text:
Whit Babcock Pledges His Total Faith in Justin Fuente, Dismissing Critics as a 'Social Media Mob'

Despite another disappointing year, Babcock is not asking for substantial changes to the football program.

[Mark Umansky]

To say that Whit Babcock had a lot to get off his chest Tuesday would be an understatement.

The usually talkative Hokies' athletic director had gone quiet recently, but he broke his self-imposed silence for a very unusual purpose: to explain, in detail, why he wouldn't be firing Justin Fuente.

As Babcock himself observed, that sort of news normally only draws a press release, or perhaps a short vote of confidence in an interview. Instead, he convened a very well-attended (virtual) press conference, highlighted by a roughly 20-minute long opening statement.

He pledged that he wasn't willing to fire a coach "just because it's easier to pacify the social media mob" or because "some fans just simply want someone to pay for their pain." He refuted any reports that his relationship with Fuente was souring, calling any disagreements with the head Hokie "greatly, greatly exaggerated." And he insisted that his decision was not in any way tied to Fuente's $10 million buyout, arguing that "I can not imagine a working relationship where you keep someone around just because of money."

"Upheaval is a dangerous strategy if you miss," Babcock said, warning that half the team could've transferred if he'd made a coaching change this time of year. "I know we have the right coach. But if you make a change and miss, it can get you into a spiral that you don't want."

It was a highly unusual, oddly confessional look into an AD's thinking about such a momentous decision — Babcock himself even wondered aloud several times whether this level of honesty was the right move. It felt at times as if Babcock was running down a list of all the message board topics, all the angry tweets that most disturbed him as he was deciding Fuente's fate.

"Most of the people that threaten to pull their money publicly, don't invest too much," Babcock said, in one of his harshest shots at his critics.

The offense, and offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen, was clearly another sore subject.

Babcock said he met with Fuente for several hours Monday to discuss the state of the program. And in that time, he did not deliver any ultimatum to Fuente that he'd need to change his coaching staff on offense if he wanted to stay in Blacksburg, reasoning that "you sink or swim with your own people" on staff. And he spoke very much like Cornelsen's job was safe, though he deferred to Fuente to address the question himself.

In fact, Babcock said he spoke with a variety of coaches and scouts who have prepared to face Cornelsen's offense to get a flavor of how the program is perceived from the outside. Though fans have howled about the offense's lack of creativity, Babcock insisted all that feedback (given anonymously, of course) was positive.

"Our offense, from people you would know, is very well thought of," Babcock said. "We have a quarterback you can win with, we've regained some of our identity on offense...what we've not done a good job of is dehumanizing Brad Cornelsen."

Indeed, Babcock quipped that "maybe we'll start a talk show," and did seem to hint that he wants both Cornelsen and Fuente to show a bit more of their personalities publicly. But, that being said, he rejected the notion that the program is too closed off to the public, another frequent complaint from the fanbase.

"Coaches have to be true to themselves and Justin is pretty private, that's fine," Babcock said. "When he's talking to the media, he's not talking to you guys or the fans, he's talking to the opposing team...there's a method to his madness sometimes, and I know how it can come across, especially when you're losing, but he's a good guy."

Over and over again, Babcock also returned to the idea advanced frequently in online circles that the decision to retain Fuente was purely a financial one. The athletic department has already made cuts due to the pandemic-induced strain on its budget, and, the thinking goes, this is no time to pay a guy to go away.

But Babcock was clear: "If Justin was not the right coach, we would've found a way to do that."

"Football is too important," Babcock said, though he did note that he never called around to donors taking temperatures on whether they'd chip in to fund Fuente's exit. Similarly, he said there was no truth to any rumors that a group of donors approached Babcock with contributions to steer toward a buyout.

Instead, Babcock would say that "15 to 20" donors have agreed to chip in $12.5 million over the next five years for a "football infrastructure fund," covering additional staff positions or even just items like "the recruiting budget, recruiting staff, video analysts." Babcock hopes that is the sort of investment that will help Fuente elevate the program's recruiting, though he expressed broad confidence that Fuente has a vision on that front that can be fueled with more resources.

"We have not given this staff a fair shake, in my opinion," Babcock said. "You're not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and lose a promising young defensive coordinator and many of our former players who are also on staff."

Babcock believes it was difficult to get a "true evaluation" of the defense's performance, in particular, in its first year under Justin Hamilton in these very unusual circumstances. And he believes Fuente's program as a whole needs more time, saying that this season was essentially "year one" for Fuente after losing Bud Foster and putting his stamp entirely on the program.

It might've been Fuente's fifth year at the helm, in actuality, but Babcock clearly believes he should be afforded more time to fill Frank Beamer's very large shoes.

"I believe the transition from Coach Foster and Coach Beamer has been harder than anticipated, though that is no knock on the two of them," Babcock said.

Babcock said he was not sure when Fuente's squad might take the field once again — he has not ruled out the possibility of accepting a bowl bid, and has been consulting with coaches and players on the issue, with a decision expected within the next day or two.

But even if the fanbase has to wait a bit to see more Hokie football, he urged the Hokies' faithful to not grow disengaged with the program.

"The seeds that have been planted in the past few years will pay off soon," Babcock said. "If you can be involved, please do. It hurts us when you pull your support. We need you to participate now more than ever."

Haha, wow it reads like UVA fan fiction.

Well at least now we no the AD has his head buried in the sand right next to the coach...

I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction:
“I served in the United States Navy"

I think it's buried deeper.

"Hey Bud, you wont have to hold the opponent to 17 points anymore."

Yeah, this is a sandy situation

I think he means this:

So in effect, the fresh new team on the defense keeps Fuente around. And next year we will be back to the Beamer years of depending on the defense to win us games.

"Hey Bud, you wont have to hold the opponent to 17 points anymore."

“Also, a microwave has never danced it's ass off to Jackie Wilson.” - AssPocketFullOWhiskey

Dude, you stole my shit! LMAO!

"Hey Bud, you wont have to hold the opponent to 17 points anymore."

This holds true. The offense hasn't been the problem the last few years. The defense has.

If you don't want to recruit clowns, don't run a clown show.

"I want to punch people from UVA right in the neck." - Colin Cowherd

6 points. Total. Second half. Last three games.

Recruit Prosim

Completely and utterly tone-deaf.

Hokies United l Ut Prosim

It screams of "the fanbase is not aware of reality...but we in VT Athletics know the truth, which you can't or shouldn't know, but know that our version is correct." I am pretty sure a lot of cults operate that way.

And in all the frustration about Corn and Fu both being there, I'm assuming that Shibest is staying too. Getting rid of him is even more obvious to me. Can argue finances with Fu and introducing a whole new scheme with Corn, but why would you allow him to keep Shibest? Recruiting a polished punt returner or getting one from the transfer portal might be the best way to improve the team short-term with this staff retained.

Recovering scientist working in business consulting

My reaction to this presser:

"I have a PLAN. You just need to have a little goddamn faith, Whit. I just need. more. MONEY." - Justin van der Linde

Since this was Year 1, that means people can't use the first two seasons to defend Fuente. Sorry, those are the rules.

I eagerly look forward to the next excuse after this was his No Excuses season.

In 2 years we'll can Justin Hamilton but that will actually be Year 1 again because technically he was part of Bud's staff so it's not Fuente's team yet.

Those were exhibition years.

that is great use of a Beamerism.

🦃 🦃 🦃

By the same logic, you can't use 2018 and 2019 against him.

Cool, then I'm judging him with an under .500 season and a loss to Liberty.

Works for me. I'm still in disbelief. Lost to Liberty and we had Herbert. I can't imagine what we'll look like next year without him. And this isn't exactly year 1 because the offense should have all Fuente's guys. You can argue defense is in year 1 which I do buy, but still, Liberty?

And his two recruiting classes at Tech have averaged 61st nationally.

It's amazing he was able to do so well in year -3.

All of this is so uncharacteristic for Whit. He is smart, calculating, and has generally managed our athletic program well to this point. So how did he get to this point? What am I missing? He called a press-only press conference to address a riled up fanbase about his coach on the day that coach's buy out drops - only to say we are standing pat? If this works out, this is some Jedi-level manipulation of the fanbase, donors, coaches, etc.
But there are some huge gaping holes in the narrative. What got Whit there? I would really love to know the true story, though I doubt we ever will.

If you find Fernely's comment in one of the other threads, you can read what his sources told him happened... That narrative, if true, would make a ton of sense here.

Twitter me

And if it is true, I would think Whit will be gone soon. Not forced out, but by his own choice. Certainly if I was in his position and that happened, I would be wanting to leave.

Recovering scientist working in business consulting

Could you post that or tell me which article to look concerning what Fernely's sources told him? Thanks.

Go Hokies!

Yep. it's in the Whit Presser thread started by Joe.

Insider on 247 (CZY) directly disputing this claim.

Recruit Prosim

We would be better off if we didn't have supposed insiders with #sauces. Not to mean that in an offensive way, I know everybody has good intentions. The problem is most sources come from a snippet of information taken from just a moment in time. The reality is that these situations are much more complex. So hearing 4th hand some vague detail is worthless. Just my two cents.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

Considering every single "insider with sources" has been wrong over the past month and change, and many of the accounts contradict each other, I think we should stop pretending every person who posts on a message board claiming knowledge actually knows anything. Nothing against those people, I'm sure everyone is truthfully relaying what they've been told, but at that point it's 3rd-hand info at best and we continue to treat it as gospel over and over again.

Mehul that posts to 247 is literally on the BOV.

Maybe Whit suspects Fu wants out and was preparing to take his $10M and enjoy it. Whit just told Fu if you want out, then take your $0 buyout and quit.

Eh, I'm over it at this point. I don't love Fuente, but we could do worse. I stopped buying season tickets this past year (before Covid) and have no plans to buy new ones going forward or to donate to the Hokie Club. Maybe things will change in the coming years to make me want to again, but for now, just voting with my wallet because the current product doesn't do it for me.

My 2020 Season/Covid19 Challenge: only comment with Marvel memes.

My 2019 Season Challenge: only comment with Star Wars memes. (completed as of Nov. 29)

just voting with my wallet because the current product doesn't do it for me.

Well according to Whit in his comments you are just one of those people that don't donate enough and therefore your opinion or your "vote" means jack shit to him.

Same here. Very small time, so I'll just watch and stop buying VT related gear.
Too bad, was looking to raise my daughter (3yrs old) to be a Hokie fan. But I know when I'm not wanted nor appreciated. Doesn't matter, I'm small time anyways.

Go Hokies!

I have this awesome video from last year of my 5 year old daughter standing on top of my maroon Maxima chanting Hokies Hokies Hokies while my 2 year old son looked on with adoration.

Shame that I'm too small-time to matter. I mean, one big time donor beats the hell out of generational fan support, right?

With you on keeping my wallet shut.

VT '10--My avatar will flip, when things are right at VT again.

Rick Monday... You Made a Great Play...

Romanes Eunt Domus

What's done is done. Continuing to rip the coaches and the AD will only serve as fodder for the competition and serve to dissuade recruits. While the delivery of the message wasn't the best, being rational its not difficult to understand some of his points. I hate where our program is right now, and I was counting on 2020 being "The Year" - man I was excited about the season before covid, man was I excited about TX2VT before it fell apart. But is this an instance of the chicken or the egg? I smell what we're stepping in, but for me I choose to turn the page and look forward to a better 2021. For better or for worse I'm committed and the decision has been made. Time to support the kids and make this look like a program other recruits want to join.

I'm just here to sling some legs

Tim Sands is making his vision a reality by turning VT into a carbon copy of Purdue. A giant, very good but not elite, bloated state school with pathetic athletics. Completely irrelevant. I've never been more embarrassed to be associated with VT than today. The place and culture I once loved to be a part of basically just gave me a giant middle finger today and told me I don't matter. It's astonishing how tone deaf and completely sickening today was if you at all care about VT.

Agree 100%. Fuck Sands and everything he's done to the university culture. Not a fan at all.

I was never a big Tim Sands fan to begin with (stopped annual academic donations a few years ago after some of his nonsense). But if this is true then wow Sands would be the worst VT president in my lifetime.

I wasn't a student at Virginia Tech so I don't feel like I really get a say on the academic side. But my issues with Virginia Tech and sands specifically is that he's changing the culture. Virginia tech in the early 2000's was one of the most unique campuses on the east coast because they had a full scale dairy on campus that was donated by the Virginia Dairymans association. Less than 10 years after the dairy was built, Virginia tech pulled it out and moved it off campus for a bypass to be put in its place. A slap in the face to the dairy farmers of Virginia. But also Virginia Tech is supposed to be a land grant university but they are actively moving away from that culture while trying to reap the benefits it provides.

He said give to me Roscoe

I went down to a village to listen to this sermon. Preach on brother! Agree 100% with this.

Maybe Sands will clear away the rest of the land-grant relics so he has more room to roll out his "Beyond Boundaries" strategy. Yesterday is soooo yesterday.

Sadly, no more ice cream stops at the VT Dairy Barn. Sniff, allergies.

You tell the truth. When I was there I had a professor who was let go because he actually taught students and was pushing back against the changes...and they started long before Sands got there.

Overheard as Duke assistant coaches took elevator down from press box: “Guys, they stopped the run with a three-man front.” - David Teel Tweet 2018

very good but not elite, bloated state school

More have applied to Virginia Tech as of Dec 4th than all of last year

Requirements to get into tech become more elite every year. Academic rankings are exceptional. I think Sands is doing just fine in that department.
Football definitely needs improvement though.

Hokie Club member since 2017

"Most of the people that threaten to pull their money publicly, don't invest too much," Babcock said, in one of his harshest shots at his critics.

I hope all of the people who were slapped across the face by this comment today understand that probably every other damn Hokie in the world is grateful for each and every penny of support they can afford to give.

"I can not imagine a working relationship where you keep someone around just because of money."

I can. It's when you are the one that structured his contract, and firing him would be an admission that you were wrong.

My thought is he doesn't want to be wrong about the hire, so he's keeping Fuente long enough to hope it works out. At least, this is a part of his calculus.

I am the heartbeat of Blacksburg. A fortress built out of stone but made with champions.

My thought is that Fuente is getting the benefit of the doubt due to 2020 being an atypical year due to COVID. While that certainly doesn't capture the entire picture (in-game coaching decisions, etc...), it isn't entirely surprising, either.

Having to fire someone at all means you were wrong, regardless of any contract length or provisions.

I'm just glad its over and we can move forward. The past 72 hours have been like the weekend before the presidential election all over again. So much anxiety and uncertainty. Now that it's over, it's time to support and hope that this team can find a way to bring back some glory. GO HOKIES!

There's no glory in practice and lifting but without practice and lifting, there will be no glory!

Let's look at the bright side shall we, yes the program is crumbling, we're in a downward spiral with no end in sight, we're likely going to lose a not insignificant number of valuable veteran players to the transfer portal based on this, our president doesn't give a fuck about the program, our AD had his hands tied and power usurped......but, at least we keep our 44th ranked class of 2021 together on the eve of ESD.

Now finish up them taters; I'm gonna go fondle my sweaters.

Better get used to 25-30k at home games from now on, Whit (if we're allowed to attend games by September). That's really gonna start to hit the bottom line in short order.

That will be a heck of an indictment. Especially as 80% of the season tickets for next year are already paid for by everybody that rolled their season ticket payment for this year for next years tickets.

"How To Piss Off a Loyal Fanbase" by Whit Babcock, coming to wherever books are sold in December 2020

It's pretty clear that Whit doesn't want to be in this spot. Whether he was forced here by donors (or lack thereof), by the Sands administration, or by the unavailability of quality candidates, he's stuck here. I'm not sure what else he was supposed to say?

Twitter me

I'm not sure what else he was supposed to say?

Nothing. A press release stating we are not making any changes would have been far better than that shit show.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt

Correct. This turned into a platform to vent with a peace offering at the end with no olive branch.

Nothing at all would have been the better option. Cancelling the press conference would have been the better option.

I'm not sure what else he was supposed to say?

Bashing the fanbase for wanting change and wanting to prove that with their tiny wallets sure as hell wasn't the way to say it.

What else could he have said?

Perhaps, sticking with the part where he supports Fuente and excluding the parts about unhappy fans being part of a 'mob' ... that doesn't give that much anyways...? You know, placing importance on every bit of financial support he gets, rather than incentivizing fans to not give?

But what do I know?

Spent over 5 years telling people to donate if they can because it is important on our platform, but I guess I am just part of the social mob for being critical of Fuente. Fall in line or get out. That works at programs that win, that don't need money, those programs have the clout to tell the folks trying to create content on your program are the social mob. Dude, they should have had Mike Young give that presser.

Is today's presser gonna make the podcast this week?

Where's the beef?

Unfortunately, yes.

I don't know what stage we are in, but anger is far from it. Just sadness and trying to game theory what could have led to such a bad press conference and bad move in general. Hoping back onto Twitter comes off equally as defensive. If you have that much resolve in your decision 1. don't do a presser on it, just a release, 2. if not, allow people to easily access the presser, 3. if so, make sure your comments are read over 100 times to get the right message across, and 4. if so, don't hope on Twitter to argue a point after the fact. I will have nightmares about the I don't know if this the right decision comment. Demonstrate resolve or don't do it all.

Whit seemed like the guy at the office who has their next job lined but can't give notice yet. He still has to pretend he wants to be at his current job but does an awful job of acting.

The presser was a disaster of epic proportions. I'm still in shock. I though Whit was better than what he showed today. Looked defeated and defensive. The tone of the whole thing was off-putting. Not sure where to go from here as a fan.

Down Whit's drain....

You're not being a fountain

"That's it guys. Let's get out of here. That cold drink's waitin' on us, let's go." - Mike Young after win no. 300.

This entire fiasco makes perfect sense. That presser was the epitome of 2020.

"Those who jump into the void owe no explanation to those who stand and watch."

Especially the self-inflicted wound. God Almighty, who in the AD office thought the presser was a good idea?

Go Hokies!

I just have to believe Whit couldn't get his guy for whatever reason so this was the best path in the short-term for now. If Fu turns the corner amazingly next year, then maybe there is a chance he sticks around. If not, whatever the circumstances that went into his decision would resolve and he will make the move. I just can't believe Whit would fall like that without a near-term option B. Why the hell would these donors give 12.5M based on what we just heard. It just does not add up. Maybe I am delusional now like everyone else in this program.

That was what I had resigned myself to until I saw Fernley's post in the other thread...and it makes me fucking irate.

Now finish up them taters; I'm gonna go fondle my sweaters.

which one?

FWIW, CZY, one of the insiders on 247, straight up refuted Fernley's post. (this was on a free thread)

Pretty simple answer for whether it's true: is Whit still the AD here on July 1? If he got overruled and ordered to go out there and sell this shit sandwich, he'll find another Cincinnati to build by then. He doesn't have to go down with someone else's ship.

We'll know soon enough if this was something that he was forced to do. If it was he's not long for Blacksburg.

Outside it's night time, but inside it's LeDay

I haven't seen that comment. but Yeah, let me be the first to say I am getting my info second hand. Its from a sizable donor who himself has not gone so far as to say he is pulling his support. But I've asked him several times and he stands by the notion of behind closed doors shenanigans.

That being said, my point of view dealing with big money people is that they often have perspectives that go for much longer periods of time. Giving at that level is rarely completely withdrawn but given with finer and finer print. Because they all still want a "return" on the money in the long run and that translates to shaping the program's/university's future.

But like everyone here I am baffled at this press conference and Whit making such an unforced blunder if not pressed to do so.

Remember when I said there could be blowback issues with paying a guy 10M to leave in the middle of a pandemic (laying off/cutting salaries) and athletic department could look bad. I think someone thought about that too hard and pulled the plug last minute. The look on Whit's face yesterday was a FML I don't want to be here & the twitter outburst yesterday shows some emotions that he didn't get his way.

Andrea Adelson was baffled as to why there was a press conference to keep a guy & invite national media (most of which didn't come).

This just shows the complete incompetence and dysfunction at VT right now. The pandemic and the effect on budgets has been known for a while. If that was the cause for pulling the plug on a coaching change, make that clear a month and a half ago and issue a statement that endorses Fu as the coach moving forward. Yesterday was absolute Busch league by VT, and Whit, whether willingly or not, just went out and completely pissed off the entire fan base at a time when they need support the most. And if this was truly Whit's decision and he stands behind his words, he is just as much of a moron as Fuente and deserves to be fired as well. I'm embarrassed as a VT alum and fan. This will effectively bury the program, and if you think the budget is bad now, wait until the next few years when ticket sales and donations all but completely dry up. They deserve every bit of what is coming their way.

Like you said if Fuente was the guy you make that announcement weeks ago as the heat started picking up. Nothing he said on Monday should've changed anyone's mind, he's had 5 years to show he can fix things. Recruiting staff will help but ultimately it's not going to close on top targets and win games on Saturday.

Recruiting aside, there is a large assumption that Fuente and his staff are superior coaches in that endorsement yesterday. We've also got 5 years of evidence to support that he's not exactly killing it in that department either.

The whole buyout + COVID thing was a major motivator for me to suggest that this isn't the right time. Hell, in my town there is a top ten preseason team that finished below .500 and no one is pissed. No one is happy, but the local fan base didn't get themselves into a frothing rage like we have.

It just wasn't the right time to make a move.

Even if there was "the guy" and he said no five seconds before this press conference, the better answer would have been to cancel due to technical difficulties.

Mafia, lynch, flash, social media, etc.; I've never been a part of any mob.

I am open to trying new things though.

If you play it, they will win.

"How the ass pocket will be used, I do not know. Alls I know is, the ass pocket will be used." -The BoD

Here's to hoping you realize that referencing that you would be open a lynch mob is an insensitive look.

Recruit Prosim

Yes, because I am actually open to being in the mafia too. /S

FFS. I included it in the comment because it's a type of mob. That you took my comment to mean that is fucking ridiculous.

If you play it, they will win.

"How the ass pocket will be used, I do not know. Alls I know is, the ass pocket will be used." -The BoD

For me the worst part was when Babcock was asked what happens if Fuente actually does succeed and win 10 games or the ACC and whether Fuente was truly a VT guy and would stick around after elevated success. He basically said I think so but you would have to ask him yourself tomorrow in the least reassuring way possible. This means that even if we win we could lose...

Hokie Club member since 2017

"Hey Bud, you wont have to hold the opponent to 17 points anymore."

Trying to find a cause for optimism. How about this? Year 2 of JHam and staff should be a step up from year 1 due to reps in the new system. And, if he and Tapp can't sell recruits on the benefits of being a Hokie, I don't know who can. Also, the BB we saw vs Clemson and UVA is good enough to win games in the ACC.

I do get where he's coming from regarding the unique challenges in transitioning from two legends. That said, if the collective group can't turn recruiting around, Whit and Justin are both history (or football no longer matters at VT). I hope it's not the latter.

I am not threatening anything around donations or attendance, just sad that I am seeing the pride that I felt for our football program slip further into the rear view with each passing year. This is what has everyone so upset and this is what I fear Whit did not sufficiently acknowledge and does not sufficiently appreciate.

In all fairness, this apathy has been discussed at length since the blockade was put up around the program when Fuente came in. Fuente and Whit either 1. Didn't pay attention to the discussion / concern or 2. Thought it would blow over. Either answer is not good at all.

Also, the BB we saw vs Clemson and UVA is good enough to win games in the ACC.

We scored 10 points against Clemson and the lone TD was because of a broken coverage. I'm no X's and O's guy but I'd much prefer Hooker be handed the keys than BB

I will be honest, I love both and they are both Hokies, but both hold the offense back in different ways. I don't expect either to miraculously become better passers of the football at this point.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

Hey Whit...opposing coaches/teams are not going to tell you the damn truth...they will lie through their teeth because its our competition.

Why don't you actually listen to objective analysis on ESPN or where ever the ACC analysts are. Everyone is saying that VT is a mystery, either we win by a good margin or we lose big. This spells inconsistency to me and that usually starts with the Head ball coach. Just give it a rest Whit...You are drowning this program..thanks for your insults

Hokies, Local Soccer, AFC Ajax, Ravens

Remember that clip of the Gameday crew on a plane after one of our blowout losses with Herbstreit looking like he saw a ghost saying "Sooooo bad". That's the kind of thing Whit needs to think about when evaluating the coaching staff, not whether Mack Brown or Manny Diaz thinks Corny has a good scheme.

I'm just waiting on that Hokie Club email asking for donations. You know that shit's coming.

If you play it, they will win.

"How the ass pocket will be used, I do not know. Alls I know is, the ass pocket will be used." -The BoD

They will get a picture of my scrotum in response

Alex: great job in putting together an unbiased article and summary of the press conference for those of us who don't really care to go down the rabbit holes of some of these threads. Thanks, I really appreciate it!

Agreed, this was extremely well-written.

My reaction captured below.

These pretzels are making me thirsty.

Hellen keller could have read the room better than whit did today.

Wanna know why people are pulling their donations? Because you literally said small donations don't mean shit so I'll take what little money I have and sub to TKP and I'll be damned if I give an athletic program one cent since my donation isn't enough to matter. If you want drive for 25 to work you might not want to alienate your smaller donors. Honestly can't believe what he said and this has to be the biggest PR disaster in years.

Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it

Yup. We've been wondering aloud why its been so hard for us to replicate Clemson's IPTAY. Hard to do that as you sneer at 90% of your donors.

I ripped Maryland a couple years ago when, after the DJ Durkin debacle, one of their senior athletic fundraisers was quoted in WaPo as saying something like "well, we have our people who truly support the program, and then we have people who have questions about what's going on."

Never thought I'd hear something that similarly tone-deaf from Whit Babcock.

I have no great optimistic viewpoint to share. But, I would not be optimistic in the short term with a new hire either. A new hire may have been interesting but we aren't going to be a great team next year either way. I can actually say I am a little relieved. The next coach is going to be crucial. The next coach has to be right. I would sacrifice mediocrity a little longer if it makes the next generation have better odds for success. This year would not be fair for a new coaching staff to kick off with. For everybody saying they would give them a mulligan for the first year, I say BULL SHIT, I don't believe it. This just may be a blessing in disguise. And, it is the devil we know.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

If Whit believes Fuente is the guy, I guess I can understand that part of it. But he gave the fanbase NOTHING to get excited about. He left himsef with only one way out - if Fuente doesn't win games and fix recruiting he is screwed. And he has to do it fast, in a COVID disrupted environment, with an angry fanbase that will likely pull back on donations due to feeling unheard and disrespected. At least if he fires the coach and hires a new one, all of those challenges become accpetable (for a short time) with a new regime. If Whit pulls this out and Fuente turns out to be "The One" (insert Neododging bullets GIF), I will gladly tip my hat and up my Hokieclub donation. Until then, I say prove it.

And then Fuente will leave for more money and a Big12 job.

Lol...that's the worst part of this, if he succeeds (which is highly doubtful IMO) then he probably jets.

He's not succeeding with the recruits he's been landing.

If they were going to keep him and sell me on the idea that this is the right way forward, Whit Babcock checked every box for talking points that would only cause me to dig in my heels that this is a bad idea.

Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN

I listened to the entire conference; admittedly, I haven't read the transcript though. I think Whit came in 🔥 hot in the beginning, but mellowed out. He was catching bullets off rumors, sauces, and an enraged fan base. I get it. But honestly, I think he's made his bed, and honestly, as an alum, the decision has been made, and I hope it works out for the benefit of our team. I won't be as engaged as usual, because my heart can't take that. But I'll be cheering from the sidelines fa sho.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #YNWA

I get the theory that Fernley stated, it makes sense, but in that theory I don't see Whit going on this big press conference about it. Just seems like he'd put out a press release. That's just me.

Either way, this was an awful showing for our football program. A darker day than the Liberty loss, without a doubt.

I have no idea why my username is VT_Warthog.

Arkansas blew a 24-0 lead in the Belk Bowl.

Because there's a good chance it's not true. CZY seems adamant that it's not.

Recruit Prosim

Best of luck to you with all that, Whit.

#MakeTheMove . . . "Vick, dashing back . . . here he comes again . . . Electrifying . . . and have you ever seen anything like this?"

Here's what is going on fam...

This is a Tommy Bowden - Dabo Swinney situation. Here in Blacksburg Justin Fuente plays the part of a poor mans Tommy Bowden and Justin Hamilton is playing the part of Dabo Swinney.

Maybe it will work out that for us in a year or two. Who knows... It's a crap shoot at this point anyway.

Is coronavirus over yet?

Hokies United l Ut Prosim

what part of Fuente's salary and buyout make him a "poor mans Tommy Bowden"?

🦃 🦃 🦃

Nice play on words there. I like it.

Poor mans Tommy Bowden means that he isn't quite as good as Tommy Bowden was.

Is coronavirus over yet?

I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but I don't have a problem with everything Whit said given the decision to keep Fuente. Personally I was hoping we'd make a change, but it's clear that some combination of Whit/Sands/University/Purse-string holders weren't ready to make the change. So knowing the "social mob" is already out for blood, Whit's basically in a no-win position.

What I liked is his subtle nod to all the critics. He's clearly listening and aware of fan's concerns. He addressed the offense's problems, "challenging" coaching personalities, green defensive staff, lack of access to the program, among others. Folks may not like what he said, but at least he's acknowledging that problems are there and he intends to address them. Better than a true head in the sand "everything's perfect" approach.

At the same time, he's clearly laying out the goals and expectations for the staff next season. Yeah 2020 was tough - COVID, Bud retiring, etc. etc. - but here's what I expect from Fu & Co. next year. It's basically a little bit of extra rope, and it's up to Fuente to decide how he uses that slack. This is what I want a leader to do - show confidence in the staff and explain what the roadmap to success looks like. If they're not successful this time next year, the decision to change becomes easier to make and socialize.

I wish he wouldn't have taken that shot at folks threatening to pull donations, but I get that everyone is a little more on edge right now. At the same time, he has to show confidence in Fuente and the staff. Whit is not the type to let drama like that play out publicly. Besides, it's a done deal that we're keeping Fu for another year, so there's no point in casting any doubts on how he and the AD's office may feel about the staff behind closed doors.

Bring us a pitcher of beer every seven minutes until somebody passes out. And then bring one every ten minutes.

How do you marry up Fuente having to improve by this time next year with Whit's comment that this is like Year 1 for Fuente?
To me that implies more time than a year to "build" the program.

Ha good question. I guess I don't marry the two because I don't agree with the "year 1" take and I doubt Whit agrees with it either (or at least I REALLY hope he doesn't agree with that).

Honestly that line sounds like a sorry excuse Fuente tried to sell Whit to defend his performance this year rather than something Whit legitimately believes.

My gut says that Whit shared this take publicly to pay lip service to things Fuente has said in the past as a show of solidarity. Unfortunately it comes off more like another excuse and not something most fans will buy.

Bring us a pitcher of beer every seven minutes until somebody passes out. And then bring one every ten minutes.

So... I think the unintended (I think?) consequence is it puts the fan base on the defensive: 'why would you want what you want?' 'give us your money but nothing else. '
'im in control, you're not.... '

Now.... this is not about Coach Fuente, (whom I don't dislike, but I really don't like the direction football is going).
Now... it's Whit versus the the fans, perhaps.
But absolutely not the tone needed, IMHO.

If we're sticking with Fuente, so be it, but Whit, baby, you gotta stick with the fans.
Give us a bone here, reset the message once the emotions have calmed.
Or I'm afraid you picked a losing battle for us all.

I have too much in life to worry about so I am going to come out of this happy to hear another 12million being added towards recruiting and bolstering the program. I think we could do much worse than Fuente and think if the defense comes around, we will be a pretty darn good team. 2020 has fucked many of us and VT seems to be no exception.

I am 100% behind the players and staff and Whit because I am rooting for them all to succeed. I will always have my criticisms but melting down over not firing a coach isn't on my list of shits to give today.

"I'm too drunk to taste this chicken" - Colonel Sanders via Ricky Bobby

melting down over not firing a coach isn't on my list of shits to give today.

This is signature line worthy

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

But even if the fanbase has to wait a bit to see more Hokie football, he urged the Hokies' faithful to not grow disengaged with the program.

We've seen enough this year! Move onto BB and wrestling. Reading all this, Whit is nothing but a politician. He's backing all the big boy donors who will fill the suites. Fuck those of us filling the bleachers. Maybe he was hired by Sands to be his puppet of change.

"Hey Bud, you wont have to hold the opponent to 17 points anymore."

And hundreds of message board experts are FURIOUS. That will cost the program dozens of dollars.

TL;DR....I started out thinking that Fu got a pass for this year b/c of covid. I started changing my mind when I really looked at recruiting and then getting boatraced by Pitt. That was really it for me. I was getting excited for a change thinking of Elliott. But alas, that did not happen. Whit thinks Fu is our best option right now and there is nothing we can do about it.

I will not pull my support for the team and I doubt many who say they are done won't be on here this time next year talking either good or bad about the team. It what it is. I hope Fuente starts to turn something around.

The offense hasn't ever really been the problem despite our critiques of Corn and the O. The defense has; to include the last two years with Bud. The O can put up points but if the defense allows the other team to score just as much it doesn't help. We have never had an offense like this save MV7 years. Even when Tyrod was at the helm we werent' routinely putting up huge numbers.

I give the defense a slight pass because a new system and no spring ball but we'll see. There are some promising players out there though.

Recruiting is where we need to invest and spend money. I know people say Fu has no connection with recruits but I don't know how you can say that if you aren't sitting in the room with him or standing in the locker room.

It is what it is. Time to move on. I'll cheer for them in a bowl game if they play. I"ll cheer for them next year as well.

If you don't want to recruit clowns, don't run a clown show.

"I want to punch people from UVA right in the neck." - Colin Cowherd

So, how long does Fuente stick around knowing that his boss really really REALLY wanted to fire him but instead wasn't allowed to?

Hopefully just a few days

2 questions:
What if UVA lost to keep Fuente around?
What kind of magic did he perform with Whit? /s

Reach for Excellence!

VT Football: It'll get after ya!

Proud Hokie since 2004.

The only thing Fuente is good at is making excuses and devotion to Cornelson.

Other teams got COVID. They dealt with it.

Last year it took Jerry Kill to come in and right the ship. He's gone because he told Fuente the truth.

Retaining these trash coaches is a disaster. They put a crap product on the field and there are no consequences.

Retaining CJF reflects the incompetence of those that administer the University and parallels the fake meritocracy that America has become. The highly credential CEO class gets to fail upward while everything they touch gets destroyed. You can't fuck with the truth. It's right there in front of us all. You are what your record says you are.

In fact, Babcock said he spoke with a variety of coaches and scouts who have prepared to face Cornelsen's offense to get a flavor of how the program is perceived from the outside. Though fans have howled about the offense's lack of creativity, Babcock insisted all that feedback (given anonymously, of course) was positive.

"Our offense, from people you would know, is very well thought of," Babcock said. "We have a quarterback you can win with, we've regained some of our identity on offense...what we've not done a good job of is dehumanizing Brad Cornelsen."

Or our competition is gas lighting you because they need us down for a win on their schedule. Certainly I wouldn't trust what anyone in the Coastal Division says since they are our direct competitors! Are you kidding me with this answer?

Go Hokies!

I don't understand this take. Why assume Whit talked to UVA and other ACC teams? Do we not think he has friends/contacts at other teams we've played in the past five years that we won't continue to play yearly?

Yeah, I've been struggling with that point myself. Obviously six of our opponents this year are going to give us positive feedback on our offense. And the other five teams we played?

NC State and Louisville doesn't play us enough to care.
Cutcliffe is going to say nice things to everyone.
Bronco's a giant dork on the outside who's going to turn anything into a zen meditation (right before he tries to punch you in the balls).
And BC probably figured we were firing the guy anyway.

How Bronco pictures himself:

How he looks to the rest of the world:

Good grief! I can't believe the reticence of VT alumni to donate to their alma mater solely based upon the results of their FB team. I'm an alumni of Randolph-Macon and contribute annually with my company match, not only to R-MC but also VPI. I'll admit, less than $2000, but is the loyalty to your alma mater, or a sports team? I'm guessing most of the complainers donate nothing at all. Alumni support at VPI may be Less than RMC. I will research that topic....per capita alumni I'm sure it's true. Disgraceful.

Giving money to VT Academics and VT Athletics are to separate pools. Me thinks most everyone here is talking specifically about Athletics.

Yall act like donations are the only money VT gets from the fans. We buy tickets, licensed apparel, watch on TV for ad revenue etc...

It is a natural gift I posess to create friction in sensitive situations.

The real test will be if we are open to %100 capacity in the stadium next year (I don't think we will, but possibly if the vaccine roll out goes well) and we fail to sell out a single game.

I really wanted Fuente gone, so I'm pretty disappointed. However I won't donate another cent or watch another game until Corn and Shibest are fired into the sun. Shibest especially needs to go because I know we can find a better special teams coach for what we pay him.

"For those who have passed, for those to come, reach for excellence."

Apparently I gotta say it again - I'm not sure about Shibest. He's also the TE coach and we've gotten some good recruits and good production there. We've also done really well getting punters and kickers. If only we can get him to figure out returns, I wouldn't want to get rid of him.

No you don't have to say it again, we just don't agree with you. Feel free to quit saying it.

Correct, we can only repeat the same things over and over again about Fuente and Cornelsen. Everybody else has a limited number of repeats.

You nailed it.

So you don't like thee production we've gotten from the TEs? You don't think being able to actually hit FGs at more than mid 30 yardage is important? You don't think having good punters is important (especially given our second half offense)? Or do you think he's bad at all those things so even if he figured out returns, you'd still want to get rid of him?

Picking and choosing where we think we are good when the overall product is crappy is a useless exercise. I am more responding to the "apparently" comment.

thanks for the DV though,

I didn't downvote you. I responded to see what your thoughts are. I feel like, other than the muffed returns, which I get are frustrating as hell, the other things he's responsible for are good and seem like they've been getting better over the past couple years. I remember a time where it was questionable if we'd be able to hit a FG from 35 yards (can't remember how long that lasted or who it was), so seeing that we are fairly regularly hitting from well over 40 yards makes me feel like if we can get him close enough, we can score even if the rest of the offense isn't cutting the mustard. I asked because I'm just seeing if you and others have thoughts about performance on TEs and special teams other than the muffed returns. And, like I said, it's only an IF he can figure that out. Like are the guys so desperate to return it that they take their eyes off the ball, or field it when it's lower than they should even try, and instead of trying to pick it up, freaking fall on the ball.

But, like I said, I didn't downvote you.

Virginia Tech Football's new motto — "If you don't have a plan, you can't fail."

#MakeTheMove . . . "Vick, dashing back . . . here he comes again . . . Electrifying . . . and have you ever seen anything like this?"

VT '10--My avatar will flip, when things are right at VT again.

Rick Monday... You Made a Great Play...

Romanes Eunt Domus

I wish I could say I was shocked the Fuente was staying, but I'm not. Nor am I shocked to be considered part of a 'mob' for expressing an opinion. That's a daily occurrence when social media is involved.

First they change the school logo.

And now this. Meh.

VT '10--My avatar will flip, when things are right at VT again.

Rick Monday... You Made a Great Play...

Romanes Eunt Domus

I guess the old saying "The customer is always right" doesn't ring true in CFB. You get your money from us. To talk down to the fan base doesn't seem like a good idea to me at this junction. He'll. I've stopped getting angry or pissed at loses to teams like ODU and Liberty. How does that shit make you feel as an AD when the fans literally stop caring. That alone will cost you more than a 10m buyout Mr. B.... the ships going down yet your still hugging the anchor.

It is a natural gift I posess to create friction in sensitive situations.

Having previously had full faith in Whit, and then seeing this today...I imagine it's pretty similar to how Charles Miner felt when he found out that Dwight is actually out of his damn mind.

Yeah like what have I done?

Reach for Excellence!

VT Football: It'll get after ya!

Proud Hokie since 2004.

VT fans as soon as Whit opened his mouth today

We did it! People of the internet rejoice! Our concerns were heard, and addressed in a 20 minute opening statement.

Seriously though, thats better than most internet peoples get.

Just dawned on me how truly fucked we might be...if Fernley's account is true, and I have no reason to doubt it.

What happens when if the players hitting the portal is such a mass exodus that it can't be ignored...what then? Do we fire Fu in a few weeks? If our guy was Elliot, no chance he comes back to the table...every other coach that we might target will see the press conference, and/or hear about what happened. Where do we turn?

If the exodus isn't that big, what then? Another losing record next year, and Whit says, "well its a rebuild we can't go down that spiral" like he said today and Fu stays again? Even if we do fire him next year...these past 36 hours have shown what a clusterfuck our program is at the moment...who would want to take that over?

Now finish up them taters; I'm gonna go fondle my sweaters.

But...even Fernley admits what he is saying could be wrong:
from above: let me be the first to say I am getting my info second hand

This is an internet message board...take insider info with a grain of salt.

But yes, I agree with the rest. So many questions about next year. Our OL won't be as good, our running game won't be as good, assuming Herbert goes pro. If Ashby is done, what happens if Dax or Tisdale get injured?!

Just have to wait and see what happens with the portal, both coming and going, and also which seniors come back.

Reference image of the grain of salt that should be used for message board rumors

I have an offer to propose. I promise to donate $5.00 to the Hokie Club and athletic programs for every leg (limited to 100 total legs) that I get on this post before noon on Wednesday 12/16/2020. I will have to cap this donation amount at $500.00 because that is what I am able to do right now.

This is not a "cheap" way to get more legs but perhaps to be an example to others. These donations go to support the men and women in the arena who continue to compete despite the noise from outside.

I'll match based on the number of legs you get.

I'm just here to sling some legs

Well, it's noon here in Albuquerque New Mexico and the final leg count is 54. I'll post an update when I have time later this afternoon.

Which option are we donating to? I promised to match and I'm on the site with credit card in hand.

I'm just here to sling some legs

Donation made to the general "2021 Hokie Scholarship Fund - No Benefits" Good idea NM_Hokie

I'm just here to sling some legs

sorry it took me so long to get enough time to log back in. Thank you for also supporting our team!

That is an expensive ass way to get more legs. Good on you.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

I guess the legs are only a symbol of the bigger idea of wanting to step up and contribute for all that I have taken from these sports since my freshman year in 1998.

Thank you all for the legs and humoring my attempt at positivity. Although the leg count was up to 54 ($270.00) at noon my time, I decided to step up and honor my full commitment of $500 to the Keep Jumping Fund 2021. The count is currently 60 legs or $300 and I was sincerely hopeful that we would reach 100 legs.

Although some of you have probably posted negative links and speculation in this thread or others, I appreciate your support and I hope the Hokie athletes, including our new signees, are able to benefit from this donation.

Thank you, RXXXXXX!
Confirmation Number EV_VTECH:XXXXXXXX
Date December 16, 2020
Donation Details
2021 Hokie Scholarship Fund- No Benefits
Payment Summary
$500.00Paid in Full
American Express ending in XXXX$500.00
Next steps
You will receive an email confirmation shortly to RXXXXXXXXX@GMAIL.COM

I'll always try to be objective in my opinion, good or bad. But will never appreciate being called someone that doesn't give to the program because I am a part of social media, TKP, this community, or whatever.

Awesome! Glad to be here with you

Nice gesture fellow Hokie!

What I hate the most about this whole thing...

a) much fewer teams than usual made coaching changes this year due to COVID, so we could have had our pick of candidates with only auburn and USCe and Arizona to compete with. Lots of good OCs and DCs that don't wanna wait 12 more months to become a head coach, and we won't benefit from that at all.

b) the buyout doesn't realistically go down next year. In a normal year, the season ends around thanksgiving and all coaching changes happen well before 12/15 (think back to 2015 when news broke during the UVA game that Fuente was our new HC - so these decisions are all made in November / early December in a normal year). So, that means the $10M buyout this year will still be $10M if we have to make a change next year. Doesn't really drop to $7.5M unless he also coaches 2022 season

c) how are we going to be in a different position next year than we are now? Has anyone seen the schedule? We play ND, UNC, Miami, and Pitt. How can anyone look at that objectively and not see 4 losses? Let's assume there is at least one more loss in there (GT, WVU, UVA, BC or the annual wtf loss vs Richmond, MTSU, Cuse, or Duke) and we finish 7-5. So, after all this madness we go 7-5 or maybe even 6-6 in 2021 (if we're lucky - we lose Herbert, best OL, nester and Hudson transferring, Deablo Ashby etc on D). We're in the exact same position we are in now (underperforming and fans wanting change), except we delayed the rebuild by another year and we spent all of 2021 recruiting with a lame duck coach.

So, it's the same buyout as it is right now, and we have to compete with more teams for our new HC, and that coach will take over with even worse recruiting classes and a bigger rebuilding job. That is where this decision leaves us.

The runway isn't long enough for this move (even Whit said himself today he expected results sooner rather than later). Even if Fuente is the right guy, not enough can change before its "decision time" again. We've just screwed ourselves very badly.

Except we only won 5 games this year with Herbert. He'll be gone. We're going to drop a lot more on offense. I'm wondering if we only win 5 games again next year.

6-6 seems to be the ceiling to me based on previous performance and roster turnover. Awesome to feel that way already.

I didnt even factor in the usual offseason shenanigans where multiple returning contributors leave, minor injuries inexplicably wipe out entire seasons, and someone gets arrested and kicked off the team

You guys completely glossed over one of the most Important details of the presser today.

To go along with our new Academic logo, VT Football will have a new helmet logo to better reflect the direction and aspirations of the Program.

doubling down on being tone-deaf. never been so embarrassed to be a Hokie. and the worst is yet to come!

If Whitt listened to rivals opinions on Fuente maybe he needs to reread that Clemson article

Overheard as Duke assistant coaches took elevator down from press box: “Guys, they stopped the run with a three-man front.” - David Teel Tweet 2018

Or the anonymous coaches comments they release every year with other schools saying "whatever going on at vt is bad"

I wish I could have a reason to flip my avatar. Not anytime soon, sadly.

And well-played, 2020, well-played.

VT '10--My avatar will flip, when things are right at VT again.

Rick Monday... You Made a Great Play...

Romanes Eunt Domus

I'm like 90% sure this was Whits decision and that Whit went with Fuente because he's hoping for immediate results next season, not a rebuild, because I don't think Whit is here for the long haul. I bet that if football does well next year 8–10 wins, we see Whit bounce

Recruit Prosim

Did you watch the video of the press conference? I didn't see anything in Whit's demeanor and how he was speaking that made me feel he was confident in this decision to keep Fuente. It just felt like he didn't want to be there. As someone else pointed out, he almost seemed frustrated and his tweets following the press conference add to that.

If he didn't want to be there, he shouldn't have had the stupid presser.

Recruit Prosim

Tone deaf... that's what I got out of it.

"Most that threaten to pull their money don't donate that much"... $25-100 donations x hundreds (maybe thousands) of donors is a lot of fucking money! Can he really be that fucking stupid? WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SAY THAT?

Bleeding burnt orange and chicago maroon

The University is paying a top 25 salary to CJF for not top 25 results:

Losing isn't bad in of itself. It's the way Fuente's teams lose.

Game Management Issues:

Losing to teams we should beat.

Getting boat raced by teams with similar or worse talent.

Slow starts.

Lack of discipline and fundamentals on defense. Lack of athleticism from linebackers. Inability to set the edge and be gap sound.

Lack of a rush plan to attack QBs weakness (or DL isn't executing it). See lack of discipline above.

Predictable play calling on offense. Play calling not to lose. Getting QBs hurt because of the lack of creativity.

Cornelson's offense puts up good numbers but can't win games. He has no feel for the game. Doesn't make adjustments or adjustments to the opposing teams adjustments. Second half scoring has been awful.

Program Issues:
Not enough players developing. Getting JUCO players is all find and good but those guys stop recruits from developing.

Furthermore, the inability to develop QP or HH is damning. Making 3 QBs compete is dumb as fuck. There are limited number of snaps. During spring ball and training camp. Competition has to be balanced with player development.

Serviceable players transferring. Sure transfers haven't done much but these are players that would provide depth in their roles.

Inability to recruit well and evaluate talent.

The goal should be to win the coastal and get a shot at Clemson every year. The actual goal appears to be beat UVA and be mediocre.

The evidence is there. Go back and read the past 3 years of French's film reviews. The tape don't lie.

Spoke to a good friend/fraternity brother in Roanoke yesterday and he is also a big donor and has had 4 seats on the 50 for a long time. He spoke with a good friend of his who is both an alum of VT and a Virginia High School football head coach. While second-hand information always has the opportunity for embellishment or being lost in translation, he showed me the texts between himself and the coach. This coach said Fuente is awful and he sends zero kids to VT or encourages them. This kills him as an alum and a football fan. He said Fu has been responsible for most of the transfers out, the awful relationship with "us", the closed relationship with media and that in particular, one player who had a concussion was bullied into playing and had to retire from football.....then lawyered up and kept his scholarship. There are always two sides to everything but we have seen tweets from former players who have said they would not play for him and that he has no interest in many of their involvement (sans the current coaches). I just think that Whit may get more juice for the squeeze by asking the high school coaches around the Commonwealth than to ask the opinions of rival ACC coaches and players.......if he wants the real vibe of Fuente. I live in the 757 and the coach said that Fuente has not stepped foot in his school since the day he was hired.

Jeremiah 29:11 and Go Hokies!

It's been a week, coach - probably time to change your profile name to USCShane.

That's funny right there.....know him but not him. Turkeys > Cocks!

Jeremiah 29:11 and Go Hokies!

When I worked in SEC country, they used to say a Gamecock is like a chicken, but instead of Cock-a-doodle-do and Gamecock says any-c**k-will-doo. So yeah, Turkeys>Gamecocks!

I am not sure what to do with my hands now

What if whitt is waiting to see how Shane does at USCe to see if he can lure him to VT and bring beamerball back?

Our football rebuild program has been passed by these ranked teams in our recruiting region.

#9 Coastal Carolina 11-0
#16 UNC 8-3
#22 Liberty 9-1
#24 NC State 8-3

We were ahead of these programs 5 years ago. NC State has historically recruited very close to our level for years.

Guess Freeze has had time to fill out his little black book with Lynchburg, uh, contacts.

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

WARC-Type: response

text:
Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition ~ The Land Game

The Land Game is a personal blog contains all the latest news about video games

Sélection du message

Call of Duty: Warzone is not shifting to the Black Ops - Cold War engine

  But it's complicated. (Image credit: Infinity Ward) The news that Call of Duty: Warzone will begin integrating with Call of Duty: Blac...

Who are you?

My photo
Constantine, Constantine, Algeria

Oct 24, 2019

Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition

Dragon Age: Origins

Discover the groundbreaking RPG, winner of more than 50 awards including more than 30 'Game of the Year' awards! You are a Grey Warden, one of the last of a legendary order of guardians. With the return of mankind's ancient foe and the kingdom engulfed in civil war, you have been chosen by fate to unite the shattered lands and slay the archdemon once and for all. Explore a stunning world, make complex moral choices, and engage in bone-crushing visceral combat against massive and terrifying creatures.
~ Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening Expansion Pack

The story of the Grey Wardens continues as you are named Commander of the order. As your first duties you have been entrusted with rebuilding the order as well as uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to endure. Fight new enemies, learn new skills and spells, and explore an all-new area of the world, Amaranthine.
~ All Nine Content Packs

Extend your adventure, collect new rewards, gain new party members, and more as you delve deeper into the Dragon Age saga.

    * The Stone Prisoner
    * Warden's Keep
    * Return to Ostagar
    * The Darkspawn Chronicles
    * Leliana's Song
    * The Golems of Amgarrak
    * Witch Hunt
    * Feastday Gifts
    * Feastday Pranks

Post a Comment

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2021-04
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for January 2021
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-226.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.17 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.2-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

text:
Focus On
Businessperson meeting with client

Settling family law cases: Lawyer beware

Monday, April 20, 2020 @ 2:25 PM | By Lorne Wolfson

Lorne Wolfson %>
Lorne Wolfson
While court operations are suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, many separated or separating spouses will rely more than ever on the advice of family lawyers. Whether an agreement is arrived at through mediation or through negotiation, with or without lawyers, ultimately a family lawyer is usually engaged to draft an agreement. In doing so, family lawyers should consider the following in order to protect their clients and themselves.

  1. In the absence of formal screening by a qualified third party screener, a family lawyer cannot know if his or her client is entering an agreement under duress or undue influence, the risk of which is particularly heightened if the parties are still co-habiting under the same roof. The standard solicitor’s certificate, “My client is not suffering from duress or undue influence,” should be amended to reflect the particular circumstances in each case.

  2. Property settlements that rely on asset valuations or support arrangements that are based on current or proposed incomes should be viewed with caution since the value of assets and the level of incomes could suffer dramatic changes within days of finalizing a settlement. For property division, an “if and when” asset division may protect both parties against an unfair and unexpected drop in the value of a major asset. Support arrangements should clearly articulate the income assumptions on which the settlement is based, so that there is no doubt if a future decline in income constitutes a “material change in circumstances” from that which prevailed at the time the agreement was signed.

  3. In order to avoid a dispute in the future as to what constitutes a “material change in circumstances,” the agreement should contain an acknowledgment that a change in either party’s income of X per cent or $Y is deemed to constitute a “material change.” The agreement should also formally acknowledge that a change in circumstances that was foreseeable at the time the agreement was signed may still constitute a material change in circumstances.

  4. When an agreement is being signed without full financial disclosure or without all of the information that would usually be required, it should clearly be expressed to be a temporary, without prejudice agreement that will stay in force until a future date or event (a further agreement, a future variation or review, or when the courts resume regular operations).

  5. Non-variable support agreements should be viewed with particular caution. In the past, many payors were prepared to pay a lump sum in exchange for a full and final spousal support release. Today, such agreements may be more fraught with risk. Even if the non-variation clause is drafted to permit a review if there is a “catastrophic” change in circumstances, that exception still leaves open the possibility of a dispute as to what constitutes a “catastrophic change.”

  6. Variation in child and/or spousal support can also be justified even if there have been no changes in the incomes of the parties. For example, s. 7 expenses that were previously being shared (childcare, summer camp, activities and access costs) may no longer be incurred. In the absence of these expenses, the level of both child support and spousal support may need to be adjusted.

  7. Given the health threat posed by the current pandemic, security for support and equalization payments takes on enhanced importance. The presence or absence of life insurance, the appropriate level of insurance and what insurance can be obtained at what cost if either party loses his or her employment are issues that should be canvassed.

  8. In a majority of cases, the time the children spend in the care of each parent will not need to be changed. However, where parents are now working from home, are not working at all because of the loss of their employment or the division of parenting time necessitates a change to the residential schedule, the impact of these changes on child and/or spousal support needs to be carefully considered.

As a result of the economic meltdown and the closure of the courts, many parties will be trying to resolve these issues on their own and then asking a family lawyer to finalize the deal. As a result of limited financial disclosure and familiarity with the case, many lawyers will be asked to write agreements that may not be appropriate in the circumstances.

Limited scope retainers and waivers of liability may be helpful, but they will not insulate the family lawyer from liability if it turns out down the road that the agreement failed to address an issue that subsequently becomes significant.

The moral of the story is: “Lawyer beware.”

Lorne Wolfson is a senior partner in the family law group at Torkin Manes LLP. Wolfson’s practice includes all aspects of family law, including divorce, custody and access and property. He also provides mediation and arbitration services.

Photo credit / Kritchanut ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to
The Lawyer’s Daily, contact Analysis Editor Yvette Trancoso-Barrett at or call 905-415-5811.


text:
Baby Boy Shadow Box | Baby Shower Gift

Welcome you baby with this Baby Boy Shadow Box! ♥

Store your memories in this three-dimensional shadow box.
A hand-crafted, decoupaged wooden box personalised to store just your memories.
Record your child’s first milestones in this pretty box, add your baby’s first teeth, shoes, drawings and photos and make it especially yours! ♥

About the shadow box:
Style – Flip-top with non-corrosive metal hinge
Material – MDF
Size options available (in inches):
A4 size – 8″ × 11.5″
A3 size – 11.5″ x 16.5″

How do I upload my file/ photo?
– Click on”Add to Cart”
– Click on your account and “My Orders”
– Upload the photograph by clicking the “Upload” button … OR
– Mail us your photos with subject line “Order No…” here.

Ships in 3-5 days.

Additional information

A4 Size (8"×11.5"), A3 Size (11.5" x 16.5")


text:
More participation sought for Employer One Survey

Article Sidebar

Article content

The Chatham-Kent Workforce Planning Board is encouraging businesses to participate in a survey which will help the board identify barriers in the local workforce.

The 2019 Employer One Survey can be filled out until Jan. 31. It asks businesses about the demographics of their workforce, their staffing levels, how many jobs they expect to fill and challenges they have faced in finding employees.

Kristy Jacobs, project manager with the planning board, said this will be an important year for the survey since they will now have five years of data available.

“Each year it tells us a little bit of a snapshot of what’s going on, but with the five years looking back, we’re going to be able to see some pretty solid trends,” she said.

“If it’s showing us something that could be fixable, then it’s something that we could mobilize the community on and start looking at either training or whatever we might need to do to address that shortfall.”

Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Last year, 284 employers filled out the survey, which represents about nine per cent of businesses in the community.

In order to be “statistically significant,” said Jacobs, the survey needs responses from 12 per cent of local businesses, which would have been 365 employers in 2018.

Jacobs said they have changed their approach somewhat this year to try to bring in more responses. In December, they invited frequent responders to fill out the survey early.

“We have done some mail-outs this year, which is something we have never done before, hitting some of the companies and the organizations that we haven’t seen touch our survey,” she said.

“We sent them out some information to kind of get them thinking about it and then in the next two weeks we’re going to start with the follow up and touch them again and see if they need some help to complete it.”

This “personal touch” seems to have the most success, although there will continue to be advertising through social media, the movie theatre, radio and newspapers, she said.

Jacobs said some of the information they are looking for does not have to be exact.

“We just want to get a flavour and overall the number of people they employ,” she said. “Those would be the hardest things for them to kind of pull up, but then they’re going to be asked about things like, ‘Did you post jobs last year? Were you able to fill those?'”

So far the board seems to be receiving a high number of responses, she said.

“We are looking for 300 responses this year,” said Jacobs. “We are sitting at just about 100 right now, so we’re really excited, but we don’t want to get too cocky because it is still pretty early.”

The survey is available at


text:
Triple Track Tuesday’s: Visualisation Part 3

Gary Nicol has teamed up with National Club Golfer, Callaway and Odyssey’s Triple Track ball and putter technology to create a special series of putting videos.

Using techniques from The Lost Art books, co-author Gary Nicol will help you look at putting in a new way. These videos are guaranteed to give all variety of golfers a whole new perspective on the greens.

All of our videos were filmed at Archerfield Links in Gullane.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Lost-Art-Masterclass-2048x689-1-1030x347.jpg


text:
The Lowest of Low Daisies Flip Flops beach shower swimming pool summer fun shoes Mediterranean

Daisies Flip Flops

Yay! Flip flops! With their EVA outsoles (think rubbery, not foamy) they’re waterproof, durable and resistant to cracking, so you can wash them off and keep them looking vibrant for a very long time to come. Anti-slip bottoms make them suitable for the shower, locker room or poolside, as well as the beach or just for, you know, walking around.

The info I get from the workshop tells me they’re also non-toxic. But don’t eat them! (Actually, if you have a shoe-obsessed puppy, this is probably good news, but still….)

They come in four “Unisex” sizes S, M, L and XL. and 5 different colour choices in our traditional kimono-inspired original design, "Daisies"

Please have a look at the size chart for reference. If you’re in doubt about your size, the best thing to do is to trace your foot on a piece of paper (or get a helpful friend to do it for you) and then measure the length from toe to heel to find your size.  If you’re in between, consider going bigger rather than smaller, especially if you also have wide feet -- these are elegant but run a tiny bit narrow if you have duck feet like me.  If you tend to size up with your flip flops, size these up too. If flip flops generally fit you just fine, don't worry too much!

Follow Us In These Exciting Elsewhere Places!

  • Bandcamp
  • Instagram
  • Google Play
  • Facebook Social Icon
  • Tumblr Social Icon
  • Spotify Icona sociale
  • Apple Music Icon sociale
  • Deezer Icona sociale
  • Tidal Icona sociale
  • YouTube Social  Icon

Site owned and operated by Kelly Ann Anderson (The Lowest of Low, The Lowest of Low FutureRetro Electro Shop, MC Jizzy, The WOB, Anna Lipari.... it's all her.  Cda. Montagna, Avola SR 96012 is where it all goes on. Enquiries, etc. may be addressed to but don't send spam, we'll just block it.)

© 2017-2418 The Lowest of Low.


text:
Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Mike Ashley has published this laughable open letter on Friday apologising for his ‘mistakes’

10 months ago

Mike Ashley has been an absolute disgrace when it comes to this current crisis we all face, especially in recent days.

However, now on Friday morning he has published an open letter (see below) claiming he has made some mistakes/misunderstandings which he apologises for, rather than the clearly cynical behaviour that is transparent to any normal person.

The Frasers Group (formerly Sports Direct International Group) boss making decision after decision based on trying to benefit himself, rather than joining in with the vast majority of people who are doing the decent thing to help and pulling together for the greater good.

The Government having to force the closure of his Sports Direct stores after Mike Ashley tried to claim they were ‘essential’ in this crisis.

The Press Association reporting how Ashley had raised prices on countless items, the authorities now looking into claims of him profiteering during this national emergency.

The PA also reported that Mike Ashley was forcing non-essential staff to go into work, expressly against Government orders/advice.

Thursday brought claims of a shambles at the Sports Direct warehousing, with staff put at risk as no proper attempts made to protect them from the spread of the virus.

In this open letter, Mike Ashley has apologised for “ill-judged and poorly timed” emails to Government…

He has also apologised  for poor communications to employees and the public…

No apology though for his disgraceful actions this week towards Newcastle fans though during this crisis, or his refusal to pay casual workers at Newcastle United whilst there are no matches played, as all decent Premier League clubs are doing.

In his letter, Mike Ashley says:

“Our intentions were only to seek clarity from the Government as to whether we should keep some of our stores open; we would never have acted against their advice.

“On top of this, our communications to our employees and the public on this was poor.

“To reiterate, I am deeply apologetic about the misunderstandings of the last few days. We will learn from this and will try not to make the same mistakes in the future.”

Public opinion and the backlash against unscrupulous people such as Mike Ashley and Tim Martin has been massive this week.

Even Mike Ashley realising that he has to do something to try and protect himself and his retail empire from potential disaster, his PR people doing the letter and Ashley putting his name to it.

As Piers Morgan said though this week, once things get back to some kind of normality, we must not forget the disgusting behaviour of people such as Mike Ashley, Tim Martin and others.

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to [email protected]

Have your say

© 2021 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks


text:
Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Need to ignore Cavani and Coutinho as this is the ideal player Newcastle United need after takeover

9 months ago

Once the Newcastle United takeover is sorted, there has been much talk of how much money the manager (whomever that may be) will have to spend.

Just as importantly, or even more so, how it will be spent.

Naturally some ‘news’ outlets are fabricating our interest in some seriously ‘sexy’ signings – Coutinho, Cavani and Willian to name but a few.

The problem I have with all of this, is that it makes the Geordie faithful look foolish by association.

Too long have we been branded as ‘delusional’, simply because we want our team to improve and compete. We know what it’s like competing for honours at the top end of the league and our only wish is to be allowed to try again.

So instead of making wild and fanciful speculations about elite world footballers, who couldn’t point to Newcastle on a map, why aren’t we talking about the players we really need.

Players that would offer the upgraded skill set we need at this particular time so we can progress, while also respecting the badge on their chest and the opportunity that has been afforded them.

One such player, that in my opinion would be both realistic and a quality addition, would be Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

He is now 24 and yet has only 33 Premier League starts to his name, a meagre 12 of them with Chelsea and the rest when on a loan at Palace.

Remarkably, he has made almost as many appearances for the senior England side (10) as he has started PL games for Chelsea.

Despite only six PL starts for Chelsea last season (2018/19), 963 PL minutes in all that season, he was giving a good account of himself (including cup competitions) and giving Gareth Southgate something to think about.

After that serious injury, Ruben Loftus-Cheek returned to full training and was an unused sub in a couple of Premier League games in February before play was suspended.

The lad is waiting for his moment and a player of his obvious talent should have more than 33 Premier League starts under his belt and now needs regular top flight football moving forward.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek would offer us those surging runs from midfield that commit defenders and those deft touches that set up attacks and win free kicks.

This is the sort of player we should be talking about, where the opportunity is mutually beneficial and is not a case of us paying a king’s ransom for a mercenary, who at the start of the season would have laughed at the thought of joining us.

If we don’t want to end up spending £200million and still potentially struggling, these are the types of signings we should be looking to make, not an over the hill Cavani, or a Coutinho looking to cash in big time before he is past his best.

The ‘big clubs’ are littered with players like Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Very good Premier League quality players with minimal game time and a point to prove.

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to [email protected]

Have your say

© 2021 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks


text:
Trinity is the term by which is expressed the Christian belief that there are three persons in one God. Christian doctrine holds that

a) there is only one God, one divine nature and being.

b) This one divine being is tripersonal, that is, three persons in one God, designated as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

c) These three persons are joint partakers of the identical nature and majesty of God.

While this doctrine is a preeminent mystery of revelation, the believed revealed nature of God, transcending human or finite comprehension, it is considered essential to the understanding of the scriptures.

Even though the Trinity doctrine is implicit rather than explicit in the Old Testament, it is believe that with the accompanying knowledge of the New Testament, evidence of the Trinity can be found in the Old Testament (e. g., Numbers 6:24-26; Isaiah 6:3; 63:9, 10 the sanctity of the symbolical number three-the plural form of Elohim, also places in which the deity is spoken of as conversing with himself).

This is in accordance with the gradual development of revealed truths in other particulars. However, the Hebrew religion of the Old Testament is emphatically monotheistic; a principle reason for this is thought to have been that such religious rigidity was that it provided a safeguard against polytheism.

The following Biblical passages are examples of the deity conversing with himself:

“And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'” (Genesis 1:26). “And the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).

From these passages it is believed in Christianity the God was talking to the other two persons within the Trinity.

The comprehension of the doctrine is extremely complex, but the basis for the concept of three persons in one God lies in the inner nature of the Godhead; each of the three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, although separate but equal share the nature of the Godhead. Each of these separate but equal persons of the Trinity has a unique function as Jesus alludes to:

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:16).

Jesus had elaborated on the distinct functions of each person: “For as the Father raised up the dead and give them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he will; for the father judges no man, but has committed that all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:21-33).

“But if the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised Christ from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

The Trinity is the predominantly Christian understanding of the inner nature of the Godhead. Trinitarian understandings of God may arise primarily from revelations, as Christians claim, but they are more widely embedded in a belief that there is a analogical relationship between God and the created or manifest world since in this world it is only possible to be a self in a field of selves, the inference is drawn that the inner nature of God must be relational, and not monistically abstract

Eastern Christianity has attempted to understand the nature of the Trinity by analogically describing it: “We may be confronted by many who individually share in human nature, such as Peter, James, and John, yet the ‘man’ in them is one” (Gregory of Nyssa, On Not Three Gods). “It also holds that the Father is the single focus of unity in the Godhead, and the source of the other two persons.”

Western thought, however, appears to have taken a reversed approach in its study of the Trinity; it begins with the unity of the Godhead and attempts to understand its threeness. Augustine’s contribution, influenced by the scholastics, described it in terms of relations: in his best-known analogy, the Father, the lover, the Son, the loved one, and the Holt Spirit: the love between them.

Also, in the traditional debate with the East, Western dogma states proceeds from the Father and the Son in order to insist on the equality of the Persons.

Some modern scholars acknowledge the Trinity argument between the East and West by recognizing the complexity of its mystery may be so great that both arguments may not be incompatible: the doctrine of the Trinity is a necessary consequence of Christology, and takes seriously the necessity for interrelation in the formation of all appearance or unity.

Therefore, the current patristic model or concept of the Trinity has developed: three distinct realities, inseparably requiring each other to be the sort of reality that they are, and therefore also only one reality. A.G.H.

Unger, Merrill F., Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Chicago, Moody Press, 1966, pp. 1118-1119
Bowker, John, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 990-991


text:
Pottle - Blanc

  • Save!
  • Regular price $ 19.95

Whip up whatever you like and store it in a Pottle.  This nifty little gadget functions as a gel pot, gel polish bottle, and general beauty product applicator all in one!

Want to mix up a glitter gel with some of your dry glitters?  Create a custom color for that special client?  Or maybe your fave gel only comes in a pot but you want it in a bottle?  Enter the new life saver...the Pottle.

Pottle stands 4in tall and 1.8in wide.

Each refillable Pottle includes:

  • tall chrome applicator cap
  • weighted glass base that's perfect for UV sensitive liquid (holds 20 ml)
  • two copper mixing marbles
  • 4 inch crystal wand for blending, swatching or applying tailored skincare


text:
In 1971, before becoming an associate justice of the Supreme Court, Lewis Powell penned a memo to the director of the US Chamber of Commerce advocating a comprehensive strategy to strengthen corporate power in America. Powell wrote, “Under our constitutional system, especially with an activist-minded Supreme Court, the judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, economic and political change.” In its recent McCutcheon v. FEC ruling, which overturned forty years of campaign finance law by repealing federal limits on overall individual campaign contributions, the Court was not so much an instrument as a blowtorch, searing a hole in the fabric of our democracy.

It completed a trifecta of bad Court rulings that started in 1976 with Buckley v. Valeo, which reversed the Midas touch by turning money into speech, and continued with Citizens United in 2010, which struck down restrictions on independent campaign spending by corporations, nonprofits and unions. In his impassioned dissent to McCutcheon, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote, “Today’s decision eviscerates our nation’s campaign finance laws, leaving a remnant incapable of dealing with the grave problems of democratic legitimacy that those laws were intended to resolve.”

That has always been the right’s plan—to tilt the system ever more sharply in favor of the wealthy. The think tank Demos calculates that if McCutcheon had been handed down in 2012, the 1,219 biggest donors that year could have given more than the amount 4 million small donors gave to the Obama and Romney campaigns. The Court will now allow the 1 percent to buy even more access to elected officials—more than ordinary voters and small donors can ever dream of. The weakening of campaign finance laws tracks with the widening income gap, as the wealthiest have secured policies—from lower taxes to deregulation—to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.

As Senator Elizabeth Warren has observed, the system “is rigged for powerful interests and against working families.” That’s why campaign finance reform is not a partisan issue: a June 2013 Gallup poll shows that nearly eight out of ten Americans support campaign fundraising and spending limits, and a 2012 CBS poll shows that 64 percent support limits on individual contributions.

Popular outrage is growing, with a sharp rise in grassroots action demanding reform, as John Nichols reports at In the days after McCutcheon, a coalition led by Public Citizen mobilized thousands—150 demonstrations in forty-one states—to protest the ruling. Move to Amend, which is calling for a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and McCutcheon, has over 300,000 members; some 500 municipalities and sixteen states support an amendment. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ted Deutch are sponsoring parallel resolutions that would reverse all three bad Supreme Court rulings. New Yorkers are renewing the drive to hold Governor Andrew Cuomo accountable for breaking his promise to support public financing of state elections. And activists are calling for increased disclosure as well as public financing of elections at the state and federal levels.

The Supreme Court’s latest blow against campaign finance regulation comes on the heels of its gutting of the Voting Rights Act last year. As Nation contributing writer Ari Berman recently wrote, “Under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court has made it far easier to buy an election and far harder to vote in one.”

These assaults on democracy should inspire Americans to a renewed commitment to fight for its survival.

Take Action: Tell Congress to Pass the 'Democracy Is For People' Amendment