ROUND ONE
Boner Candidate #1: PACK THE SWAMP? TAKE IT BACK.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Dan Mullen was given several more chances Monday to clarify any confusion regarding his comments about wanting to pack 90,000 screaming fans inside Florida Field during the coronavirus pandemic. He declined each of them, brushing aside criticism and insisting he’s focused on defending national champion LSU. He was asked: Did you have any discussions with your boss, athletic director Scott Stricklin, about what you said following a 41-38 loss at Texas A&M? “No, I’ve been worried about trying to beat LSU,” Mullen said. Then: Any regrets two days later? Did you talk with school president Kent Fuchs? “Yeah, I’ve been preparing for LSU. But, I mean, I’ll be honest. I think if you look at what we’ve been able to do, the safety precautions we have that our players have followed, our coaches follow, our staff follows, you know, I think we’re a model of safety of what we’ve been doing during this time period. “So I’m really proud of how we’ve handled everything and how safe we’ve been with everything we’re doing and all the precautions we’ve had in place during this time.” Another follow-up: Do you understand how bad it could be having so many people, with or without masks, in cramped quarters for four hours? “I think Texas A&M actually, they created a great atmosphere at the game, created an exciting atmosphere, you know?,” the coach said. “I thought they did a great job of doing that. … I haven’t talked to people because I’ve been really focused on trying to beat LSU.
Boner Candidate #2: THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT DOESN’T NEED TO KNOW IF I’M SICK.
On social media, in rallies and at campuses across the state, growing groups of Utahns are declaring that they won’t get tested for COVID-19 — even if they have symptoms. Some say they don’t want to contribute to the rising numbers that could push their schools to close. Others don’t want to be forced to quarantine for two weeks. A few suggest the results wouldn’t be accurate anyway and insist the severity of the pandemic is a hoax. And one state lawmaker is refusing because he worries it would put him “on the radar” if he tests positive. “The health department doesn’t need to know if I’m sick or not,” said Rep. Mark Strong, a Republican from Bluffdale. These individuals are Utah’s test deniers. And public health officials worry that they’re making the state’s already bad situation with the virus worse. Just one anti-tester, they warn, has the potential to cause significant amounts of spread without any way to trace where it’s coming from — or any way to control it.
Take a case at Brigham Young University as an example. The school has been a hot spot, with the highest rates of COVID-19 of any college in the state. And several students there have been adamantly against getting tested, including those who started a petition against randomized testing and other requirements. Ellie Crook, 19, lives with one of them.
Boner Candidate #3: MEH.
David Crosby is at the receiving end of intense backlash following a tweet he sent over the weekend about the late Eddie Van Halen in the wake of the rock legend’s death last week at 65. The folk music star caused quite the stir with many social media users when he was asked his thoughts on the Van Halen guitarist and simply replied with an unenthused, “Meh .…” “Wow! That was rude, unkind and totally lacking empathy,” one Twitter user chimed to which Crosby responded, “Sorry ..just meant he does not move me much.” Others also took umbrage with Crosby’s remarks of Van Halen. “Wrong answer as f–k and rude as f–k!!!” tweeted LA Guns musician Tracii Guns. “There are better ways to say you don’t care for someone’s music. That was very disrespectful. And yes straight out f–k you and your smug answer.” “I can demonstrate how he could have answered WITHOUT being an a–hole: ‘I don’t care for the end product, it’s just not my style,” wrote another commenter, adding, “But there’s no question at all about his talent and the revolution he brought to the whole industry.’ Feeling expressed and still respectful, see?”
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ROUND TWO
Boner Candidate #1: HERE’S A GREAT IDEA FOR MAKING EXTRA CASH
Brigham Young University-Idaho has a strong message for students: do not intentionally expose yourself or others to COVID-19 in hopes of getting paid more for your plasma. In an official notice emailed Monday, the university said it condemns the behavior and such actions leave administrators “deeply troubled.” The message stated the university is looking for evidence that such conduct is happening among the student body. “Students who are determined to have intentionally exposed themselves or others to the virus will be immediately suspended from the university and may be permanently dismissed,” the statement says. Eastern Idaho Public Health spokeswoman Mimi Taylor said the health district has also heard rumors of such activity but have nothing to substantiate the alleged actions. In an earlier EastIdahoNews.com story, local plasma centers did say they are paying more cash for those who actively have the COVID-19 antibody in their system. Madison County, where BYU-Idaho is located, has the highest COVID-19 infection rate across the health district. As of Sunday evening, there were 326 active cases of COVID-19 in the county. Last week, a change in the health district’s COVID-19 response plan moved the area into the High-Risk level.
Boner Candidate #2: YEAH WE PUT THOSE BALLOT BOXES AROUND.
State officials in California have ordered an investigation into more than 50 deceptively labeled “official” drop boxes.Mike Blake/Reuters The California Republican Party has admitted responsibility for placing more than 50 deceptively labeled “official” drop boxes for mail-in ballots in Los Angeles, Fresno and Orange Counties — an action that state officials said was illegal and could lead to voter fraud. The dark gray metal boxes have been popping up over the past two weeks near churches, gun shops and Republican Party offices, mostly in conservative areas of a deep-blue state, affixed with a white paper label identifying them as either an “Official Ballot Drop off Box” or a “Ballot Drop Box.” To the average voter, they are virtually indistinguishable from drop-off sites sanctioned by the state, which are governed by strict regulations intended to prevent the partisan manipulation of ballots. The actions of the largely marginalized state party come at a moment when Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a bitter national struggle over voting rights, with President Trump’s allies accusing Democrats in Minnesota and elsewhere of undermining the integrity of the electoral process by expanding absentee voting and other measures to increase ballot access.
Boner Candidate #3: I’M NOT GOING TO TALK THROUGH A MASK
WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Monday refused to keep his face mask on when speaking to reporters at the Capitol during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Outside of the Senate hearing room, Meadows was seen moving a microphone stand away from reporters and said as he removed his mask, “I’m more than 10 feet away…that way I can take this off.” A reporter then asked Meadows to put back on his face-covering. Meadows put it back on, then walked away. “I’m not going to talk through a mask,” Meadows said as he left the area. Inside the hearing room, Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipplone sat in the front row wearing masks. Meadows has been working out of the White House over the last week, interacting with President Donald Trump while he was recovering from Covid-19. During that time, it was unclear whether Trump was still contagious. Meadows last reported testing negative for the virus last Monday. More than a dozen people who have had contact with Trump recently have tested positive for Covid-19, including two GOP senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mike Lee and Thom Tillis. Lee appeared in person Monday after getting the green light from his doctor while Tillis participated remotely.
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