#Utah is officially my least favorite state

[spatteringstars]

Alright, now that I can have *coherent thoughts* because what the actual fuck Wilbur Soot, my brain was melting, here are some genuine thoughts on the characters and lore :')

Spoilers for the Wilbur Soot finale btw if you couldn't tell

So- let's start with Wilbur (duh?). This entire apology arc has just been pain after pain leading to this and I love it as an author but I hate it as a fan because it makes me sad. Phil told him he needed to heal on his own even if people didn't forgive him... so he did. Fundy didn't forgive him and ran away to get away from him- Wilbur didn't forgive himself and ran away to save Tommy the pain of having to do it himself. Wilbur freed Tommy from Dream, then he freed his little brother from himself. Niki taught him that everyone deserves happiness, Wilbur went back to Utah to find it. Wilbur saw what it looked like when Tommy hated him, when he was unforgivable, and he decided he'd do anything to never see that again. "Never trust an American" - "Never trust me (we all heard that much. I'm not going to pretend its profound). Never trust me, I've showed you what happens when you trust me. You lose your lives, you loose me, and even if you loose nothing, I can make you believe you've lost everything." I would love to say that this had an impact on his character from the very creation of Lmanberg, but it started and ended with sillies so we're just gonna let them all be sillies and goddammit I need at least one thing to laugh about right now let me HAVE THIS.

He left to go find peace. He followed in Phil's footsteps, he left Tommy to watch as he took Wilbur away from him; he followed in Fundy's footsteps, he ran away. For all Wilbur preaches about himself being a leader and the only fit to be in positions of power, he sure as hell doesn't make his own paths. For all his bravado, Wilbur follows.

If this was the end of cTommy in the dsmp, I will be even more sad. If this is legitimately it for him, then I don't know how to possibly spin it into a happy ending for him. But I'm going to start my genuine analysis further back.

The start of the apology arc: do we all believe that Tommy didn't hear a single word of the advice Phil gave Wilbur? I don't. He was probably right outside the door listening in and finding a growing hope that his brother would realize his mistakes and then they could find happiness again. Together. That "Wilbur" as he stood outside the doorway was hopeful, expectant even. He was disappointed, but he's learned to not expect perfection from Wilbur so he sticks with him. Even if he has to wait, even if he, the one closest to Wilbur, is the last to receive an apology, he'll get to be happy with his big brother again.

Then the discs. Its something of a final straw. He wants to trust Wilbur. Even if he's hesitant, he still gives in and he trusts him. Then Wilbur threatens to destroy himself and he destroys the discs. He has attempted to burn two of Tommy's greatest treasures. But again, he wants to trust Wilbur, so he apologizes and Tommy forgives him. Again.

Wilbur takes him past where Boner was killed. Tommy hates it, this is where Ranboo lost a life because of him, where Wilbur lied and denied that he hurt Tommy. Wilbur acts like its a good thing. Tommy realizes that Wilbur still hasn't healed. This isn't the man who started the drug van with him. Wilbur tells him he's going far far away and the last time he saw him he was threatening to kill himself for Tommy's sake. What else is Tommy supposed to think? If he's leaving Tommy, then this has to be his apology because he wouldn't just not realize how much he hurt him right? Right? And if he's willing to go to that lengths for the discs, then why not for justice. Then he says he going to Utah. He's American, the reason they started L'manberg. It's all been a lie. He asks in the way he was taught by dream, hurt them, dig in where you know it hurts with your words, demand, and when words fail, use violence.

"I don't know why I did that... I didn't use to be this angry" You used to be a kid and in many ways you still are. You used to be happy, you used to trust, you used to know you were loved. And now Wilbur is trying to leave and that last bit of your childhood it starting to look further and further away Tommy.

AND THEN HE SAYS THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD! WHY CAN'T YOU EVER SAY SORRY. And then Wilbur says he's leaving because if someone doesn't fogive you you have to accept that and get out of their life because he doesn't believe Tommy could eve forgive him. And then we get the Utah reveal and the "it can't end like this" because how can everything that they've stuck together through and the death and pain they've endured, how can it all culminate in Wilbur running back to a gas station in Utah. And even as Wilbur says the discs and dream were an apology, he can't even say the words "I'm sorry in reference to it. Tommy tells him to forgive himself because maybe, just maybe, if they're still brothers bonded together, Wilbur will keep that part of his heart that is Tommy and he'll choose to stay.

Tommy gets his apology (I would kill to know what that book says) and they both laugh as Wilbur rows off into the sea towards Utah. But Tommy's laughs are choked with sobs that Wilbur doesn't hear over the sound of his coming freedom. And then he's gone and for the second time, Tommy has watched Wilbur leave. For the who even knows how many-th time, someone doesn't give Tommy the only thing he wants: For someone to stay and love him.

Wilbur's gone and Tommy is left on a beach (not Logstedshire this time) crying, alone, and in the rain. Exile broke Tommy because he was alone. Tommy is alone, so he breaks.

[alliluyevas]

@oysterish-sympathies this is a great question! The answer is complicated and depends partially on the time period and the individual family.

I’m putting this under a cut because it’s insanely long lol

Just some context introduction before I get into the actual doctrine on the subject: when Joseph Smith (and a select few other high ranking members of the Mormon Church) began the practice of Mormon polygamy in Nauvoo, Illinois, they did so in secret and this practice was not widely known in the broader church. Doctrine & Covenants 132 was the revelation regarding polygamy that Joseph Smith claimed to have received during this time period (in 1843), but again it wasn’t publicized until after his murder in 1844.

Some background on the composition of Joseph Smith’s revelations including D&C 132: these revelations were dictated by Smith, who seems to have been overall much more comfortable with oral as opposed to written communication, to a scribe (in the case of 132, it was his brother Hyrum). The revelations are spoken in the narrative voice of God, and the Mormon church party line is that God was speaking through Smith in his role as prophet.

The part of D&C 132 that is relevant to your question is towards the end where God/Joseph Smith addresses Emma Smith (his first/legal wife) by name and, through her, other first wives. After explicitly threatening Emma with eternal damnation if she doesn’t comply with polygamy a few times, the revelation introduces something called the Law of Sarah. Initially, this states that the husband must have the first wife’s consent to marry the second (or, presumably, further wives), much like the Biblical Sarah gave Abraham her consent to take Hagar as a second wife. However, then two paragraphs later the revelation completely backtracks on this presumably because while dictating this Smith realized he had accidentally implied Emma would have real veto power and he needed to give himself a loophole.Then, we get the Law of Sarah restated as only applying to first wives who accept that polygamy is God’s law, and that wives who deny this have no say and are the “transgressor” against God’s laws and their husband can override their wishes and marry whomever he wants. So basically if the first wife accepts the basic tenant of polygamy, she has say in who the plural wives might be, but she doesn’t get to have a say in whether there will be plural wives at all.

(Note: on the reality tv show Sister Wives, which portrays a modern Mormon polygamist family, they seem to have interpreted this theological doctrine to apply not just to the consent of the first wife but of all existing wives in the selection of subsequent wives, because when Kody wants to take Robyn as his fourth wife, they definitely portray this as something that he needs the collective approval of wives #1-3 for, removing the at-least-theoretically-privileged position of the first wife implied in the Law of Sarah. However, from my memory of my years-ago watch of Sister Wives, at least two of the three existing wives’s approval seems to be very unenthusiastic and conflicted. So like, in general whether you interpret this doctrine as applying to the first wife or to all existing wives, there’s a loophole written quite explicitly into the idea of the Law of Sarah and in general it is definitely a situation of de facto male authority)

Okay, let’s step away from the doctrine and into the actual practice of polygamy. Back in early days, as you’ll remember, polygamy is not yet publicly part of Mormon religious practice and Joseph Smith is a stealth polygamist. During this time period, he’s living with Emma and their young children in what externally appears to be a typical monogamous household, while secretly having a variety of plural wives who did not live with him. There is no shared household and, as far as we can tell, he did not father children with any of the plural wives. So there’s definitely a pretty strong delineation between Emma’s situation and the situation of the plural wives. However, I don’t think we can necessarily view this as deference to the first wife: while Emma’s situation and that of the plural wives were obviously very different, none of the women involved in this seem to have been exactly thrilled with the situation to say the least and there was clearly a lot of religious coercion (carrot and stick of salvation and damnation, promised by their prophet/husband) being used to get them to comply and go against what they had been taught their whole lives was the natural order of marriage. (There are also obviously some extremely troubling implications here regarding sexual consent, especially for the plural wives). Again, I think we’re very much looking at a situation where patriarchal and religious authority are being dual wielded by the men against the women in their own interest.

In later years, once the Mormon Church colonizes Utah and Brigham Young institutes polygamy as the official and open doctrine of Mormonism, the situation looks very different because nothing is secret anymore, polygamy is status quo, mixed households are the norm, and especially in later generations you’re looking at women who have been raised to believe that this way of life is both normal and the will of God. So you’re not going to see as much pushback from either first wives or potential plural wives as you did in Joseph Smith’s period, because they’re not being completely blindsided by something that goes against their sense of morality and social norms. I don’t think that necessarily means that later polygamy was any better for women, it’s just that they were less likely to express open dissent and that the exercise of religious coercion came more in terms of lifelong indoctrination than a sudden onslaught meant to convert them to this new system of marriage. I also want to point out that I’m not saying that every 19th century Mormon polygamist was abusive or coercive towards his wives or that every plural wife was clearly desperately unhappy. I just think that those are the roots of the doctrine and that it’s a system rooted in an absolutist sense of male authority with a high potential for mistreatment.

Once polygamy has been established as the norm, I wanted to get more into your question of hierarchy among wives in terms of how polygamy was practiced. One point I’d like to make: the majority of Mormon polygamists had only two wives. Church doctrine taught that you needed to embrace polygamy in order to be exalted in heaven, but for logistical and financial reasons, having more than two wives was out of reach for most men (they also may have viewed it as emotionally overly complicated, I’m sure). It’s really only the upper echelons of church leadership that you’re seeing with wife numbers in the double digits. So obviously the dynamics in a household that has Husband, Wife #1, and Wife #2 is going to be very different than a household with Brigham Young and thirty different women living under one roof, both in terms of how the wives interact with their husband and, perhaps more crucially for your question, how they interact with each other.

Typically, you might often see the first wife taking on a head-of-household role among the women, because she was the most established and also almost certainly the oldest. (While, again, really striking and disturbing age gaps were more common with church leadership, the first wife was more likely to be close in age to the husband, who would then continue to marry young women as he himself aged). The stereotype was that the first wife ran the household but the second wife was the husband’s favorite because she was younger and prettier, and I’m sure that was the case in a lot of families. (That also seems like it would breed extreme resentment on both parts, potentially). However, particularly as the number of wives goes up, you can also see other practical matters have effect in terms of who did what and who had what authority--a wife with ten kids, a wife with four kids, and a childless wife would have different positions and duties in the household. A wife who was viewed as intelligent or better educated might end up serving as schoolteacher for the family’s collective children.

In Brigham Young’s household, one of his wives, Zina Huntington Young, was seen as a figure of authority and admiration among the other women because she was very intelligent and had strong leadership skills, even though she wasn’t the oldest or had the most children or anything. Sometimes in bigger polygamist families the man almost becomes less important in determining who stands where, because there are so many women they kind of have their own community standards. Brigham Young didn’t decide his other wives would see Zina as a leader, they did. There are definitely situations where the husband’s actions directly affect relationships and power balance between wives, though. In 1863, 61-year-old Brigham Young married 24-year-old Amelia Folsom who was apparently extremely pretty and became the recipient of a lot of favoritism and special treatment from her husband, which seems to have pissed off the other wives to some degree because they felt Amelia’s presence and Brigham’s treatment of her was upending their normal household structure and elevating her above the others. So sexual favoritism on the part of the husband could also have an impact on wife power structure. (Interestingly, this seemed to sometimes brook more resentment than wives taking on more status within the family because they were older/more experienced or because they had a special skill, at least in Amelia’s case).

This is a long ass post, but I hope you/other people find it informative!

[curewhimsy]

Shiro-Sora chapter one outline

I can’t believe I actually got this out...

———

Quiet and reserved Uta Utane is going to her first day of Sonare Community College, a primarily music college, one morning. That evening she will relocate to the dorms.

She passes by a person who is lost on campus and needs directions. Uta doesn’t know the campus well, but unlike most people, she is patient and at least tries to help. The person ends up being very grateful to Uta.

The person Uta tried to help was Taya Soune. Taya is soft-spoken, introverted, and doesn’t have many friends. Taya ends up remembering Uta’s kindness for the rest of the day. While Uta was talking to him, Taya wanted her to stay with him longer. When Uta eventually went off on her own after not being able to help with directions, Taya felt a bit wistful.

Uta ends up having an eventful day at school, meeting a lot of zany classmates with weird quirks.

In first period class, Uta meets a girl named Miki who is quite eccentric, is passionate about anime, and acts rather animated herself. At first Miki gives Uta the nickname “Defoko” because she bluntly declares that she seems like such a “default” type of person, but soon realizes Uta is more of a “kuudere”... whatever those terms mean. The nickname “Defoko” still seems to stick around, however.

(The nickname “Defoko” is from the word “default” in Japanese katakana, pronounced as “deforuto,” coupled with “ko,” a common ending in Japanese girls’ names. “Kuudere” is a term meaning “cool on the outside, loving on the inside.” It is taken from the English word “cool,” (“kuuru” in Japanese,) and the Japanese onomatopoeia “deredere,” which means “lovey-dovey.”)

Miki’s best friend, Iroha, appears to be a lover of everything cute and cheerful. Iroha is quite the Hello Kitty enthusiast as well. Iroha often is saying “nyaa” when she’s in a daze, which happens when she comes across anything she finds cute. However, Iroha is insecure and does not find herself cute. Miki constantly reassures Iroha and says she is adorable.

Uta is surprised at first that Miki and Iroha are in college and are still acting like high school girls... or even younger, for that matter.

Anon is a girl who sometimes fights with her sister Kanon, even though they appear to be on the same wavelength... And they’re up to trouble. Anon likes to attempt to get out of trouble by referencing her name. “It wasn’t me... it was anonymous.” In Uta’s second period, the teacher pulls up what’s supposed to be a boring video to introduce the class. But instead, it’s a link to watch Space Jam on a pirated movie website. Anon switched the links when nobody was looking. The professor’s computer freezes from computer viruses and the entire class is forced to watch Space Jam. Anon is also apparently a hobbyist mime.

Kanon is Anon’s sister, and in second period she wouldn’t stop playing Careless Whisper on her kazoo. Apparently she is training to be a real circus clown because she loves making people laugh. In second period, the professor finally was able to exit out of the Space Jam link. “Now, all of you, do NOT press the link.” He says. But what does Kanon do when she’s faced with a button and the command “do not press?” She presses it! Now the next period gets to watch Space Jam too!

Daina is in Uta’s third period class. Uta hails Daina for finally being someone “normal” and trustworthy at first... until she found out about Daina’s eccentric taste in music, dramatic poetry, crazy obsession with foxes, and tendency to howl at the full moon. And that’s not even touching on her close friendship with Dex, a wolf-obsessed guy who howls at the moon with her.

Dex is a rather eccentric guy who is energetic, yet emotional inside. He likes EDM music and despite his eccentricities, is chill and easy to talk to. Uta respects him in a certain way, aside from the other “weirdos” she met that day, Dex seems very wise and thoughtful.

Basically, Daina and Dex are furries. They’re also theater kids, and low-key emo in a way. And they’ve been best friends since second grade.

Teto is in Uta’s fourth period. She immediately latches on to Uta. Teto mentions Uta looking gloomy and wants her to smile. Teto is quite bubbly and friendly, although she is childish and doesn’t like to be teased. Uta does end up teasing Teto a bit. But it is playful and good intentioned. Teto teases Uta back a bit. They seem to develop a friendship of playful teasing for now.

Aku is in Uta’s fourth period. She seems a little lonely. Uta actually goes out of her own way to talk to Aku this time. Aku tells Uta about the sky. It’s pretty, but... it seems so lonely that we can’t fly up and visit it. Aku had always wanted wings and magic. She gives Uta a spiel about what she would do if she had magic. She would use it to cast away negativity and evil, which is ironic, considering her name is pronounced like the Japanese word for evil, “aku.” Aku prefers to be called by a nickname, Akurin. Uta agrees to call her that.

Clara is in Uta’s final fifth period class. She transferred to the United States from Colombia at the start of high school. She is friendly and cheerful. She is quite doting, somehow feeling like both a mother and a little sister at the same time. Clara says hello to everyone in the class and tries to get acquainted with her classmates. Everyone in the class admires Clara’s friendliness. Uta is a bit shy. She stutters saying her name. Clara thinks her name is Utah. Uta is too embarrassed to correct her. Clara also is already giving invites to the entire class for karaoke, claiming “This class is my favorite so far. Everyone has been so friendly!” Uta actually thinks about going...

Ruko is in fifth period too, and makes fast acquaintances with Clara. Ruko is a very tall person, six feet two. She is non-binary. Ruko is outgoing and also very mature. She admires Clara’s strength to push herself out to everyone she meets. The two chat for a bit. Ruko notices Uta looking a little gloomy and invites her to join in the conversation. This is when Uta tells Clara her name. Ruko believes Uta’s name is Yuuta for a while.

After a wild day, Uta concludes that college is officially weirder than high school.

When Uta is moving to her new dorm room after school, she comes across Taya, who she stopped to help that morning, while at the top of a hill with a pretty scenic view... However, Uta doesn’t remember him. But Taya remembers her.

“Um... Hello.” Uta hears a voice calling out to her.

“Yeah? What is it?” Uta responds. Her manner of speech is rather informal.

Taya approaches.

“Um, I just...” He is rather shy. “I wanted to thank you for your kindness from this morning.”

Taya bows formally, even though they’re in the USA...

Uta feels she is involved in a mix-up.

“I’m sorry... I think you‘ve got the wrong person.” She says.

“Oh...” Taya says. “Maybe you don’t remember me. But... I remember you. You helped me with directions. Well... you didn’t really know the way either, but just the thought of stopping to help... Please, tell me how I can repay you!”

Taya gives another deep bow. Uta starts to think Taya is a little strange.

“Um... you really don’t have to do anything, seriously.” Uta says. “Helping people out is human decency. It was nothing, really.”

“Yet I am so grateful...” Taya says again.

“Well then, um...” Uta starts saying. “How about... you tell me your name? Then we can call it even.”

“Oh, my name is Taya.” Taya says. “Taya Soune. What is yours?”

“I’m Uta Utane.” Uta says. “Well, nice to meet you.”

“Ah! Likewise!” Taya says, with a smile. He is still a bit shy, but he feels like he and Uta are no longer strangers to each other.

They get to the dorms together. The manager of the room tells them their designated room numbers and... WHAT? Uta and Taya happen to be roommates!

“Well, what a coincidence!” She says. “You two already know each other. Well I hope you enjoy living together!”

Taya bows... again.

“Sorry for the trouble I’m going to be causing you.” He says.

“Wait, please don’t apologize...” Uta says. “It’s okay... I’m glad my roommate is someone so considerate. Don’t feel like you have to apologize.”

“Okay.” Taya says.

Once they’re in the room, they have their stuff delivered shortly. They unpack clothes and such. Taya’s clothes are all fancy and posh menswear. Uta’s are mostly all casual and somewhat boyish, T-shirts, jeans, hoodies. Uta asks if Taya forgot to pack any casual clothes. Taya answers that this is just how he always dresses.

“Even to sleep?” Uta asks.

“Don’t judge me...” Taya says.

They eventually have a conversation about why they chose to attend Sonare Community College.

Taya is passionate about music. He has played the cello and taken vocal lessons since middle school. He came to Sonare to enrich his skills and continue down his path. He also confesses his interest in musical theatre, but being too shy previously. He thought about starting it once he came to Sonare.

Uta’s major is music and she had been playing the violin since childhood. However, she lost her passion long ago. She only continued playing the violin since she already came so far. She doesn’t feel the desire to disclose her lack of passion to Taya, considering how passionate Taya seems to be about music and theatre. Uta would just put a damper on his spirits, she feels.

Somewhere along the way, Uta learns that Taya is non-binary. Uta has heard of that term before, but hearing Taya explain non-binary gender in more detail makes Uta begin to relate to the idea and slowly start to question her own gender identity.

That night, before they sleep, Taya asks Uta something. He did just meet her, but he already trusts her a lot.

“Um... I’m terribly sorry. I’m so, so terribly sorry, but... I have something I want to ask of you... I’m so sorry!” Taya says.

“Well... you haven’t even told me what it is yet. Quit being sorry and tell me.” Uta says.

“W-Well...” Taya says. “You see... Remember when I wanted to be in musical theatre? It’s... it’s always been my dream... to perform a certain play with everyone... but... I feel I just can’t push myself alone. Uta, I trust you a lot, so... would you join the theatre club with me?”

There is silence.

“Well...” Uta starts saying.

“Ah, I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but... um... I’ve always been shy and timid, but... when I’m with a friend like you, I don’t feel as scared. It would mean so much to me, and I promise I’ll repay you...”

“...You don’t have to repay me.” Uta says.

“Huh?” Taya answers.

“You know, I really don’t really have any interest in theatre but... if you want it that much, I’ll do it, okay?”

“Ah, really?” Taya smiles. “Thank you so much...”

“Yeah...” Uta says. “Maybe it could be fun...”

That night, as Uta is falling asleep, it sinks in that Taya called her a friend. Feeling grateful she made friends with such an earnest person, she hopes their bond will continue to grow.

[patriotsnet]

What Republicans Voted No On Health Care Bill

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-republicans-voted-no-on-health-care-bill/

What Republicans Voted No On Health Care Bill

Republicans Promote Pandemic Relief They Voted Against

McCain Says He Will Vote ‘No’ On GOP Health Care Bill

NEW YORK Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said it pained her to vote against the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

But in the weeks that followed, the first-term Republican issued a news release celebrating more than $3.7 million from the package that went to community health centers in her district as one of her achievements. She said she prided herself on bringing federal funding to the district and back into the pockets of taxpayers.

Malliotakis is far from alone.

Every Republican in Congress voted against the sweeping pandemic relief bill that President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. But since the early spring votes, Republicans from New York and Indiana to Texas and Washington state have promoted elements of the legislation they fought to defeat.

GOP governor race: Who’s in first depends on who’s in second

The Republicans favorite provisions represent a tiny sliver of the massive law, which sent $1,400 checks to millions of Americans, extended unemployment benefits until September, increased the child tax credit, offered housing assistance for millions of low-income Americans and expanded health care coverage. Republicans tried to negotiate a smaller package, arguing that Bidens plan was too expensive and not focused enough on the nations health and economic crises.

Wickers office noted that he voted against the full package, but led efforts to ensure the restaurant relief was included.

Us Healthcare: Senate ‘skinny Repeal’ Bill Fails

The latest attempt to repeal the Obama-era healthcare act has failed after a dramatic night in the US Senate.

At least three Republicans – John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski – voted against the bill, which needed a simple majority to pass.

President Donald Trump said the three had “let the American people down”.

The so-called “skinny” repeal, which would have scaled back some of the more controversial provisions, is the third failed attempt to repeal Obamacare.

It would have resulted in 16 million people losing their health insurance by 2026, with insurance premiums increasing by 20%, according to the Congressional Budget Office .

Where Trump went wrong on healthcare

Changes Required By The Affordable Care Act In 2011

A provision goes into effect to protect patients choice of doctors. Specifics include allowing plan members to pick any participating primary care provider, prohibiting insurers from requiring prior authorization before a woman sees an obstetrician/gynecologist , and ensuring access to emergency care.

Young adults can stay on their parents insurance until age 26, even if they are not full-time students. This extension applies to all new plans.

All new health insurance policies must cover preventive care and pay a portion of all preventive care visits.

A provision goes into effect that eliminates lifetime limits on coverage for members.

Annual limits or maximum payouts by a health insurance company are now restricted by the ACA.

The ACA prohibits rescission when a claim is filed, except in the case of fraud or misrepresentation by the consumer.

Insurance companies must now provide a process for customers to make an appeal if there is a problem with their coverage.  

NOTE: In January, 2011: eHealth publishes 11 guides on the top child-only health insurance coverage that examined differences in implementation in numerous states.

Republican Health Care Bill Falls Short Dealing Blow To Trump Agenda

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Republican Health Care Bill Falls Short, Dealing Blow To Trump Agenda

Audio will be available later today.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., speaks to reporters following a town hall meeting earlier this month. Moran and Utah Sen. Mike Lee joined the “no” vote on the Republican-sponsored Obamacare replacement bill. John Hanna/APhide caption

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Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., speaks to reporters following a town hall meeting earlier this month. Moran and Utah Sen. Mike Lee joined the “no” vote on the Republican-sponsored Obamacare replacement bill.

After seven years of promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republican efforts at passing a health care bill on their own may have ended Monday night as the bill working its way through the Senate was effectively blocked. Two more GOP senators Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas came out in opposition to the bill, which means it cannot get enough support to pass.

My colleague and I will not support the MTP to this version of BCRA. #HealthcareBill

Senator Jerry Moran July 18, 2017

Shortly afterward, President Trump wrote, “Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!”

Republican Sen. Mike Lee speaks in May in Sandy, Utah. He was one of two senators who said Monday he wouldn’t support his party’s health care overhaul plan. Rick Bowmer/APhide caption

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The 20 Republicans Who Voted Against The Health Care Bill

The AHCA passed by a 217-213 margin.

GOP healthcare passes in the house scoring President Trump his first legislative victory

— Twenty House Republicans broke with their party to vote against the American Health Care Act’s passage Thursday, an effort that failed to produce enough opposition to block the bill, which was approved by a 217-213 margin.

Of the several Republicans who were publicly undecided in advance of the vote, at least three — Reps. Will Hurd, Dave Joyce, and Mike Turner — voted against the measure.

Other Republicans who did not reveal their stance but voted in favor of the act included Reps. Carlos Curbelo , Justin Amash , Darrell Issa , Mario Diaz-Balart , Ed Royce , Elise Stefanik and Adam Kinzinger , a group that could find their votes used against them should they run for reelection in 2018.

One notable flip for Republicans was Rep. Jeff Denham , who opposed the bill as late as 11 a.m. on Wednesday, according to his spokesperson, who said then that he was “still currently a ‘no.'” Denham ultimately cosponsored the amendment proposed by Rep. Fred Upton , which granted $8 billion for use by states to run high-risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions, and voted in favor of the bill Thursday.

Here is a list of the GOP members who voted “no”:

Rep. Andy Biggs

Trump House Freedom Caucus Negotiating Last

President Donald Trump doesn’t have the votes to pass his health care bill, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus said Wednesday, but negotiations are underway.

A spokesperson for Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, said the conservative group is “cautiously optimistic” that it will get what it wants after Meadows, the caucus’ chairman, and other members met with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on Wednesday.

But they’re all trekking back again Thursday the same day the House is expected to vote on the bill.

Meet The 20 Republicans Who Voted No On The Health Care Bill

Twenty Republicans bucked their party and voted against the American Health Care Act Thursday. Many were members of the moderate Tuesday group and all of them outperformed President Donald Trump in their districts in 2016.

Here are the Republicans who voted no:

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs

The freshman was the only member of the Freedom Caucus to oppose the bill. He hails from a safe Republican district where he overperformed Trump by nearly 7 points last fall. Biggs benefited from the Club for Growth’s support in a 2016 primary, but it remains to be seen how outside groups will treat the conservative holdout. The Club withdrew its key vote against the legislation Thursday because of its support for the Meadows-MacArthur amendment. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzalez rates his race Solid Republican.

Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman

Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock

A member of the moderate Tuesday Group, Comstock would have had a hard time defending a vote for the bill in a suburban district outside Washington, D.C., that’s a favorite Democratic target. The NRCC included her on its initial Patriot Program list for vulnerable members in February. Her survival likely depends on her ability to distance herself from her party and Trump when necessary. She did that well last cycle, over-performing Trump by 11 points in a district Clinton carried by 10 points. Inside Elections this race Leans Republican.

Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan A. Costello

Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent

‘a Disappointing Day For Us’ Says Ryan

Despite reports of backbiting from administration officials toward House Speaker Paul Ryan, Trump said: “I like Speaker Ryan. I think Paul really worked hard.”

For his part, Ryan told reporters: “We came really close today but we came up short. This is a disappointing day for us.” He said the president has “really been fantastic.”

But when asked how Republicans could face voters after their failure to make good on years of promises, Ryan quietly said: “It’s a really good question. I wish I had a better answer for you.”

—

Last fall, Republicans used the issue to gain and keep control of the White House, Senate and House. During the previous years, they had cast dozens of votes to repeal Obama’s law in full or in part, but when they finally got the chance to pass a repeal version that actually had a chance to become law, they couldn’t deliver.

What The Aca Means For You

Congressman Calls For Bipartisan Fix To Health Care | Morning Joe | MSNBC

The Affordable Care Act is perhaps the greatest overhaul ofthe US health-care system, and it will provide coverage for over 94% ofAmericans. In addition, one of its key reforms includes health coverage for adultswith pre-existing conditions, which generally had not been available up untilnow.

These great changes in health-care insurance can benefit you and your loved ones. However, it is still essential to find the best plans at the best price to ensure your family is properly covered.

To learn about the specific Obamacare-compliant health insurance plan options available to youplus see if you are eligible for a government subsidy to help pay for a plancompare ACA-compliant health insurance plans with eHealth today.

What Now For Obamacare

There are not thought to be any further plans for a new bill to repeal Obamacare because the skinny repeal was seen as the only measure Republicans could get through Congress.

However, lawmakers could revive the issue and take it up later in the year.

Following the vote, President Trump tweeted: “As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal.”

Mr Trump’s position on healthcare reform has varied – he has spoken out at various points for Obamacare being repealed, repealed and replaced, or being allowed to collapse by itself.

In his statement, Mr McCain said Obamacare was in a state of “collapse”, with healthcare premiums “skyrocketing” and providers “fleeing the marketplace”.

He criticised the way Obamacare had been passed by Democrats using their Obama-era majority and called for senators to “return to the correct way of legislating” with input from both parties.

“We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve,” he said.

But Texas Senator Ted Cruz insisted the fight was not over.

“Mark my words, this journey is not yet done,” he said.

‘we’re Going To Live With Obamacare For The Foreseeable Future’

Republicans had never built a constituency for the legislation, and in the end the nearly uniform opposition from hospitals, doctors, nurses, the AARP, consumer groups and others weighed heavily with many members. On the other side, conservative groups including the Koch outfit argued the legislation did not go far enough in uprooting Obamacare.

Ryan made his announcement to lawmakers at a very brief meeting, where he was greeted by a standing ovation in recognition of the support he still enjoys from many lawmakers.

When the gathering broke up, Congressman Greg Walden of Oregon, chairman of the energy and commerce committee that helped write the bill, told reporters: “We gave it our best shot. That’s it. It’s done. D-O-N-E done. This bill is dead.”

Ryan And Trump Weakened Politically

Democrats could hardly contain their satisfaction.

“Today is a great day for our country, what happened on the floor is a victory for the American people,” said House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who as Speaker herself helped Obama pass the Affordable Care Act in the first place. “Let’s just for a moment breathe a sigh of relief for the American people.”

The outcome leaves both Ryan and Trump weakened politically.

For the president, this piles a big early congressional defeat onto the continuing inquiries into his presidential campaign’s Russia connections and his unfounded wiretapping allegations against Obama.

Watch House Democrats on the fall of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpCare?src=hash”>#TrumpCare</a> here: <a href=”https://t.co/nxzlUO8Nfm”>https://t.co/nxzlUO8Nfm</a>

—

Ryan was not able to corral the House Freedom Caucus, the restive band of conservatives that ousted the previous speaker. Those Republicans wanted the bill to go much further, while some Republican moderates felt it went too far.

Instead of picking up support as Friday wore on, the bill went the other direction, with several key lawmakers coming out in opposition. Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, chair of a major committee, appropriations, said the bill would raise costs unacceptably on his constituents.

The defections raised the possibility that the bill would not only lose on the floor, but lose big.

Watch Sen John Mccain Cast ‘no’ Vote On ‘skinny’ Repeal

It isn’t clear what comes next, but the collapse of some insurance markets around the country serve as an incentive for Republicans and Democrats to hold hearings and fix the problems with health care.

Most Republicans never embraced the different iterations of legislation they crafted, nor the process by which it was constructed. Even on the last-ditch effort at a bare-bones bill, Republicans couldnt reach agreement. Over the past two days, many rejected a plan that would have partially repealed and replaced Obamacare and a measure that would have just repealed it. The repeal vote was the same bill that passed the Senate and the House in 2015 when former President Barack Obama vetoed it.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, stood against every version of the legislation even in the face of immense pressure. The Trump administration threatened to withhold federal resources from Alaska because of her opposition, according to the Alaska Daily News. Murkowski herself said the next day in response to the report that she would not characterize it as a “threat.”

“I sat there with Senator McCain. I think both of us recognize that its very hard to disappoint your colleagues,” Murkowski told NBC News after the vote. “And I know that there is disappointment because it was the three votes that Senator McCain, Senator Collins, and I cast that did not allow this bill to move forward. And that is difficult.”

“John McCain is a hero and has courage and does the right thing,” Schumer said.

Changes Required By The Affordable Care Act After 90 Days

June 23, 2010:

Some small businesses qualified for tax credits of up to 35% of premiums.

Five billion dollars were allocated for individuals who could not qualify for insurance. These funds allowed them to buy insurance from the government instead.

A temporary reinsurance program was established to reimburse participating employment-based plans for a portion of the cost of providing health insurance coverage to early retirees.  

July 1, 2010:

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan was designed to make health insurance available to those that have been denied coverage by private insurance companies because of a pre-existing condition. See more in the Forbes Report: Obamacares High-Risk Pool Spending Doubles Government Estimates.

September 14, 2010: eHealth publishes a list of FAQs, which includes a following timeline for the enactment of key changes. Bear in mind that some of these components changed during the ACAs implementation.  

‘the Reckoning Time Has Come’ For Trump On Bill

“We need changes to the underlying bill before we vote on it in the House. … There’s not enough votes to pass it tomorrow,” Meadows told reporters Wednesday.

The Freedom Caucus has staunchly opposed the current Republican plan, called the American Health Care Act, in part because it says the bill would enshrine Medicaid and create a new entitlement program.

Members are lobbying the White House for last-minute changes to regulations that would be imposed on insurance companies, since the AHCA kept many that were first imposed by the Affordable Care Act. Conservatives consider the regulations a symptom of heavy-handed government, including the requirement that insurance companies cover certain things such as maternity and preventative care.

Related: These Republicans Could Doom Their Party’s Health Care Bill

House leadership has been reluctant to incorporate their demands, saying the changes would violate rules that allow the Senate to pass the measure with a simple majority just 51 votes instead of the usual 60 votes.

But hours before the bill is supposed to come to the floor in the House, leadership seemed to be relaxing the parameters. A senior Republican aide said members have received updated guidance from the Senate that while the changes would likely be challenged, the challenge would not necessarily kill the bill.

On the other side, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which supports the measure, is also keeping score of the members who vote against it.

All Of Them Outran Trump In Their Districts In 2016

Twenty Republicans bucked their party and voted against the health care overhaul on Thursday.

More than half of the members who voted no are part of the Tuesday Group, a collection of moderate House Republicans. Nine of the lawmakers represent districts that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton carried in November. President Donald Trump carried the districts of 11 of the members voting no.. But all of the lawmakers outperformed Trump last fall.

Fourteen of the no votes are Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targets. Five of the lawmakers are also part of the National Republican Campaign Committees Patriot Program, which assists members in tough races.

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs: The freshman lawmaker was the only member of the Freedom Caucus to oppose the bill. He hails from the safely Republican 5th District where he overperformed Trump by nearly 7 points last fall. Biggs benefited from the Club for Growths support in a 2016 primary, but it remains to be seen how outside groups will treat the conservative holdout. The club announced its support for the Meadows-MacArthur amendment last week and said Thursday it has no plans to oppose Biggs for his vote against the bill. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates his race Solid Republican.

Correction 4:20 p.m. | An earlier version of the story incorrectly identified Rep. Christopher H. Smith as a member of the Tuesday Group. 

Meet The Republicans Who Voted ‘no’ On The Health Care Bill

GOP short of votes needed for Senate health care bill

BRIDGET BOWMAN | CQ-Roll Call/TNS

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrive at a National Day of Prayer Event on Thursday, May 4, 2017 in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C. 

WASHINGTON — Twenty Republicans bucked their party and voted against the American Health Care Act Thursday. Many were members of the moderate Tuesday group and all of them outperformed President Donald Trump in their districts in 2016.

Here are the Republicans who voted no:

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs : The freshman was the only member of the Freedom Caucus to oppose the bill. He hails from a safe Republican district where he overperformed Trump by nearly 7 points last fall. Biggs benefited from the Club for Growth’s support in a 2016 primary, but it remains to be seen how outside groups will treat the conservative holdout. The Club withdrew its key vote against the legislation Thursday because of its support for the Meadows-MacArthur amendment. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzalez rates his race Solid Republican.

Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent: A co-chair of the Tuesday Group, Dent is the rare moderate who’s not vulnerable. He won his seventh term last fall by a comfortable 20-point margin, overperforming Trump by seven points. Trump still carried the district, which is rated Solid Republican.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Obamacare Repeal Fails: Three Gop Senators Rebel In 49

WASHINGTON Obamacare stays. For now.

Senate Republicans failed to pass a pared-down Obamacare repeal bill early Friday on a vote of 49-51 that saw three of their own dramatically break ranks.

Three Republican senators John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and all Democrats voted against the bill, dealing a stinging defeat to Republicans and President Donald Trump who made repeal of Obamacare a cornerstone their campaigns.

The late-night debate capped the GOP’s months-long effort to fulfill a seven-year promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!

Donald J. Trump July 28, 2017

The Senate has tried to pass multiple versions of repeal: repeal and replace, a straight repeal and Friday’s bare-bones repeal, but none garnered the support of 50 Republicans.

An emotional Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said after the 1:40 a.m. vote went down that Republicans remained committed to repealing the Obama-era health law.

Boy Scouts Chief Apologizes For ‘political Rhetoric’ In Trump’s Speech

In a written statement from McConnell’s office after the vote, he seemed to indicate a GOP-only effort on health care may be dead.

“We look forward to our colleagues on the other side suggesting what they have in mind,” McConnell said in the statement.

Republican senators said there was no consensus and no plan for what comes next on health care. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned of potentially severe political consequences for Republicans for failing to deliver on what has been the GOP’s unifying campaign pledge for the previous three elections.

“I sadly feel a great many Americans will feel betrayed,” Cruz told reporters, “that they were lied to, and that sentiment will not be unjustified.”

The “skinny repeal” was a pared-down version of Republican proposals to undo Obamacare with no plan for what to replace it with. It would have eliminated the individual and employer mandate and key taxes, defunded Planned Parenthood for a year and eliminated key protections of health benefits that were required under Obamacare.

When Did Obamacare Start

The timeline of key events leading up to the passage of the Obamacare law began in 2009. Here is a list of those events, along with key provisions that went into place after the law was enacted.

July 2009: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and a group of Democrats from the House of Representatives reveal their plan for overhauling the health-care system. Its called H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

August 25, 2009: Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, a leading supporter of health-care reform, dies and puts the Senate Democrats 60-seat supermajority required to pass a piece of legislation at risk.

September 24, 2009: Democrat Paul Kirk is appointed interim senator from Massachusetts, which temporarily restores the Democrats filibuster-proof 60th vote.

November 7, 2009: In the House of Representatives, 219 Democrats and one Republican vote for the Affordable Health Care for America Act, and 39 Democrats and 176 Republicans vote against it.

December 24, 2009: In the Senate, 60 Democrats vote for the Senates version of the bill, called Americas Healthy Future Act, whose lead author is senator Max Baucus of California. Thirty-nine Republicans vote against the bill, and one Republican senator, Jim Bunning, does not vote.

Actual Events That Occurred As A Result Of The Affordable Care Act 2011 To 2014

January, 2011: In 2011, insurance companies had to ensure the value for premium payments. If insurance companies did not spend at least 80% to 85% of premiums on care the difference is sent to customers in a refund.

January 2011: A Florida judge rules that elements of the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional.

November 14, 2011: The US Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments in the Obamacare case brought by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business. It argues that elements of the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional.

January, 2014: Health Affairs published its most recent analysis of Medical Loss Ratio performance by major insurers.

March, 2014: The New York Times reports that the U.S. Census Bureau, the authoritative source of health insurance data changed its annual survey so thoroughly that it became difficult to measure the effects of President Obamas health care law. 

[weshipyourride]

Looking Back at 2019: Our Favorite Moments

As the calendar year draws to a close and we give the BikeFlights.com vans' engines a few moments to cool, we're taking the time to reflect on some of our Outreach Team's highlights from the road. So grab a hot beverage of choice and join our West Coast, Mountain States and East Coast marketing managers around our proverbial campfire as each shares his favorite events of 2019.

Colin Blanchard, West Coast Marketing Manager

West Coast by Colin Blanchard

The Sea Otter Cycling Classic

Early in the season nothing beats the Sea Otter Cycling Classic. Getting to see so many people stoked on bikes after a long winter is a blessing. The weather in Monterey, California was amazing this year. Riding in short sleeves and shorts was something that I had been missing. 

This year was a mix of work and play. We had just rolled out our partnership with UPS, which meant that a lot of people came by to talk about the change.

The Sturdy Dirty Enduro

A new event for BikeFlights.com this year was The Sturdy Dirty in Issaquah, Washington which is a women’s specific enduro race.

This event stands out for me because of how amazing the people at the event are, along with the riding. Having lived in Washington previously, going there feels like home and the trails, albeit hard, are always welcoming.

They also had some of the best snacks on course!

North American Handmade Bicycle Show

With frequent travels from east to west, I end up driving though Sacramento, California quite often. Getting to know the small bike companies in that town has been such a joy. That friendship was made even better considering the North American Handmade Bicycle Show happened there. 

Considering BikeFlights.com works with so many small builders, we have gotten to know them personally very well over the years. Getting to see them all in one place doesn’t happen enough. Friends from Squid Bikes hosted some great pick-up races, which made the event even better.

The Downieville Classic

Downieville, California is one of my favorite places in the world. The mixture of the small town and epic riding is hard to match. BikeFlights.com has been working with the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, who hosts the Downieville Classic, for the past two years.

So many riders travel from all over the country to race down these amazing trails, though I find the best part is hanging out with friends on rides. May it be taking a dip to cool off or sessioning some of the harder parts of their trails.

Single Speed Cyclocross Worlds

Similar to the Sea Otter Classic, getting away from the colder temperatures is always a joy. Which is one of the many reasons I loved going to the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships in Saint George, Utah.

Though I do not own a cyclocross bike, that didn’t stop me from racing on my single speed dirt jumper. It wasn’t ideal for some of the course but it certainly made other parts more fun.

This year has been an amazing year of meeting new riders all across the West. I can’t wait to see what will happen next year!

Some photos provided by The Radavist and Angel Perez.

Michael Potter, Mountain Region Marketing Manager

Mountain Region by Michael Potter

Land Run 100

District Bicycles Owner and Land Run 100 Co-Promoter, Bobby Wintle puts on one hell of an event in Stillwater, Oklahoma. A two-day party of inclusion, motivation and celebration of all people. Before the ride, a block party is hosted leading into the event that features music, beer and an atmosphere unlike any other event I’ve attended this year.

If Land Run is not on your list - you’re missing out. This event guarantees a good day on the bike, regardless of weather. It is all worth it for that “welcome back hug.”

Leadville 100

The highest event on our calendar, this ride starts at over 10,000 feet of elevation in Leadville, Colorado. If the elevation doesn’t take your breath away, the views will. Considering this was my first endurance mountain bike race, I felt nervous going into the ride, but left with excitement for more.

The infamous belt buckle is the coveted prize for not only completing the course, but also meeting time goals. I rode away with the “big buckle!”

SBT GRVL

A first year event usually brings some uneasy feelings, considering the unknowns of the weekend. SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs, Colorado clearly considered those unknowns and crushed the route, communication, amenities and execution.

This event has proved themselves already, but we have no doubt that their team has a few ideas up their sleeves to out-do their inaugural event. I look forward to challenging myself in Steamboat again in 2020.

Dirty Kanza

My experience at Dirty Kanza in Emporia, Kansas was rocky to say the least. Multiple flat tires with sidewall tears took me completely out of contention in the 100-mile edition. Though my bad luck here sidetracked my goals, I learned a lot this day.

I learned that the cycling community is generous and thriving. Maxxis provided me two new tires because they wanted to see me finish. They wouldn’t let me quit, and I’m thankful for that. Their tires brought me home, and the second half of my ride was such a great experience.

USAC CX Nationals

Despite Cyclocross Nationals taking place on the west coast in Tacoma, Washington, I was lucky enough to attend and race myself. MFG Cyclocross constructed and performed one of the best cyclocross courses and events I’ve been to in years.

We partied hard and hosted many friends throughout the week. We also enjoyed quality time among our team to bond and prepare for the new year ahead.

2019 was a big year. I attended 23 events in 11 different states while traveling nearly 25,000 miles through an additional seven states. I moved from North Carolina to Colorado and learned the balance of life on the road, maintaining a healthy marriage and found a renewed vigor for riding bikes of all kinds. I am so excited to see what 2020 has ahead.

Vince Camiolo, East Coast Marketing Manager

East Coast by Vince Camiolo

Santos Fat Tire Festival

Being based in the Northeast US, late February is about the time my tolerance for heading out on rides dressed like Randy from “A Christmas Story” reaches an all season low. This year was my third southbound trip to the Santos Fat Tire Festival in Ocala, Florida. The idea of a mountain bike festival in central Florida may evoke some side-eye glances, and for my inaugural Santos in 2017 I was simply excited by the prospect of winter riding bathed in warm sun on bare skin. However, the event itself and the Santos trails made the festival a highlight of my year independent of the escape from Philly winters, and 2019 was no different. The expo and demo-oriented festival is well organized, well attended and maintains a grass-roots feel. The organizers are friendly, helpful and go out of their way to make the vendors feel appreciated. And the food trucks are some of the best I’ve encountered at a cycling event.

The Santos trails, while not at all mountainous, are certainly unique, providing fast flow through dense green forests of sand pine and scrub oak draped in hanging moss. The area even offers the Vortex Freeride Area to ensure all levels and styles of mountain bikers are satisfied.

Dirt Rag Dirt Fest PA

While Santos Fat Tire Festival is technically the first mountain bike festival of the season, the Northeast has to wait a couple more months to officially open their season. And even then, as exemplified by the conditions at Dirt Fest PAs of the past, Pennsylvania weather in mid May can be unpredictable and far from ideal. Although Dirt Fest PA manages to be a great time despite the weather, 2019′s conditions propelled it to an easy choice for this 2019 event highlight list.

The sun stayed out, the sleeves stayed short, the wonderfully flowy Allegrippis trails stayed dry and camaraderie and celebration of mountain biking flourished.

 RAGBRAI

I probably don’t have to explain what the Register’s Annual Great Big Ride Across Iowa is, but it is challenging to convey the impressive scale of the event to someone who hasn’t witnessed it for themselves. Although the official rider number is sub-10,000, more accurate estimates generally hover north of 30,000. Needless to say BikeFlights.com is busy every July getting the bikes of many of those riders to and from the event. As the lone on-the-ground BikeFlights.com representative it’s also needless to say that my days around the start and end of RAGBRAI were also quite busy this year. Opportunities to eat and sleep during those days were at a major premium. But RAGBRAI makes this list for the time between the start and end during which -- in addition to catching up on sleep and resting my feet -- I got to explore opportunities Iowa offers in three of my favorite things: mountain biking, coffee and baseball. And it delivered on all three.

Iowa may not be on anyone’s short list as a premiere mountain biking destination, but the small trail systems maintained by local organizations that dot the state are impressive and a much appreciated reprieve from many hours of windshield time in the BikeFlights.com van.

It was also fun to see how the Iowa host towns embraced RAGBRAI.

JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes La Crosse

Every year the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund puts on at least five fundraising rides across the country. They’ve raised more than $47 million dollars for “research to deliver life-changing therapies and, one day, a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D)” and we’re proud to be an integral partner in helping the ambitious fundraising cyclists get their bikes to and from each event.

The Mississippi River town of La Crosse, Wisconsin is traditionally the host of the first JDRF Ride event of the season. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to connect in person with the organizers and bike team with whom I work closely all year, and spend some time in a great Midwest river town. Thanks to The Root Note for keeping me fueled with great coffee and vegan crepes on a daily basis!

Philly Bike Expo

Ok, it’s true I’m a born-and-raised-unapologetically-Philly-prideful-never-not-wearing-a-Phillies-hat kind of person, but I swear I’m not unfairly biased in declaring the Philly Bike Expo as one of the best events of the year. The volume and diversity of attendees, ranging from casual commuters to bike messengers to professional racers of all disciplines, makes it a no-brainer for vendors of all types. What really sets it apart, however, is the social dynamic coursing through the veins of the show. The big players are there, but it’s clear the small frame builders and makers run the show. Remember in high school when the punk kids had that party and the jocks finally realized they were cool and asked if they could come? Maybe not. But the Philly Bike Expo is kind of like that.

Philly Bike Expo was also an opportunity to bring star Support Team member and personified sunshine Marci out to meet BikeFlights.com customers old and future (and perform some bubble trumpet).

This year marked my third and, sad to say, final year on the road full-time for BikeFlights.com. It was another great year spreading the good word of BikeFlights.com and working with partner events ensuring their participants can conveniently get their bikes and gear to and from the event. And although I’ll continue with BikeFlights.com in a modified capacity, I’m looking forward to pursuing a dream, along with my wife Natalie, opening a coffee roastery and cafe in Trenton, New Jersey, One Up One Down Coffee. 

[racingtoaredlight]

Run to the RTARLsman 2017: Week 6

I really hadn’t planned on Mark Walton breaking his ankle and missing the rest of the season. But he did and he will so there are no longer any Hurricanes on the list. Well, at least for this week.

In happier news for non-SMU fans, Ed Oliver didn’t end up missing any time at all with a knee injury so welcome back to the RTARLsman list, Ed!

1. ED OLIVER, Houston, DT

Oliver has reached mythic proportions in my mind and he basically lives up to this every week. The knee injury slowed him down to only 3 QB hurries and no sacks or TFL against an extremely pass-heavy SMU offense. Still, Houston got turnovers and won. I’m living with my Warren Sapp comparisons until proven otherwise.

2. BRYCE LOVE, Stanford, RB

Stanford played against one of the best run defenses in the country and Love was held completely in check with merely 152 yards on 20 carries. He’s going against an even statistically better rush defense this week with Oregon but there’s something just sort of off about writing that. Still, if he’s held under 10 yards per carry again there’s your context. I wonder how much Love’s Heisman candidacy is tied to his team’s performance but 8-4 Stanford is probably still a top 25 team in December. He’ll make it to NYC but don’t be surprised if some undeserving star on a title contender leaps him in the final voting. Aside from rushing stats, Love definitely leads the country so far in awesome still shots because I had to choose from about 20 awesome pictures just from the Utah game. I think this one looks the most badass.

3. ZACH ABEY, Navy, QB

The nation’s #2 rusher in terms of yards per game, Abey is the next Heisman dark horse for Navy. The Middies basically need to go undefeated for him to even have a shot at making the ceremony but if he runs for 2,000 yards this year then he’s setting up a fake run at the trophy for 2018.

4. SAQUON BARKLEY, Penn State, RB

At one point last week he had 10 carries for -7 yards against Northwestern. I can’t shake this feeling that he’s gonna struggle to adapt to the NFL because he doesn’t know how to set up blocks. Maybe that doesn’t matter anymore now that he can just be a receiver until he develops that skill and maybe the Penn State O-line is really so bad that he doesn’t have a choice for now but it’s most likely that I just hate Penn State so much that I’m looking to puncture his hype balloon just a little bit.

5. JALEEL SCOTT, New Mexico State, WR

I don’t believe I was aware of this catch until this week. This happened in week 1, for what it’s worth. He’s a 6′6″, 215# senior, so look for him next year on the Panthers roster.

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6. SUTTON SMITH, Northern Illinois, EDGE

He’s small and he plays in the MAC but he keeps getting sacks and TFLs and showing up at the top of all the fun defensive stats so I’ll throw his name out there. He’s a RS-SO so I guess we’ve got a couple of years to figure out if he has an actual path to the NFL. Signed as a RB out of high school so he’s probably a decent athlete. Maybe he can be a low rent version of Haason Reddick?

7. BAKER MAYFIELD, Oklahoma, QB

One of several QBs who will end up getting drafted before Sam Darnold. I honestly don’t like Mayfield as a prospect and I was there with everybody else sort of rooting on the Iowa State football team last week but Mayfield’s numbers are outrageous and there are a few voices in the crowd that really like the way he plays and how it projects to the next level. Mayfield leads the nation in one of my favorite dumb stats: points responsible for per game. Yes, that’s an NCAA official stat.

8. ROQUAN SMITH, Georgia, LB

The breakout star of the year on defense, Smith doesn’t really put up stats other than tackles but people absolutely love him and Georgia’s defense has been a killing machine so far this year. I’ve got him as a provisional candidate waiting for me to be bored enough to actually watch a Georgia game all the way through.

9. DEXTER LAWRENCE, Clemson, DT

Lawrence doesn’t put up a ton of numbers in his own right but Clemson is going to just coast to the playoffs on the strength of their front seven and Lawrence is the key to most of it. If he were to go down only three other future top 10 picks would stand between Clemson’s hopes and a merely well-above-average defense. That isn’t the best way to build a case for Lawrence as a top player but he manages to stand out even on that team.

10. RASHAAD PENNY, San Diego State, RB

I considered going another route just for the sake of variance but Penny has been a monster this year and he deserves the publicity.

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[auburnfamilynews]

Auburn is hoping to add at least one more signee to the 2019 class.

Hello there strangers. My apologies for the drought in recruiting news. A captivating run by Auburn’s basketball team paired with a busier than usual work life lead to me slacking off on my #crootin duties. But have not fear! I’m back and there’s plenty to talk about as action on the recruiting trail starts to pick up heading into summer.

Auburn’s 2019 Recruiting Not Yet Done

Typically, the passing of National Signing Day signals the end of one recruiting cycle and the beginning of another. However, Auburn is hoping to add at least one more prospect to their #11 ranked 2019 class it appears.

Earlier this month, former 4* DB Cam’Ron Kelly announced his intentions to transfer from the Plains due to family concerns. He later committed to North Carolina, the program thought to have finished 2nd for his services last December.

Next time you see me strapped up, it’s straight business.. #GoHeels #RudeBoyz pic.twitter.com/4OaGXi0GaL

— Cam'Ron Kelly (@CamRonJKelly) April 18, 2019

That was a tough blow to the Tigers as Kelly was expected to have a role in the DB rotation in 2019 before becoming an important contributor in 2020 and beyond. Given the fact that Jeremiah Dinson, Daniel Thomas and Javaris Davis will all graduate after the 2019 campaign and there’s a very possible change Noah Igbinoghene puts together a strong enough junior campaign to warrant an early trip to the NFL, Auburn could find themselves down a plethora of talented DBs.

Enter Justin Ford.

The 3* JUCO cornerback initially signed with Kansas in December but later reopened his recruitment following the February signing day. He will reportedly have three years to play two at his next school of choice. Ford took a quick unofficial visit to the Plains yesterday and told AuburnUndercover’s Keith Niebuhr that he has a top two of Auburn and Utah. There’s a chance he could take an official visit to Iowa State but as of now it appears to be down to those two schools with the Tigers in a very good spot.

Ford’s decision should come in early May. At 6’2” 185 lbs, Ford would give Auburn some much needed length at the corner position. He was an All-Conference performer at Golden West College last season and his tape is aptly titled “Playmaker”. With quick hips, great instincts and outstanding closing speed, it’s easy to see why Auburn would love to sneak in him as a late addition to the 2019 class with Kelly’s departure. The 2020 class is a bit light at DB so getting any help now would be big for the Tigers.

Offensive Line Recruiting Update

Obviously with so much time having passed since my last update, I can’t NOT touch on every Auburn fans FAVORITE recruiting subject. Auburn’s offensive line recruiting took a bit of a step back (shocking I know) when 3* OT Trey Zimmerman picked UNC over the Tigers in late March.

100% Committed❗️ #MACKISBACK pic.twitter.com/o8XVAXeJ1T

— Trey Zimmerman (@treyzimmerman74) March 28, 2019

With another top target, 4* OT John Young, trending to Kentucky, I was going to be very perturbed if Auburn let talented local 3* OT Javion Cohen just waltz his way to Columbia, SC with no resistance. Thankfully, that won’t be the case as the Central High star decommitted from the Gamecocks last week and landed an Auburn offer that following Friday, vaulting the Tigers into the thick of the hunt.

Blessed to receive an offer from Auburn University ! #WDE pic.twitter.com/7YIl8GK9zA

— Javo The Great. (@javiocohen) April 19, 2019

Cohen’s stock is very much on the rise. He’s been a standout on the camp circuit this spring including capturing the Rivals Camp Series’ OL MVP in Atlanta last weekend. One of the holdups for Auburn was reportedly concerns over his ability to play OT at the next level given his 6’4” frame. But those concerns appear to have been mitigated and Cohen is now a top target for Auburn. The Gamecocks won’t go quietly, he is taking an official visit there this weekend, but it’s hard to not like Auburn’s chances moving forward.

Another fast rising prospect in the southeast is 3* OG Tate Johnson. The former teammate of 2019 Auburn signee Keiondre Jones and the current teammate of major AU RB target 4* Tank Bigsby, Johnson has been another top performer on the camp circuit early this spring. Florida State, Georgia Tech and Auburn have all made the Callaway stand out a top priority early this cycle but a recent visit to the Plains appears to have pushed Auburn slightly ahead. This will be a fight to the finish but the Tigers appear to be in a good spot.

Finally, 3* Marlon Martinez is down to three schools and is closing in on a decision. Auburn, LSU and Florida all made the cut and I think if he was announcing today, the good looking Tigers would be the pick. But Martinez plans to take an official visit to the Baton Rouge before shutting things down which feels ominous. While not sporting the flashiest of ratings, Martinez is near the top of the board for the Tigers. He could play anywhere along the line though he’s being projected at OT for the moment. Snagging Martinez, Johnson and Cohen by the end of June would sure be a nice way to combat Auburn’s recent struggles landing talented prep OL talent.

Other names to continue to monitor on the offensive line:

5* OT Broderick Jones (Georgia) - Visited AU earlier this year and hasn’t been a frequent visitor to Athens despite his pledge. However, Jones is a pretty private kid from all reports so it’s hard to know how good a shot or not good a shot the Tigers have at the flip. Getting him back on campus for something like Big Cat Weekend would be huge for Auburn’s chances.

4* OT Joshua Braun - Keep an eye on this one. The Tigers weren’t considered much of a threat until a recent visit and now might be sitting #2 behind Florida.

4* OT Marcus Dumervil - Teammates with Marlon Martinez, Auburn is trying to make a strong push in this recruitment. With that said, Oklahoma looks to have the early lead with Alabama, LSU and Georgia all in the hunt as well.

4* OT Jalen Rivers - Auburn did not make his top 5 but an unofficial visit to the Plains earlier this spring put the Tigers back in the discussion. Still a lot of work to be done by the Tigers if they want to make it to the top of his list.

4* OG Chris Mayo - The Rhode Island native dropped a top 8 earlier this month that included the Tigers. Kentucky is thought to be the leader after his official visit to Lexington but he’s expected to give Auburn an OV as well. I definitely think he’s a name to track closely in the coming months.

4* OG Miller Merriweather-Lewis - LSU is his top team, Merriweather-Lewis has said so himself. But Auburn appears to be lurking at #2. If they can get him on campus a few more times this one could get interesting.

3* OT Bradley Ashmore (Vanderbilt) - I’m not 100% sure where Ashmore sits on Auburn’s board. I suspect he’s a down the line guy if the Tigers miss on a few more names but if Auburn likes what they see in person during the current evaluation period that could very well change.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/4/26/18517223/auburn-football-recruiting-2019-class-might-not-yet-be-done

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5 Best Road Trip Destinations in Arizona

Arizona is home to three national parks and some of the most breathtaking rock formations in North America. The 48th state is also steeped in the history of the Old West. What better way to explore than by taking a road trip in Arizona?

If you’ve been thinking about visiting the Grand Canyon State, start by making a road trip checklist and choosing a highway.

When you’re ready to head out, this guide will help you choose between 5 of the best road trips in Arizona (or, if you have time, add all of them to your list!).

No matter which route you choose to take, it’s important to remember to be a responsible traveller — pack out what you bring in, don’t disturb any wildlife, or deface any of the ancient sites, 

Buckle up, and let’s go. Here are 5 stops you should make on an Arizona road trip.

1. The Grand Canyon 

As the inspiration for the state’s nickname, the Grand Canyon came in at the top of this list. The canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and over a mile deep at its lowest point.

Because of its sheer size, visitors generally have to choose between the North Rim and the South Rim of the canyon.

The South Rim offers the quintessential Grand Canyon experience, including guided burro rides, paved paths, luxury hotels, savory restaurants, and a terrifying glass skywalk.

It’s also easy to access from major cities, making it a great road trip from Phoenix and Los Angeles.

The North Rim of the canyon is far quieter than the tourist-filled South Rim, and it has fewer man-made attractions.

On the other hand, the higher elevation offers a decidedly different view of the Grand Canyon. Instead of dramatic sunlit vistas, the North Rim offers quiet forests and secluded hikes.

The North Rim’s atmosphere is less concerned with tourism and more focused on the natural beauty of the canyon. Some popular North Rim destinations include North Kaibab Trail and Ribbon Falls.

2. Sedona – A Desert Village

There are plenty of things to do in Phoenix, but every time someone visits me, they ask the same thing: “When can we go to Sedona?”

Located north of Phoenix, this desert town is surrounded by red-rock cliffs, steep canyons, and dense pine forests — making it a highlight of any Arizona road trip. 

When you’re ready to set out, head north on Interstate 17.

Along the way, you’ll pass Montezuma Castle National Monument, a group of preserved cliff dwellings that housed the Sinagua people more than 1,000 years ago.

You’ll also pass the V-Bar-V Heritage Site, the largest “rock art site” in Red Rocks Country.

The hiking in Sedona is legendary, so make sure you pack your boots and don’t miss these top desert hikes: Cathedral Rock, Devils Bridge, The Birthing Cave, and Soldiers Pass — to name a few. 

Sedona itself is known for its thriving arts community and quaint, small-town vibe. Start your day off at the Coffee Pot Restaurant, a bustling café with an all-day-breakfast and 101 different types of omelet.

When you’ve had your fill, spend the day shopping for artisan goods at the Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village. This beautiful, outdoor shopping district features cobblestone streets, hand-blown glass, and gorgeous artisan jewelry.

For dinner, make a reservation at Heartline Café. My two favorite dishes are the bacon-hugged petit filet mignon and the pistachio-crusted chicken breast.

3. Tombstone – The Town Too Tough to Die

Wyatt Earp was a notorious gambler and sheriff who took part in the famous O.K. Corral shootout. Every Memorial Day, Tombstone honors his legacy with the Wyatt Earp Days celebration.

This two-day festival features staged gunfights, mock hangings, and a massive chili cookoff. Tombstone’s affinity for the Old West is apparent in everything from architecture to tourist attractions. It’s also the reason Tombstone was nicknamed “The Town Too Tough to Die.”

USA Today put it perfectly when they called Tombstone “the perfect blend of historical and tacky.” The O.K. Corral is just one of Tombstone’s historic landmarks, though.

History buffs should also visit the Bird Cage Theatre Museum, a former brothel that was preserved to show the honest nature of the premises.

Last, but not least, pay a visit to Boot Hill Graveyard, Tombstone’s first cemetery. This historic site was said to be the graveyard for people who “died with their boots on.”

You can reach Tombstone from Phoenix in about 3 hours, or from Tuscon in just a little over an hour.

4. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Monument Valley is located along the border between Arizona and Utah — so close that it’s featured on Utah’s official travel website. Nice trick, Utah, but you’re not fooling anyone!

Monument Valley is one of the Copper State’s most valuable treasures.

This towering, sandstone rock formation has set the stage for so many westerns that one travel writer said, “Its five square miles have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West.”

There are plenty of day trips from Sedona or Flagstaff, and guided tours, but I prefer to drive along the 17-mile road at my own pace. Admission to the park is $20 per vehicle, but there is no time limit.

If it’s in your budget, you should also consider staying the night at the View, the only hotel in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. These luxury accommodations offer unparalleled views of the entire valley, especially at sunset and sunrise.

Another option is to stay in a unique “earth house” just a 10-minute drive to the park. These accommodations are stunning. Click here to take a look. 

Before you leave, pay a visit to the Navajo-run trading post. Inside, you can find several John Wayne souvenirs and a wide selection of Navajo arts and crafts.

5. Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell

This list will finish the same way it began — with a stunning rock formation created by millions of years of water erosion. Antelope Canyon is a magnificent slot canyon located to the east of Page in northern Arizona and is definitely one of the most incredible places to visit in the USA.

The canyon’s wavy corridors have been featured in several nature documentaries, including Louie Schwartzberg’s Moving Art series.

Throughout the day, sunshine illuminates the canyon’s 120-foot walls and throws shadows around every corner.

If you’re thinking about visiting, you should know that guided tours are the only way to explore the canyon.

A short drive away, Lake Powell offers hiking, climbing, and rappelling in gorgeous sandstone canyons. While Lake Powell is actually located in Utah, the closest lodging is located in Page, Arizona.

Come to think of it, Lake Powell isn’t even a lake, it’s a reservoir. Oh well! You won’t be thinking about semantics when you’re boating, swimming, and waterskiing in the Glen Canyon National Recreation area.

If you’re planning a visit to both Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell, make sure to set aside at least two days. One day isn’t enough time to experience everything these natural wonders have to offer.

Ready for Your Arizona Road Trip?!

As you can see, it’s all about the natural beauty here in Arizona. With so many things to see and do, you could spend months here and not experience it all. 

Exploring the state with your own vehicle will give you the independence and freedom to see as many sites and natural attractions as you want. Enjoy all of these epic road trips in Arizona!

Have you been on a road trip in Arizona? What did we miss?! Share your favourite road-tripping spots in Arizona in the comments below.

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5 New N.B.A. Truths – The New York Times

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Seventeen of the league’s 30 teams have played at least 27 games. A third of the regular season schedule, in other words, is essentially complete.

So we can safely make some declarations about what has been a Los Angeles-centric season so far — with considerable doses of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, too — after what amounts to a full trimester to evaluate things:

1. LeBron James has never been more like Wilt Chamberlain.

Wilt The Stilt, as legend has it, decided to lead the league in assists in 1967-68 because he got tired of being branded selfish and wanted to show the world he could do whatever he wanted on the floor.

He remains the only center in league history, in any N.B.A. season, to win the total assists crown.

LeBron has never been labeled a selfish player, but he has also never led the league in assists over an entire season. In Year 17, James is averaging a league-high 10.7 dimes per game. That makes him the only current player to sport a double-digit assist average and, because the Lakers list him as a forward, puts him on track to become the first forward in league history to lead the league in that category.

It’s certainly still early in the race to the championship, all things considered, but LeBron has never started a season more impressively. We can nitpick and point out that the Lakers have had the 18th-easiest schedule based on ESPN’s rankings. Just make sure you also note that while Kawhi Leonard and Paul George try to establish consistent smoothness in their fledgling partnership with the Clippers, King James and Anthony Davis look every bit the dream duo on the court that they appeared to form on paper.

The concern for the Lakers, if you insist on highlighting one, is that both James and Davis are averaging nearly 35 minutes per game. That’s a big load by modern N.B.A. standards.

That’s also such a welcome problem compared to the nonstop drama that gripped this franchise throughout LeBron’s first season in Hollywood.

2. James Harden has never been more like Wilt, either.

The Rockets employ a tireless statistician named Sean McCloskey. I like to call him Jack, in tribute to the former Detroit Pistons executive to whom he is not related, because he’s as good at his job as Jack McCloskey was in putting the Bad Boys Pistons teams together.

I share this dribble of minutiae because I recently asked Jack, er, Sean to send me his latest list of Harden scoring superlatives. What became immediately apparent, scrolling through them, is that so many invoke Wilt’s name.

Wilt earned copious scorn throughout his career for being so dominant (and so much bigger than most of his opposition). Harden gets his own share of scorn some 50 years later because of his high usage and his penchant for drawing contact (and hunting for fouls) that some find unappealing to watch.

You may not enjoy it, but Harden’s relentless production, just like Chamberlain’s, has to be respected — even if some of it this season is actually a byproduct of Houston’s rise to No. 3 in the league in pace since acquiring Russell Westbrook over the summer. The way people react to Harden makes him a true heir to Wilt, despite the fact that he’s eight inches shorter. And left-handed.

As Rockets Coach Mike D’Antoni and General Manager Daryl Morey are fond of saying, it’s bonkers to see a player like Harden, in his 11th season, find a way to get better yet again. You have to respect that, too.

3. The West is weaker than we all thought.

Instead of trying to pinpoint the most disappointing team through the season’s opening third, perhaps it’s wiser to just select the most disappointing conference.

Only six teams in the West are over .500. Denver (17-8) and Utah (15-11) have likewise fallen short of predictions.

The West’s record in interconference games, furthermore, is a very modest 73-72.

The East remains the overall weaker conference from 1 to 15, but its top six teams have collectively been more impressive than the West’s. That’s even with Houston (arguably) and Dallas (definitely) exceeding expectations.

Phoenix and Minnesota, after promising starts, are reverting to the lottery-bound form that has plagued those franchises for years. Portland and New Orleans spoke with considerable optimism (and even bravado) in the preseason, as did the Timberwolves, only to quickly descend into crisis.

And then there is San Antonio. The Spurs couldn’t hold a 25-point lead on Monday night in Houston and fell to 10-16. Rather than closing in on a record-setting 23rd consecutive playoff appearance, Coach Gregg Popovich is being urged, louder than ever, to trade the veteran duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan and launch the sort of rebuild Pop has happily avoided his whole career.

We made the case in last week’s newsletter that, unless the Pistons get it together, we likely already know our eight playoff teams in the East. In the West, by contrast, we know so much less than anticipated by this juncture.

4. The championship race may not be nearly as wide open as many predicted.

If the Lakers and Clippers are generally healthy come April, they will be overwhelming favorites to advance to the Western Conference finals. If Milwaukee and Philadelphia likewise have good health entering the postseason, they’ll be equally huge favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

The free-for-all for the title that was widely promised, given all the injuries that waylaid Golden State after the Warriors’ five consecutive trips to the N.B.A. finals, simply hasn’t materialized.

5. The team to watch before the trade deadline is Denver.

Looking across the league in search of a trade that could truly trouble the two L.A. teams or the East brutes Milwaukee and Philly, I am repeatedly drawn to Denver.

The Nuggets need a jolt. The continuity edge they carried into the season over the teams that made dramatic summer changes hasn’t paid off — and Nikola Jokic has receded from last season’s peak form as he continues to generate questions and criticism about his conditioning by playing at nearly 300 pounds.

My former ESPN colleague Zach Lowe suggested recently that the Nuggets should make a trade play for New Orleans’ Jrue Holiday. It’s a sensational idea — and Denver has the assets to pull it off.

Given a variety of hypothetical deals to consider, Holiday to the Nuggets would do more for Denver than, say, Boston overcoming the considerable salary-cap challenges it would face in trying to acquire Kevin Love from Cleveland or Miami importing Kyle Lowry from Toronto. Perhaps the Heat could also make a run at Holiday, but I rate Denver, which has been very methodical in its teambuilding, as the most intriguing hope for a landscape-changing trade during the season.

The Scoop @TheSteinLine

This newsletter is OUR newsletter. So please weigh in with what you’d like to see here. To get your hoops-loving friends and family involved, please forward this email to them so they can jump in the conversation. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here.

You ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. (Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.)

Q: Their loss is our gain. We have a fresh, young, motivated stud in @Bam1of1. — @Junior_TreyOh5 from Twitter.

STEIN: I know, I know. This isn’t a question.

But it’s a response to one I’ve thrown out on Twitter a couple of times already this season as Miami’s Bam Adebayo continues to mount a wholly unexpected bid for an All-Star spot in the East as well as Most Improved Player honors: How did this ridiculously versatile player not make U.S.A. Basketball’s 12-man squad for the FIBA World Cup over the summer?

It’s an increasingly pertinent what-if given that Adebayo, after posting two triple-doubles in four days, was just named Player of the Week in the Eastern Conference. To go with his rugged defense and dogged rebounding, Adebayo has flashed a blossoming touch for both scoring and passing in Miami’s 19-8 start.

I’ve done some rechecking on the matter and was advised recently that U.S.A.B. officials didn’t see anything resembling this Adebayo during practices in August. It was likewise suggested that Adebayo, deep down, knew he didn’t make a strong enough case to earn a slot.

Adebayo wouldn’t go that far when I had a chance to ask him directly over the weekend, but he did acknowledge that losing out to Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez, Indiana’s Myles Turner and Denver’s Mason Plumlee left him with a “bigger chip on my shoulder.”

“Obviously no man wants to get cut, so I take it personally,” Adebayo said after posting the second of those triple-doubles in an overtime win on Saturday night in Dallas. “But it’s behind me now.”

Yet Adebayo insisted that “it’s not the reason why I’ve been doing what I’m doing.”

Credit Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra for instilling him with the confidence to become an increasingly significant part of Miami’s offense on top of Adebayo’s Draymond Green-like ability to guard all five positions.

Q: Does Taylor Jenkins have what it takes to not only guide the Grizzlies back into the playoffs in the next couple of years but also keep the Grizzlies in the city of Memphis? Or is a move to Las Vegas or Seattle inevitable? — Ross Kerwin (Hoboken, N.J.)

STEIN: Let’s separate these very disparate questions.

The Grizzlies, at 10-17 and fresh off a home win over Miami, have been a refreshingly tough out.

I didn’t expect a lot from this group with so much being asked of three rookies: Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke and the new coach. But Jenkins has the Grizzlies moving the ball. Morant, Clarke and the second-year forward Jaren Jackson Jr. are all thriving.

Memphis is 4-1 since Morant came back from a bout of back spasms, and the only loss was to mighty Milwaukee.

But let’s be clear here: Jenkins will have virtually nothing to do with keeping the Grizzlies in Memphis. That’s way beyond his pay grade. The team owner Robert Pera, in his most recent comments on the matter in April 2018, said he is “committed to Memphis as an N.B.A. market” and has no intention of relocating the franchise.

Neither relocation nor expansion is considered a pressing topic in the league at the moment, but the Grizzlies do continue to be mentioned as an occasional relocation candidate, thanks to their market size (29th in a 30-team league) and their struggles at the gate. They awoke on Tuesday ranked 28th in the league in home attendance at 15,304 fans per game, ahead of only New Orleans and Minnesota.

Should Pera’s stance change before 2027, various locally based minority shareholders in the Grizzlies must be given the first shot at buying the team, according to reporting from my fellow Western New York native Geoff Calkins, now of the Daily Memphian. If things ever reached that point, mind you, it would be fair to wonder who in Memphis could afford the going rate for an N.B.A. team.

The big picture, though, looks encouraging as a calendar flip to 2020 draws near. Faster than most outsiders anticipated after it traded away Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, Memphis would appear to have the makings of a new core starring Morant, Jackson and Clarke. With the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson still out indefinitely after October knee surgery, Morant is the Rookie of the Year favorite — and showing everyone why numerous pundits proclaimed him a potential franchise-saver when the Grizzlies won the No. 2 overall pick in last May’s draft lottery to acquire him.

Q: Feel stupid now for not having the Pacers make the playoffs in your preseason predictions? — Randy Bruce

STEIN: No, sir.

And that’s because I didn’t pick the Pacers to miss the playoffs.

I’ll be the first to put my hand up when I misfire with a prediction. Example: My tout that the Utah Jazz will reach the Western Conference finals isn’t looking especially clever at the minute.

But if you check back to my Eight Fearless Predictions newsletter from Oct. 22, I think you’ll find that I said Pacers Coach Nate McMillan would be in the conversation for the Coach of the Year Award if he can steer Indiana to what so many of us thought would be an up-for-grabs No. 3 seed in the East. Even with Victor Oladipo’s ongoing injury absence and even after the Pacers’ surprising 0-3 start, I (and many others) had Indiana as a playoff team.

The surprise, through Monday’s games, is that the Pacers are one of six teams in the East that have an average point differential of plus-4.9 and above. I can’t remember anyone who projected that to last this deeply into the schedule. According to Cleaning The Glass, Indiana’s average victory margin of plus-5.0 is worthy of a 54-win team.

Numbers Game

13

The Milwaukee Bucks, finally beaten on Monday night by Dallas, were the 13th team in league history to assemble a winning streak of at least 18 games. Only seven of the previous 12 teams, however, went on to win the N.B.A. championship. They are the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33 wins in a row), 2012-13 Miami Heat (27), 1970-71 Bucks (20), 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs (19), 1999-2000 Lakers (19), 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (18) and the 1969-70 Knicks (18). The five teams that fell short are the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (24), 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22), 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks (19), 2008-09 Boston Celtics (19) and the 1981-82 Celtics (18).

2.8

In 1979-80, when the 3-point line was introduced in the N.B.A., teams combined to shoot an average of 2.8 3s per game. Forty seasons later, in 2019-20, teams are averaging nearly 30 more 3-pointers at 33.7 per game.

2

When James Harden followed a 55-point outburst in Cleveland with 54 points in Orlando last week, it marked the second time this season that the Houston scoring machine posted consecutive 50-point games. He’s done it five times in his career.

32

An interesting offshoot of the load management era: Several players who would be classified as Most Valuable Player Award candidates are averaging 32 minutes per game or fewer. They are: Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo (31.2), Dallas’ Luka Doncic (32.2), Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (30.7) and the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (31.5).

51

There are 51 days remaining before the Feb. 6 trade deadline at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Trade season began in earnest on Sunday when more than 100 players who signed contracts in the summer became eligible to be dealt. Potential names on the move include Cleveland’s Kevin Love, Memphis’ Andre Iguodala and the Knicks’ Marcus Morris. Trade chatter could begin to ramp up this week when representatives from all 30 teams converge on Las Vegas for the N.B.A.’s annual G League Showcase.

Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@marcsteinnba). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com.

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How Jell-O molds claimed their spot on the american table

I ate Jell-O, of course — it was the first thing I learned to “cook,” in a dedicated set of Tupperware bowls. Its bright primary colors sparkled in glass coupes at every coffee shop in the city, and it had a taste of forbidden fruit, like melted hard candies. With a crown of equally forbidden whipped topping, it was considered a luxurious dessert.

But in my 14th year, the Jell-O paradigm shifted. My pack of friends was invited to dinner at the home of another friend; her mother, a transplanted Southerner, had already set the table with the first course. All of us New Yorkers stopped dead, goggling at plates that held individual molds of red Jell-O topped with a dab of something too yellow to be Cool Whip.

Someone blurted out, “If that’s mayonnaise, I’ll choke!” Naturally, this was greeted with shrieks of laughter. With ice water in her voice, this heroic woman simply said, “You can scrape it off if you don’t like it.”

I remember eating the rest of the meal in silence, cheeks burning with shame. Still, I wondered: Why was dessert served as an appetizer? Why was it topped with the sandwich spread?

I had stumbled into the eternal conundrum of Jell-O: Is it a salad, a dessert or somehow both?

This time of year, many Americans have Jell-O molds on their minds. Jell-O consumption has gone down steadily since its peak in the mid-20th century, but many cooks bring back a favorite dish in this category for the holiday table. (Others satisfy themselves with a can of wiggly gelled cranberry sauce, and some serve both.) Whether it is called a Jell-O mold or a congealed salad, or has a given name like Golden Glow Salad, Celery Nut Circle or Strawberry Pretzel Surprise, it is usually sweet and tangy, sometimes creamy or salty, occasionally crunchy and briny.

But even those who love them are not always sure what they are.

“It goes on the buffet with the turkey and the ham, and it stays through the pies,” said Jeffrey Zweben, a lawyer in Atlanta. He ignores Jell-O for most of the year, but starts stockpiling his favorite, the hard-to-find black cherry flavor, in September. For his signature Thanksgiving mold, he combines it with whole cranberries, crushed pineapple, cream cheese, whipped cream and — of course — a tablespoon of mayonnaise.

“It goes with everything,” he said firmly. “Jell-O is a processed joy.”

But do all Jell-O molds evoke joy? A spin through The New York Times Food library turned up a Mormon community cookbook recipe with lemon Jell-O, canned tuna, canned condensed chicken-and-rice soup, salad dressing, whipped cream, celery, peas and walnuts; a 7Up Cheese Aspic with lime Jell-O, 7Up soda, grated onion, diced Velveeta, celery and olives; and a corned beef loaf with lemon Jell-O, for which there are no words.

It took more than 20 years for me to exorcise and explain that first Jell-O mold encounter. The process began at luncheon at the Woman’s Club in Richmond, Virginia, where each guest received an exquisite plate: a half-moon of red Jell-O surrounded by cheese straws, cream cheese-stuffed celery sticks and a scoop of chicken salad.

I loved this meal, but I still didn’t understand it.

(Audra Melton | The New York Times) Jeffrey Zweben’s signature Jell-O mold at home in Atlanta, on Nov. 23, 2019.

I tried. I learned that gelatin salads flow from the traditions of Edwardian vegetable aspics; of ancient, naturally gelled bone broths; of European classics like jellied meats and Bavarian cream and blancmange. I learned that the United States is far from alone in its dedication to jellies: grass jelly in China, kanten in Japan and gulaman in the Philippines are all made from agar, a bouncy gelling agent extracted from algae.

I learned that sweet, cheap, instant Jell-O was a dessert that truly reflected the Space Age, that its artificial qualities were part of its appeal.

I learned that women who were nudged back into home kitchens after World War II brought their pent-up ambition and creativity to the new phenomenon of “entertaining,” and that a molded salad could be seen as a metaphor for how women of the era were supposed to be: well-contained, bright, pretty and resilient.

“A salad at last in control of itself,” is how historian Laura Shapiro described Jell-O molds in “Perfection Salad,” her book about American cooking at the turn of the 20th-century. It is titled after a durably popular concoction of lemon Jell-O with shredded cabbage, carrots, celery, peppers and pimento-stuffed olives. (The recipe won third place and a sewing machine in a 1904 contest held by the Knox Gelatine company, and was published in its booklet “Dainty Desserts for Dainty People” in 1915.)

It is easy to poke fun at Jell-O molds like these; in fact, there are blogs and Twitter feeds dedicated to surfacing them. It is not as easy to understand how they fit into Thanksgiving traditions, as they certainly do, especially in the South, Midwest and Utah (where Jell-O is the official state snack).

Jellies have a long history on American tables, going back at least to Thomas Jefferson’s diplomatic mission to France, where he lived from 1784 to 1789 and wrote down a recipe for nutmeg- and lemon-spiked “wine jelly” on what appears to be an 18th-century version of a cocktail napkin.

When the dish was served at Monticello, however, it is certain that the actual work of boiling and scraping a calf’s foot to make gelatin, clarifying it with egg whites, seasoning it with a fortified wine, sugar, lemon and nutmeg, and making sure it set evenly was overseen by James Hemings, the enslaved chef who had received formal French culinary training during Jefferson’s time abroad.

Historian Toni Tipton-Martin said that jellies and aspics connoted wealth and luxury because they were so hard to make. “It showed not only that you had people working for you,” she said, “but you had extra hands to make food that was completely frivolous.”

For less privileged Americans, meals were entirely practical, and repetitive at best. Tipton-Martin said the root vegetables and starches that we associate with Thanksgiving — stale bread, potatoes, winter squash — made up the daily diet of many people from November to March until the Industrial Revolution.

The need for preserves, relishes and chutneys to relieve the monotony (and to provide nutrition) was acute. Thanksgiving became an occasion to break into jars that held the previous summer’s harvest, most of them with flavors both briny and sweet: pickled carrots and green tomatoes, piccalilli and pear butter, pickled blackberries and corn relish. Tart jellies made from pectin-rich fruit, like quince and cranberries, were commonly served with meat.

After 1845, when Peter Cooper patented the first powdered unflavored gelatin, the history of Jell-O races forward. Savory molds like cucumber mousse, tomato aspic and glacé fish mold were just as popular as sweet ones until the presweetened Jell-O brand cornered the market soon after being introduced at the turn of the 20th century.

According to historian Anne Mendelson, the product’s convenience was so invaluable to women of the early 20th century that they simply plugged sweet lime, lemon and cherry Jell-O into savory recipes that were once seasoned with fresh lemon juice, meat stock and tomato juice.

“That’s how we ended up with these sweet gelatin salads,” said Mendelson, the author of “Stand Facing the Stove,” a comprehensive history of “Joy of Cooking.”

As “Joy of Cooking” has evolved since the first edition in 1931, written by Irma S. Rombauer, so have its recipes for gelatin molds and related aspics, whips, snows, puddings and charlottes. Some of the originals remain holiday classics, like the Golden Glow Salad of crushed pineapple, shredded carrots and lemon or orange Jell-O. (The finished product looks like a luminous, jiggly pumpkin.)

“That one turned out to be part of a lot of people’s Thanksgivings,” said John Becker, the book’s latest editor (and one of Irma’s great-grandsons). Becker, who edited the 2019 edition with his wife, Megan Scott, is a member of the fourth generation of the Rombauer family to attempt to steer the book through the wild swings of American food in the last century.

Irma Rombauer “adored anything you could do with sweet gelatin,” Mendelson said, but her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, “got religion about healthy eating and about fighting Big Food,” and took out many of the elaborate (layered, stuffed, multicolored) gelatin salads by 1975.

The 2019 edition has about 10 gelatin salads, mostly made with unflavored gelatin and real fruit juices, and accompanied by advice on how to make them vegan. Becker said that he and Scott wanted to move the book back toward its roots as a practical manual that both reflects and inspires the cooks of its time.

“We didn’t want to retain legacy content just for the sake of kitsch,” he said.

But kitsch is definitely part of the Jell-O-mold conversation.

Victoria Belanger, the self-proclaimed Jell-O Mold Mistress of Brooklyn and an expert in the gelatinous arts, said that among fans of her work, “there’s a kind of ironic attitude toward Jell-O molds.”

She said the tradition has recently morphed again among younger Thanksgiving cooks, who make fancy dessert Jell-O shots in flavors like cranberry spice and apple pie a la mode. Modern holiday Jell-O-shot recipes are layered like parfaits and garnished like craft cocktails, with herb sprigs and sugar-frosted cranberries.

Ashley Baker is a law student in Colorado who holds an annual potluck Friendsgiving feast, for which she does all the desserts. This year, instead of pumpkin pie, she’s making pumpkin spice Jell-O shots with Kahlúa, vodka and cream. “P.S.L. Jell-O shots go really well with other desserts,” she said. (PSL, or pumpkin spice latte flavor, doesn’t necessarily include either pumpkin or coffee; it’s a mix of cinnamon, ginger, vanilla and nutmeg that used to be called pie spice.)

“This way I don’t have to make pumpkin pie,” Baker said. “No one ever ate it anyway.”

Recipe: Cherry-Lemon Cream Jell-O Mold Yield: 10 to 12 servings Total time: 30 minutes, plus at least 4 hours’ chilling 1 large (6-ounce) package lemon Jell-O 4 cups boiling water 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream Neutral cooking spray 2 large (6-ounce) packages black cherry Jell-O, or use plain cherry or cranberry Jell-O 1 quart sweet or tart cherry juice, or use cranberry juice (opt for less cloudy varieties) Fresh holly sprigs, bay leaves or edible flowers, for garnish 1. Pour lemon mix into a medium bowl and add 2 cups boiling water. Stir until dissolved, then let cool until warm but not steaming hot, about 10 minutes. Gradually whisk in sour cream until smooth. 2. Spray a 10- or 12-cup mold or Bundt pan, preferably nonstick, very lightly with neutral cooking spray. Blot any extra oil with paper towels. Pour in lemon-sour cream mixture and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. 3. About 15 minutes before lemon-sour cream mixture has set, pour cherry mix into a large bowl and add 2 cups boiling water. Stir until dissolved, then stir in cherry or cranberry juice. Make sure mixture has cooled to lukewarm at most before proceeding. 4. When lemon-sour cream mixture is set, gently ladle the cherry mixture over it. Don’t pour it on top, as the mixture breaks easily. Refrigerate again until completely set, at least 3 hours or overnight. (If you want to create multiple thinner layers of Jell-O, as seen in the picture here, instead of just one layer of each flavor, see Note.) 5. When ready to unmold, run the tip of a sharp knife around the edge of the pan to break the seal. Dip the bottom half of the mold in warm (not hot) water for 15 seconds. Place a serving plate over the top and flip to unmold. (If the mold doesn’t come out immediately, don’t shake it; try the warm water treatment again, 15 seconds at a time, until it comes out. If you leave the mold in the water for a longer time, it may start to melt.) 6. Just before serving, garnish, then slice, using a sharp knife and wiping the blade between slices. Note: To create multiple thinner layers in the mold, refrigerate 1 hour after adding each layer, and whisk each remaining Jell-O mixture in its bowl well before ladling it into the mold or Bundt pan to form the next layer. Chill the completed mold at least 3 hours or overnight.

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