IrishQuaker2

US fertility reached 1.57 last year, the lowest ever recorded, and the WSJ explanation is "uncertainty about finances, relationship stability, and the political climate" my great grandma had eleven children during the second world war, in a country being bombed, in a house with no running water, on rations. poor people have always had kids. the poorest people on earth right now still have kids and the financial excuse is a story we tell ourselves because it makes us feel good and the real one is unbearable the real mechanism is that we got rich enough to redefine children as an expense instead of the point. somewhere in the last fifty years the cultural goal inverted and a child stopped being what life is for and became a line item competing with the lifestyle. once you frame it that way the math never works, because the math isnt supposed to work. that's the point we are living in the richest moment in human history and we decided to use the surplus to buy ourselves out of the future. the most prosperous civilization that has ever existed is committing demographic suicide at the altar of personal optimization and comfort, and the official line is that we cant afford it the birthrate is a lagging indicator of a civilization that forgot why it was alive

Jerian Grant That guy rocked.

@nightmancometth @robolivermd @WSJ Those kids are in the same position the June, July, and August birthdays were in before it became the norm to hold every kid back who was born in the summer. So why should those parents not hold their kids back?

@nightmancometth @robolivermd @WSJ Ok so then the March, April, and May birthdays should be held back? There’s no rule against that as far as I know. Dipshit.

Boy athletes are repeating eighth grade in a "holdback" year to grow ahead of recruitment for college NIL packages potentially worth millions on.wsj.com/4rAVtEQ

@nightmancometth @robolivermd @WSJ Should the kids born in March April and May now start holding back since they are the youngest so the data should now apply to them and suggest they should be held? Everyone should have to follow the rules or the cycle never ends.

@robolivermd @WSJ Which part is bad and wrong? The data shows (Malcolm Gladwell) that holding boys back a year with summer birthdays is by far the right emotional and social choice. Not a single parent I know who’s done it regrets it. Repeating grades for NIL, only if it pans out. Rare im sure

.@GovPritzker, I saw your post honoring lives lost in Minnesota—standing publicly, naming Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and laying flowers in their memory. But where was that same compassion on January 19, 2025? That is the day my 20-year-old daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed here in Illinois. She was innocent. She did not knowingly put herself in the middle of an ongoing law enforcement situation. She was not making a dangerous choice. She was simply living her life—and it was taken from her. You have never said her name. You have never come to where she died. You have never acknowledged her publicly. And beyond that—you have never even responded to me. I sent you a simple, non-political letter. Not for attention. Not for headlines. Just a father asking for clarity, for answers, and for understanding of the state’s position. You never replied. And now, in the wake of another tragedy here in Chicago, your public display of compassion elsewhere—while remaining silent about victims in your own state—feels deeply disconnected from the reality families like mine are living every day. Instead, you continue to defend sanctuary policies that create the conditions where preventable tragedies like hers can happen. This is not about politics. It’s about leadership and accountability. When you choose to publicly mourn some victims while remaining silent about others—especially those lost under policies you support—it sends a message. Whether intentional or not, it tells families like mine that our loss does not matter the same way. So I am asking you directly: Where is your compassion for my daughter? Where is your acknowledgment of victims here in Illinois? And when will you take responsibility for the consequences of the policies you defend? Say her name: Katie Abraham. Stand where she died. Show the people of Illinois that every life matters.

My super strong parenting opinion is that while the kids are awake, you come last. No spending all of Saturday golfing. That’s family time. 6 am tee time only, maybe. Wanna go to the gym? Go after the kids go to bed, or wake up at 5. In a few short years, they’ll be out of the house and you’ll have all the time in the world for your own stuff. It’s okay to come last for a while.

USC, having dropped Notre Dame this season, announces it will face San Jose State in Week 0. 2026 non-conference opponents: SJSU, Fresno St and Louisiana. Note the Big Ten is the only P4 league at this point that doesn't require 10 P4 games.

Why does Notre Dame get special treatment in the CFP MOU starting in 2026? At a quick glance, it does appear that Notre Dame receives special treatment. But after pulling back the layers, there is much more context to it. To be clear, the MOU is not public. This is based on information gathered from numerous articles by reporters who spoke with individuals involved in the agreement. In the spring of 2024, the Big Ten and SEC threatened to create their own postseason if they were not granted the majority of CFP revenue and CFP decision-making authority. Because of that, the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame signed a memorandum of understanding handing control to the Big Ten and SEC. The signing of this MOU takes effect beginning with the 2026 CFP and gives the Big Ten and SEC control. That is the first piece to understanding why Notre Dame has a carve-out included. One of the first things that caught my eye was a Ross Dellenger piece from November 2024. He wrote: “They didn’t settle on a format, instead only agreeing to protections that guarantee (1) the five highest-ranked champions an automatic berth, (2) the field to be 12 or 14 teams in size and (3) Notre Dame to receive an at-large bid if it is ranked inside the top 12 or 14, depending on the field size.” What stood out was that the five highest-ranked champions were described as receiving an automatic berth, while Notre Dame’s protection was described as an at-large bid. As I continued reading and connecting the dots, that distinction started to make more sense. Notre Dame’s carve-out appears tied directly to the control being handed over and the ongoing discussions about how the playoff format could change. To me, it does not seem as though Notre Dame’s protection was intended specifically for the current format. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has previously commented that CFP changes were needed and that the current format does not properly balance the conferences. It would seem he believes certain conferences deserve more guaranteed spots in the playoffs. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti told Yahoo Sports that if leaders “get the postseason right,” his league and others could then have the ability to play stronger non-conference schedules. What he appears to be alluding to is more guaranteed spots for the two strongest conferences, aligned scheduling such as nine conference games, and potential new scheduling agreements. Why would this matter? Currently conference rankings go off conference record not overall record, so if the playoff has several guaranteed spots for conference members based on conference rank, losing out of conference games will have less effect on making the CFP. So why does this matter? It seems fairly straightforward. If the CFP remains at 12 or 14 teams, we could see a model (which has been reported as an option) like a 3-3-2-2-1+1 structure, featuring multiple automatic qualifiers for the power conferences: 3 each for the SEC and Big Ten; 2 each for the ACC and Big 12; 1 reserved for the highest-ranked Group of Five champion; and 3 at-large spots. In that scenario, the number of true at-large bids would be significantly reduced. That directly impacts independents, along with ACC, Big 12, and Group of Five teams, all competing for fewer remaining at-large bids. This context helps explain why Notre Dame only signed off with protection in place. They agreed to hand over control as long as they were not structurally boxed out. This also adds context to why Notre Dame’s carve-out only exists in a 12 or 14 team playoff and not if the field gets larger to let’s say 24 teams. Once the playoff expands beyond 14 teams, the number of at-large bids would increase significantly, which removes the risk of Notre Dame being structurally boxed out. That protection was negotiated for a narrow window where access could shrink. If the field grows, the problem it was designed to solve largely disappears. Why should we care? With the rapid changes in the CFP and conference realignment, it’s difficult to predict what the next decade will look like. The money continues to grow, and we’ve already seen schools publicly question long-term alignment with conferences. More change seems inevitable. One of the more interesting aspects of all this is that the MOU itself has been reported on for some time. Ross Dellenger referenced it at least twice in the past year before reporting on this “new wrinkle” shortly after Selection Sunday last month. The article made it seem newly revealed, even though the framework had already been discussed by others including Ross himself. There were also no direct quotes from Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua in that piece about the MOU, only reporting about the MOU. I could be wrong, but the timing makes it feel less like new information and more like revisiting previously reported details at a moment when attention was highest. Once that piece hit the public it spread fast and Pete Bevacqua was forced to address it.

If Ohio State had Notre Dames schedule they would have also started 0-2 but probably lost by more than 4 combined points. I can’t believe they almost gave Sayin the Heisman.

So, part of that “brutal, unimaginable gauntlet of 4 STRAIGHT RANKED WINS” that Alabama had is a pair of teams who finished with a combined record of 16-10. Missouri: 8-5, did not beat a team with a winning record. Tennessee: 8-5, did not beat a team with a winning record.

@ohioversusall @PeteSampson_ You think the committee never arbitrarily places teams in a given ranking to get an intended result? 🤡

It behooved Miami

@RyanDyrudLAFB Am I the only person that realizes all 3 of these teams are in the Big Ten that USC says is so hard they can’t play us anymore? They played 2 this year and the other next year. USC is soft. That’s the story.

Purdue has had one 10-win season in its program history. Wisconsin has had 1 10-win season since 2018. MSU has had 1 double-digit win season since 2018. It is quite literally ND's fault that they hand-picked these teams to play (that no other program gets to do. The one team I can justify in this argument is Clemson.

@dmboomer @InsideUSC Their schedule was ranked 30th (espn) or 33rd (Sagarin) WITH #11 Notre Dame on it. USC should stop acting like they play some gauntlet. Missouri State, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa, Oregon, UCLA… Soft.

The know-nothings will cheer USC dropping Notre Dame but I'm hearing from a lot of former players today who built the tradition and legacy at USC, and they are livid

@CFBONFOX Incredible on the same day everyone complaining about Notre Dame’s “special treatment” or “advantages” that people are also saying “just join a conference and you’re in the playoff.”

"I don't wanna make Notre Dame mad, but, be in a conference and you're in the playoffs." Joey McGuire shares his thoughts on the structure of the CFP.

@Aaron_Torres @HorsemenPod @RossDellenger Ironically, ND was punished for losses in early September this year while late season losses did not apparently matter at all for other teams

I know it's easy to criticize Notre Dame for everything (believe me, I've done it plenty this month). But USC cancelling the ND series because, they're afraid to take a loss in November is some WILDLY weak stuff (via @RossDellenger) 🔗sports.yahoo.com/college-footba…

If Notre Dame had beaten Miami by 3 and A&M by 1 but lost to USC by 10 and Pitt by 14, would they be in the playoff?

@40AcresFight @dannykanell

@dannykanell Notre Dame would lose by 100 to either one.

Notre Dame is better than both these teams

@MatthewTrujil16 @dannykanell @overrated_sec ND and Oklahoma both went 1-2 against the 3 best teams they faced. ND lost by 3 on the road and 1 at home and won by 10 at home. Oklahoma lost by 17 at neutral site and 8 at home, and won by 2 on the road.

@dannykanell @overrated_sec So glad they didn’t let in the team that went 0-2 against the best teams they faced

@scottallenpro @dannykanell

@dannykanell Notre dame played 2 teams this year. And lost both. Come on Danny.