69 Comments

I do not understand why we should care about the shooters personal life or motivation. Suppose he IS a sex addict and that’s why he did this: who cares? He’s still a deplorable human being who deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars. I, as a citizen, do not want to discern exactly why this wretched human being felt it necessary to shoot up two massage parlors: I want him to go behind bars and I want the police to figure out how to stop more shootings in the first place.

We should remember the victims, prosecute the shooters, and finally do something about guns. It’s past time.

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Mar 18, 2021Liked by Craig Calcaterra

F for Fake is a great movie and if just got HBO Max to hate-watch the Snyder Cut, reward yourself with F for Fake after.

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That the Atlanta shooting was not racially motivated strains credulity. The Sheriff's office made the claim that perpetrator is a sex addict, but couldn't make the connection to the sexualization and fetishization of Asian women in this country. I shouldn't be, but I do get continually amazed by how clueless people are.

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Mar 18, 2021Liked by Craig Calcaterra

Kids, find something you love as much as Craig loves hating JD Vance. It’s an inspiration. (I know it’s easy, but still...)

Also, I was prepared to roll my eyes/skip the Substack thing but it was very interesting and thoughtful. I really enjoy this newsletter, but I would hate to have to follow you around the Internet because of someone else’s stupid decisions. If changing platforms works for you, great; but just like with jobs or relationships, it’s always smarter to jump to than jump from.

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Re: those Padre hat/uni combos

*Dean Wormer voice* Oh my god.

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There's a shit-tonne of studies on the motivations of Trump voters, which all converge on racial resentment being a much stronger motivator than "economic anxiety." Of course, ignoring inconvenient data puts JD Vance in the mainstream for GOP politicians.

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Lol. Vance’s friends don’t hate Obama because he’s black, they hate him because he’s a wealthy, Ivy League-educated man from a major metropolis. That’s why they ditched the Democratic party for... a wealthy, Ivy League-educated man from a major metropolis. The only difference between Obama and Trump (in Vance’s framing) is that Obama is actually intelligent and had to earn his way to what he got.

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When you say “watch me flail”, are you planning on just flailing your arms around and saying “What in the world?” over and over for two minutes?

I can see this being a really effective way to sum up <<flails arms around>> ALL THIS

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Freddie de Boer might be an asshole, but I've never heard anyone accuse him of being transphobic, nor does Doyle in the article you've linked to. To label him as such here seems unjustified.

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Mar 18, 2021Liked by Craig Calcaterra

I asked for a take on the Substack mishegos, and you delivered. You need to trademark some version of "Shitheads will be shitheads." Seems like media, tech, and MLB worlds repeat this theme on a fairly regular basis...and you call them out on it.

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Those Padres unis are the work clothes of the 3rd best tree service in town, the one you call after a storm and the first 2 booked full for 2 weeks and you really need someone to cut the branch off your roof and tarp it so the roofers can get started. All your neighbors are going to see that and ask, "You couldn't get the good tree guys?" or in this case, "Eric Hosmer? I guess you gotta have someone at first and he's someone."

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Dave Parker was “the Cobra” in Pgh. But boppin’ was the product of the “Lumber Company”. Always in contention, always exciting, their hitting for average and power lasted several years in the ‘70s. In those pre-internet days, it was standard to read box-scores, and “league-leaders” each morning. The Pirate starters and bench would appear 5,6, or 7 times in the top ten in BA & RBI. That did not translate to total domination, but evidenced the hitting talent. Harry “the Hat” Walker deserves some credit for instructing light-hitting speedsters like the Alou brothers, and even Maury Wills, to hammer the ball into the ground, and sprint to first. Parker, Stargell, Roberto Clemente, (until ‘72) Al Oliver, and Richie Hebner drove in those singles hitters. Those teams were exciting, dramatic, and real.

Alas, we have memories; but it is particularly cruel to be a fan, who at age 9 loved the 1960 Champions, and remains a fan of NL baseball sentenced to living today in Pittsburgh.

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On a happier note, Craig has won perhaps the most important endorsement any baseball writer could get. https://twitter.com/oldhossradbourn/status/1372509702035214336?s=21

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I saw me open for Baratunde Thurston at 20x2.

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One thing I would argue about theoretically leaving Substack is that even if you alone leaving doesn't have an effect on the "shitheads", the last thing the company wants is to have a general exodus of one side of the political compass. Not because it would necessarily affect the bottom line, as I would guess that some of those losers bring in a significant-enough subscriber base on their own to still run the company. But if they end up getting a reputation as the "toxic" newsletter production platform, that puts them in the position of having to defend the bad people just to keep them around and avoid shutting down completely.

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RE: Dave Parker and the inspiration for his shirt. Do baseball players still go to bars after games? Or in the age of camera phones is it just not worth it? I remember reading how the 84 Tigers would take over the AC Lindell after games.

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