Is the CFL trying to be more like the NFL a good thing?

Overall, I think not, per all these changes.

Two, I get. Moving the goalposts to the back of the end zone and shrinking end zones to 15 yards, sure. 

But, changing the rules on the rouge point? And, what the hell is this "single"? I learned it as "the rouge point." 

The longer play clock will make it more of a coaches' game than now.

Shortening the field to the same distance as the US while keeping it wider (cuz 12 men, I guess?) will look weird.

Being a dictatorial commissioner announcing all this without (allegedly) talking to players? "Priceless."

Simplicius: Russian disinformation operator?

I have written about good old Simplicius and his questionable insight on the Russia-Ukraine war before, not just once with a general callout, but also calling out the further nuttery at his second Substack being conspiracy theory nutterism, including trafficking in some antisemitic conspiracy theories.

So? Per this piece, he's a nutter in general if he's postulating a Stuxnet (which he spells as "Stux-net"; is English not his first language?) type operation against the Russian drones that flew over Poland early this month.

The incident was obviously very strange because, while a few errant Russian drones had maybe fallen over other countries here and there—after likely being jammed off their course—this has never happened in such a large scale. This heavily suggests something very fishy, in the way of either a false flag or a coordinated campaign; that is to say, something like an Israeli Stux-net or “pager” operation where a large amount of Russian drones are “tampered with” before hand, whether that’s by digital infection of firmware via virus, or something else. 

There were several signs pointing to the ‘false flag’ explanation, for instance a photo of a Russian drone that landed on a Polish “chicken coop” that shows the drone taped together with literal duct tape

Hell, I think the idea that he's Russian-controlled disinformation is more likely to be true.  

As for the photos he claims show a false flag? WHOSE photos? Was this just rando NAFO nutter types?

He then abandons this to postulate that the seven Alternativ für Deutschland Nordrhein-Westfallen state election candidates who died earlier this month were surely offed. Snopes, with links to German media stories, says otherwise. 

He then pivots back to Russia, posting video from a racist like "Bebo."

Meanwhile? If Simplicius still thinks he understands Trump on Ukraine, the fact that the Donald talked to Zelensky at the UN General Assembly and then said he thinks Ukraine can totally roll back Russia (story notes it isn't clear if he meant pre-2022 boundaries or even pre-2014) shows he doesn't. That makes this Sept. 15 piece about how Trump "appears to have fairly cunningly outplayed Europe" incredibly stupid.

There's some stupidity in that piece otherwise.

If Ukraine were really launching drone attacks on Russia from the Baltic states, and it were serious enough, wouldn't Putin have a response?

As far as Simplicius getting back to tactical analysis? At that piece, one thing jumped out at me: None of his maps there have a distance scale. Maybe that's in general? You can make it look like Russia is doing a massive advance if you don't let the reader know the entire map, in its longer dimension, only covers 1 mile. Handwaving, it's called. 

I am snarking, of course, on the "Russian-controlled disinformation,' but he sure as hell opens himself up to that snark. 

RIP Jane Goodall — but not unalloyed

Per her most recent book, and my take, my personal RIP for Jane Goodall is not unalloyed. She appeared to be descending into New Ageism and pseudoscience, sadly. She had a co-author in Gail Hudson for this and her previous 3 books, which may be part of it. But? It's still Goodall's name as the lead author. (This Douglas Abrams as third author is only a co-author on this one of Goodall's books.) 

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Too New Agey and too based on logical fallacies for me.

I agree that developing hope and resilience are good. I think anecdotal stories can be a part of this. But, the background thoughts, the framing? Not for me.

On the former of the two things mentioned in the first paragraph? The "spark that's in everything" is where Goodall started losing me. Claiming trees communicate pretty much sealed the deal.

Reality? Trees don't even "communicate," re the example she used that's all the rage in non-critical-thinking biologists today. Rather, fungi on the roots of one tree "communicate" (and scare quotes needed, because they don't actually communicate, either) with the fungi on the roots of another tree. The two, or more, trees have nothing to do with directing, or "directing," this. They're just free riders.

The logical fallacy? Bullseye fallacy, file drawer fallacy, whatever you call it. For every person that survives horrifying child abuse, civil war, etc, at least one more doesn't. Not telling their stories, especially when you are presenting from a New Agey angle, can — even if not intended — guilt trip survivors into "why can't I be more hopeful?" Barbara Ehrenreich covered this perfectly on her book about cancer survival.

I wavered between two and three stars but ultimately went with two.

View all my reviews

I suspect that, had she written another book post-COVID, Goodall would have gone even further down the New Agey world, perhaps diving into things like traditional medicine next. Related? About three-fifths down her Wiki bio, she apparently believed, or semi-believed, in Bigfoot and other cryptids.

Apparently, this was nothing new. In "Reason for Hope," a pre-Hudson book, Wiki notes:

Goodall described the implications of a mystical experience she had at Notre Dame Cathedral in 1977: "Since I cannot believe that this was the result of chance, I have to admit anti-chance. And so I must believe in a guiding power in the universe – in other words, I must believe in God."[98] When asked if she believes in God, Goodall said in September 2010: "I don't have any idea of who or what God is. But I do believe in some great spiritual power. I feel it particularly when I'm out in nature. It's just something that's bigger and stronger than what I am or what anybody is. I feel it. And it's enough for me."[99] When asked in the same year if she still considers herself a Christian, Goodall told the Guardian "I suppose so; I was raised as a Christian." and stated that she saw no contradiction between evolution and belief in God.

Gack. Not on the theistic evolution part, but on overinterpreting the mystical experience part. I above mention Ehrenreich and her book about cancer survival. The problem is that Ehrenreich dived at least as deep into that same empty pool in her memoir, as I noted in detail.

Other problems? "Seeds of Hope," her second Hudson collaboration, had plagiarism issues. Beyond the issue of plagiarism is WHAT she plagiarized, which the Washington Post noted included an "amateurish astrology site."

She did a lot of good, so this isn't a full takedown obit. It is halfway one, though. 

Texas Progressives talk voting, hypocrisy, more

Off the Kuff points to some big voter registration problems around the state, some due to the bankruptcy of a vendor and some due to a problematic software upgrade being managed by the Secretary of State. 

SocraticGadfly talks about hypocrisy and more in the Libertarian Party.

You stereotypically can't dance at Baptist Baylor, but you can have a secret society driving admins nuts. 

Meet the woman fighting for aid for cancer-stricken workers at Pantex. 

Neil at the Houston Democracy Project said Hale, Salinas & Thomas merit a look for Council At-Large 4. Which approach sails your ship?

G. Elliott Morris really wants you to know how unpopular Trump is.

The Bloggess attended an estate sale for the late Shelley Duvall, and came away with some amazing books.

Your Local Epidemiologist gets into the Tylenol and autism situation.

The Texas Signal talks to a couple of Democratic Congressional candidates, one running in a district that was massively affected by redistricting, and one running in a district that was not.

Texas ConservaDem Andrew White, possibly dogwhistling for governor?

ConservaDem Andrew White, not listening to 2018, is running for gov again next year. Oy. And, yes, he's running as a ConservaDem and specifically targeting, at least indirectly, running against the "wokeness" within the Dem party, saying "Texans are tired of the culture wars." And, of course, his current campaign mugshot photo is with a mini-Stetson cowboy hat, part of his appeal to be the anti-woke candidate, surely.

He'll get roasted in the primary, even if it remains a weak field. And, per the Chronic's story on his announcement, as of right now, it's an incredibly weak field.

First, he's wrong about the culture wars issue in general. A non-Democrat, a libertarian like Radley Balko, said that a month ago.

Second, he's wrong about the culture wars here in Tex-ass, definitely with pushback from courts and such on the post-Charlie Kirk round. 

Third, contra ConservaDems like him who believe you can't fart and chew gum at the same time, per what LBJ said about Jerry Ford, you can fight culture battles AND work to save rural hospitals and such. 

"A" stands for "Andrew" and also for "appeasement." 

And "D" in this case stands for dogwhistle. Kuff didn't pick up in full on these comments White made at the end of the Chronic story:

White argued Democratic voters at the time weren’t “ready” for him, saying the party was “playing a lot of identity politics” and focused on movements like Black Lives Matter and MeToo. 

“I think they're ready for me now. They're ready for a candidate that looks and speaks and acts — and with the background that I have,” he said. “I'm a balanced candidate. I'm a candidate, as an independent Democrat, that's willing to work with both sides. I'll work with reasonable Republicans and Democrats to get stuff done.”

Uhhhh, yeah. 

That story reads like White was about to say:

"They're ready for a candidate that looks and speaks and acts like me." 

The Chronic's reporter apparently didn't pick up on that and blew it by not asking a follow-up.

Update, Nov. 5, 2025: With the constitutional amendments election out of the way, can we discuss further that Andrew White walks, talks and quacks like a dogwhistler? 

Kendall Scudder's new faux pas with Texas Democrats

The Trib reports on how he's moving state party headquarters from Austin to Dallas, and pissing off party rank and file staffers who are resigning, and possibly rank and file leadership mad they weren't consulted.

Every member of the party’s top staff, including the executive director, chief of staff and two communications staffers, is departing after Scudder required them to agree to move to Dallas by November — or else be laid off. A fifth top staffer has already quit, and more departures among the seven other staffers are expected.

The Trib details the action and leadership vote:

The State Democratic Executive Committee, the party’s governing board, voted on Sept. 13 to close the party’s Austin headquarters and move the party’s central hub to Dallas, while maintaining an office in Austin and opening new outposts in Amarillo, Eagle Pass and Houston.

Then Scudder's BS.

“We are building a grassroots army of working-class Texans in every corner of this state, ceding no territory and standing firm in our convictions to do things differently to win elections,” Scudder said in a news release announcing the new offices.

Note for Kendall and party both. You could have kept HQ in Austin (the state capital) and opened an extension office in Dallas, along with the ones in Eagle Pass and Houston.  

I name both Scudder and state Dem leaders, but the ex comm wouldn't have voted for this without a push or four from Scudder. Confirmed:

Scudder pushed forward with the relocation even after the party’s executive director and chief of staff warned him that the move would result in a cascade of staff departures, said one person familiar with the discussions, who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deliberations.

There you are, a mini-me tyrant. 

Per the state capital angle, this:

Members of the Democratic National Committee and Democrat-aligned political groups in Texas also expressed reservations about the move to Scudder, according to five people familiar with the discussions. They feared that relocating to Dallas would wipe out staff infrastructure, and that the resulting upheaval would fray national Democratic sentiment toward the state party going into the 2026 elections. ... 

Upon hearing of the move, DNC Chair Ken Martin expressed concern about the plan and what it would mean for staff, according to a Texas DNC member who spoke to Martin about the matter two weeks ago. That member also spoke with DNC Vice Chair Shasti Conrad and Executive Director Roger Lau, who similarly expressed concern and confusion.

Backs up my note above. 

And, given Democrats are supposed to be the party of unions, this:

Four minutes before the SDEC’s Sept. 13 meeting, a representative from the party employees’ union proposed a set of worker protections related to the move, including granting staff members the right to refuse to relocate without being fired. 

The SDEC is not typically involved in labor negotiations and did not take up the measures. But Scudder was angry and felt ambushed by the proposals, according to three people who were in the room. In a Sept. 16 letter sent through a lawyer, Scudder and other management-level representatives called the union’s move a “serious breach of its duty to bargain in good faith,” and demanded the union retract its proposals.

Don't look good. 

Will all this lead the Observer to stop fellating him, as I called them out for two weeks ago? Probably not.

For me, knowing his background, it's not a real surprise. 

"Interesting" that Kuff has nothing. 

I predict Texas Democrats will regret making him their choice to replace Gilberto Hinojosa, but it will take a while to hit that point. 

Texas already facing the post-Charlie Kirk thought control backlash

First, Texas A&M regents have coughed up settlement money for former president Mark Welsh, who was unofficially pushed out the door into resignation a week ago.

His push was actually related to a faculty member he said he wouldn't fire, then did, and a student commenting to a prof about transgender and transsexual issues in a children's lit course.

Even though he resigned rather than be fired, Welsh may have retained legal counsel and started action, per the story.

And, yes, his push-out was not directly over Kirk issues, but the intolerance that the Lege has generated through legislation against diversity, equity and inclusion issues got whipped into higher heat earlier this month. 

Second, a court has ordered reinstatement of fired Texas State University professor Thomas Alter:

Thomas Alter was fired on Sept. 10 after a video of him at an online socialist conference was posted online depicting him talking about political organization, which university administration said allegedly “advocate[d] for inciting violence.” Alter, whose tenure officially began on Sept. 1, subsequently sued the university, alleging they violated due process by terminating him abruptly.

As the Trib noted in the story of his firing, the video was a deliberate editorial hit job.

Meanwhile, per the second link, this is part of a recent history of stifling dissent related to St. Charles of Kirk at Texas State:

The professor’s firing was one of several recent cases at Texas State University where administration has stepped in to respond to comments made by students and staff on and off campus. A Texas State University student was given the decision to be expelled or withdraw his enrollment after he mocked conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death. A faculty recruiter was also fired for comments she made online related to the student, according to Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, and a spokesperson for the university.

There you are.

The Observer notes this is nothing new, citing the firing of Homer Rainey as president of UT in the 1940s over a wingnut witch hunt of alleged Communists that had already fired four faculty members. The author says Rainey lost the battle but won the war in that case. The same may not happen this time.

At The Barbed Wire, Taylor Crumpton says the free speech crisis is even worse for Black academics. 

==

Update: That said, the "fore-lash" is still going strong. The state's top educational Nazi, complete with horn-rimmed version of Heinrich Himmler glasses, Mike Morath, is threatening to jerk certifications of K-12 teachers reported for Charlie Kirk comments. And, in reality, per the Observer, many of the reported comments almost surely were NOT incitations to violence, surely far less than Donald Trump did on Jan. 6, 2021.

Here's another reason to vote NO on Proposition 4, Texans

I already gave you the basics two weeks ago, noting that Charles Perry's watery wet dream is an economic boondoggle and an environmental clusterfuck.

The Trib now offers more buttressing for both issues when it says the state doesn't know how much water all the data centers that are scrambling to be built will use.

Tex-ass being Tex-ass, of course,  all these data centers will get built out, without a bit of concern coming out of Austin. That's even though what's currently online or planned to go online will use nearly 3 percent of the state's current water by 2030.

This is an additional problem for other reasons.

Two are noted in the Trib. One of them is that some other states are requiring new data sites to have proved-up water supplies. The other is that Trump is pushing data centers here.

The reason noted by the Trib gets back to what I said about Prop 4 — climate change. 

Killing Prop 4 won't kill data centers already in the pipeline, of course. But, it could give local-level government an extra tool to play against centers NOT in the pipeline. It could also force the Lege to get more serious about water supply and in a better way than Charles Perry.