, and several are very flawed in their approach. There's not much for decent hitting in the low minors right now.

This times a million. Catchers are some of the hardest to get ready for the big leagues, and a lot of it is defense. Mauer spoiled us in many ways. I wouldn't expect to see him any time soon. If we're really lucky, he's in Cedar Rapids next year, but EST is a very real possibility.

I'd take the under on 9.5 save opportunities Though given the state of the pen, if he pitches well, Molitor might pitch his arm off and given him 3 innings a night.

The kid is in high school. He won't be sniffing a major league roster for at least four years, and of the starting pitching available, you have higher floor quick to rise college guys with a low ceiling or higher ceiling slow to rise high school guys. The MLB draft rarely has a guy that can solve a team's need within the year. If they did, that guy usually goes in the top 5 picks.

makes sense. He's on the 40 man. He gets a 15 day cup of coffee, and if he pitches half as well as he did in AAA, he'll stay.

As I said before, fair tax is not my first choice. I just think it's better than what we have, especially since it provides the minimum income Brock was mentioning (which is why I brought it up, as I was somewhat curious where he fell on that). It also has a nice benefit of forcing people to see just how much of their money is being taken from them (the current income tax system tends to hide that). I'm referring more to inflation though. That is far worse than a national sales tax, especially one where they pre-bate you a monthly allowance. Inflation is an insidious regressive tax as the value of what few dollars the poor have gets siphoned off. It discourages saving and encourages debt (which also enslaves). Poverty as a percentage in this country has increased over the years. Inflation is the main culprit for that, and the worst part is that the official numbers hide it. The official stats report on core inflation which is carefully rigged to exclude things like fuel, healthcare, and other things that everyone depends on. Simply put, incomes aren't rising as fast as expenses are, and the net effect is more poverty in higher percentages.

that's fine. They need ceiling, and the college ranks don't have a lot of it this year. I'm not going to be critical even though I'd have liked one of those prep arms at 1-15 b/c they went out and got ceiling. Sure, they didn't go get a Matt Manning, but every one of these guys could be an above average bat at their position. I like that a lot, and it really does veer away from their typical tendencies (drafting safe college arms in the 2nd round).

Wasn't he considered a potential 1st rounder a few years ago? If so, not a bad guy to take a flier on, but then again, he's not being considered in the 1st now b/c he didn't do well against advanced competition. I'd be curious what the reason for that was.