Welfare Mothers and NFL Week 10

 

I was reading this morning how our current administration, after being ruled that they had to release SNAP benefits to program participants, then went and appealed the decision.  The legal system being the legal system then put a hold on everything and wanted to hear further arguments.  I'll be honest, I don't know that much about the SNAP program beyond that it's the "food stamps" of today.  I grew up in what some would call a stereotypical suburban household.  A friend of mine from France was walking around my current neighborhood last weekend and started laughing.  "This is so funny.  It looks like an American movie." Around him was a Dad raking leaves, a couple that passed by on bikes, a couple kids tossing a football in front of enormous (by European standard) houses.  It's how I grew up, so it didn't seem weird.  From this perspective I grew up hearing a chorus around me about "welfare mothers rigging up the system for free food so they don't have to work".  Everyone in our community was of a common mind that "they" were leaching off the system.  Now, we didn't personally know anyone that was a "they", but it was assumed it was the black people that lived in the downtown bad neighborhoods of Erie.  Cut to one of my friend's mothers telling us, "You aren't driving in downtown Erie, are you?  It's DANGEROUS."  (That meant black people lived nearby.). It ain't easy living in The Bubble with dangers lurking everywhere.

It's very easy to be pissed off at people you didn't know living off the state when you were working hard to make the money to keep yourself fed.  Well, you weren't, but your Dad was doing whatever the hell he did at his company to keep food on the table and by extension, that was YOUR hard earned money.  Right?  Well, that was the attitude at my school.  Everyone was a self assured Charlie Kirk type with all the black and white answers.  Fucking poor people were poor because they were lazy and now they take MY (my Dad's) tax money for a free ride?  Fucking bullshit man.  It gets hammered into you out in the Burbs.

As you get more experienced in life, travel a bit, and meet people out of your bubble it begins to dawn on you.  Hey, maybe that kid Darryl from school, who lived in that beat up house by the water treatment plant with his sick Mom wasn't up front with us when he said he didn't want to go on the class DC trip.  Maybe Darryl didn't have the money to go.  He seemed to have some deal at the school cafeteria we didn't know about too.  I never remember seeing him pay at the register.  In retrospect, maybe Darryl's Mom was getting food stamps, and he's a good dude.  So...  OK I guess I don't have a problem with Darryl getting food stamps because his Mom can't work.  She is sick as shit.  Yeah... I guess it's OK if he gets them.  It's not like he's living like a King over there.  What, are we gonna let him starve?  I don't know those other people though.  They're probably ripping us off... or maybe there are more people in a bad spot like Darryl?  

I looked at those SNAP demographics.  39% of the people on the program are children.  88% of them are households with kids, disabled or elderly persons.  Our current government not only stopped giving these people food, but when a judge said "OK Government, you have to give those people their food", they went back to court and said "Yeah but we don't want to because we think we can pressure the other guys that don't want us to cut these same people's health care into signing that deal that gives rich people a little bit more tax money back".  And it's not like the money to feed everyone isn't just there.  That's not even the issue.  We are the richest country in the history of civilization and we are going to allow people to go hungry.  Our nation is willingly stopping kids, sick and elderly people from eating just to see their food used as a bargaining chip to cut a tiny minority's taxes that don't need it.  It's obscene.

As I munch on a bowl of granola and drink an espresso, t's not like I'm solving the problem by delivering food to sick people.  I'm "part of the problem adjacent".  I'm nestled into my spot of being in the one third of the population watching the other third gleefully inflict pain on the final third.  We all have our part to play I guess.  It's hard not to feel powerless as these types of injustice get rolled out.  What is it exactly that I can do about it?  Maybe I'll "take to the streets" later.  If I take my dogs, does it still count as "taking to the streets", or did I just take the bassets for a walk?  I don't know.  I guess I'd probably need to have a sign, but I'm not that craftsy so maybe I'll just watch these NFL Week 10 games instead.  Sorry kid without food.  I'm rooting for you but I don't know what to do about it.

Man, I got an assbeating last week.  I was way off on a couple of those.  Now I'm a little gun shy, but let's get back on the horse and get back to.500.  I do have a pick that I absolutely love this week.  The New York Jets.  Wait!  Hear me out on this!  The national narrative is that the Jets are dead in the water.  They traded shutdown corner Sauce Gardiner and that foundational D tackle for a boatload of draft picks (which they will presumably bungle).  The team is gutted and they have no chance.  To me, that's all New York myopic media shit.  Who are the Cleveland Browns to be favored on the road against ANYBODY?  Since the Browns decided to see "what they've got" with Dillon Gabriel, the Browns have the worst offense in football by a mile.  They make the Titans look dangerous.  Let's be realistic here.  The Jets don't have Gardiner, who Pro Football Focus has rated out as an average cornerback over the last two years.  Who cares?  The Browns can't get the ball to the receivers anyway.  Gabriel exclusively throws the ball in the middle to the tight ends, dump passes to the side, and has shown zero ability to throw downfield.  The Jets lose a D tackle?  Who cares.  The Browns problem comes from the edges because they don't have decent tackles.  The Jets defense is more than enough to stack the box versus the run and play everything in front of them like everyone else has done.  The Browns can't move the ball on anyone.

"Yeah, but Justin Fields sucks."  Yes, he does.  Fields has the 29th place QBR this year at 38.  That's not great.  But compare that to Dillon Gabriel and his 26 rating placing him 31st in the league.  So you are telling me that the Browns with the worst offense in the NFL since Gabriel started are going on the road and getting a win?  With a defense that gives up 30 per game on the road?  No way.  The Browns last covered a game on the road on October 13, 2024.  This line is an overreaction.  In a battle of "who sucks worse?", that answer is always the Browns.  Jets +2

Quarterbacks are divided into "win with" and "win because of" players.  That piece of shit JJ McCarthy that somehow put a good game up last week appears to be a "win with" guy.  You know, he's the kid at the pizza place that you let close up because you trust him just enough not to burn the place down, but you aren't having him handle peak Friday night rush.  Lamar Jackson is a "win because of" player.  That guy is really good at football.  He takes the Ravens from being a losing team into a winning team, and suddenly Jim Harbaugh becomes a good coach again.  I think I'd be a good coach if I had Lamar.  Between you and me though, that Ravens defense really blows.  I think the Ravens going to Minnesota is going to be all about Lamar pulling a rabbit out of the hat late.  I'm a little uneasy about betting against Lamar in the regular season, and I hate betting on NFC teams that have never faced him before, but I think this line is out of whack.  Lamar coming back doesn't fix everything.  Minnesota is a tough place to play. I'm on the Vikings +4.5.   

The Saints were bad with Spencer Rattler.  My biggest bet of the year was Saints under 7.5 wins when it seemed like Carr was maybe done.  The fact they somehow got worse by putting Tyler Slough in at QB is remarkable.  With the exception of that weird Buffalo game, the Saints are bad on the road and worse outdoors.  They like a nice smooth indoor track to play in.  I'm not sure if Carolina is any good compared to real teams, but they are better than the Saints.  The spread has me concerned because the public is on Carolina, so I'm going Carolina money line at home. 

Current record:  13-16