By the time most of you people read this, the NCAA will have announced the sanctions it plans to invoke against Pennsylvania State University as a consequence of the (in)actions its senior management took when made aware of the vile, disgusting acts committed by the child molesting former coach, Jerry Sandusky.
The NCAA’s possible sanctions range from a simple slap on the wrist to a variant of the “death penalty”. The last (only) football program to be given the “death penalty” was that of Southern Methodist University in the 1980’s. At the time the penalty was issued, SMU was a very high-ranked program and National Championship contender. Twenty years later, SMU is, at best, considered an also-ran, having never regained the stature it once enjoyed.
To be sure, the Penn State issue is of an entirely different nature than that of SMU. SMU was found to have violated many rules against paying or otherwise giving financial benefits to players. Penn State has been found to have looked the other way, at the very best interpretation of events, when confronted with allegations that one of its coaches was a serial child molester.
There are those who say that the current players, coaching staff, student body, and fan base of Penn State had nothing whatsoever to do with the actions of Sandusky, so why should they be penalized?
While all these people and groups and nothing to do with Sandusky’s disgusting activities, they also have no real stake in any penalties. Players are free to seek other programs with no penalty, coaches are free to move to other programs, the student body can root for the basketball or baseball teams or simply spend their time studying, and the fans can find one of the many other football programs to support.
The prime intent of the penalties the NCAA will implement will be to reduce the influence of the Penn State football program. From the report issued by the commission led by former FBI Director Freeh, it is apparent that the Senior Administration of Penn State and it football program either turned a deaf ear toward or actively suppressed the allegations raised regarding Sandusky’s activities. That these individuals felt they had to act the way they did speaks volumes about the undue influence of the Penn State football program and Joe Paterno. It is clear from the Freeh Commissions report that Paterno was deeply involved in the coverup and suppression of Sandusky’s actions.
The question boils down to whether an NCAA “death penalty” is an appropriate sanction.
An NCAA “death penalty” is not only appropriate, but is the minimum penalty appropriate for something of this magnitude. We are not talking about recruiting violations, paying players, inflating grades, or even gunfire in the athletic dorms (thank you, Barry Switzer). We are talking about one of the most singularly heinous crimes, that of sexually molesting the most innocent among us, our children – in particular, children who were experiencing family problems of some sort and were therefore even more vulnerable than others.
The NCAA should impose the “death penalty” in some form, for surely child molestation and its coverup is several orders of magnitude more significant than mundane recruiting violations.
Monday Not-So-Happy Valley Open Comments
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I don’t care one way or another about Penn State or it’s football program so I’m not in anyway defending them. The NCAA, at the very most, should demand the school fire anyone felt to have been enablers and get their nose out of it. It’s a legal matter.
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The monkey speaks! This time on climate change.
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Blasted cool summer days! Aaaaaarrrgg!
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The American heartland is suprised to know droughts are new.
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I work with a PSU graduate. When this all broke, and before Sandusky’s trial, he told me what he hopes would happen. PSU, on its own, suspend their football program for five years and the school arrange and pay for all current players to go to another school of their choosing.
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#2 Hamous
denier
The comments sound like a bunch of Chicken Littles who got konked on their noggins by an acorn. -
#5 Hamous
That’s the problem. The people in charge and who could have done that were the same ones who were busy covering everything up. Those guys will likely wind up in jail and PSU will likely get taken to the cleaners because the football program was above criticism.
Sanctions serve a dual purpose: punishing wrongdoers and, maybe more importantly, serving as an object lesson for everyone else. -
Sanctions serve a dual purpose: punishing wrongdoers and, maybe more importantly, serving as an object lesson for everyone else.
But they also punish a lot of innocent student athletes who had nothing to do with the horrendous crimes.
On a personal note, I never liked “JoePa”. He always came across as an arrogant prick. And the hero worshiping was just plain disgusting. As we now know, he was a walking testimonial to why we should never treat a man as a god. I caught flack a few years ago for laughing at him when he crapped his pants on the sidelines at a game. I still think it’s a hilarious and fitting end for a man that enabled a child molester to abuse at least 10 young boys, all to protect his legacy as a great coach. The only good thing I can say is that I hope he made his peace with his Maker. -
In the years since, the families of the victims have repeatedly told the IOC that all they want is a chance to mark the murder of athletes who had traveled to the games to do precisely what athletes do: compete at their very best. These victims deserved to be remembered by the very organization that had brought them to Munich.
Why the IOC refusal? The Olympic Committee’s official explanation is that the games are apolitical. The families were repeatedly told by long-time IOC President Juan Samaranch that the Olympic movement avoided political issues. He seemed to have forgotten that at the 1996 opening ceremony he spoke about the Bosnian war. Politics were also present at the 2002 games, which opened with a minute of silence for the victims of 9/11.
The families have also been told that a commemoration of this sort was inappropriate at the opening of such a celebratory event. However, the IOC has memorialized other athletes who died “in the line of duty.” At the 2010 winter games, for example, there was a moment of silence to commemorate an athlete who died in a training accident.
The IOC’s explanation is nothing more than a pathetic excuse. The athletes who were murdered were from Israel and were Jews—that is why they aren’t being remembered. The only conclusion one can draw is that Jewish blood is cheap, too cheap to risk upsetting a bloc of Arab nations and other countries that oppose Israel and its policies. -
But they also punish a lot of innocent student athletes who had nothing to do with the horrendous crimes
Which only compounds the crime, giving no real excuse not to punish it.
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Looks like Bob Costas will do what the IOC won’t. Oh, and note that Barry is once again “leading from behind”.
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Your Penn State verdict is up on Drudge, they have had it socked to ’em.
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#2 Couchmaster: fromyour linkie:
Making things much worse, of course, is the role of players who don’t have the best will in the world. Climate change denial is a major industry, lavishly financed by Exxon, the Koch brothers and others with a financial stake in the continued burning of fossil fuels. And exploiting variability is one of the key tricks of that industry’s trade. Applications range from the Fox News perennial — “It’s cold outside! Al Gore was wrong!” — to the constant claims that we’re experiencing global cooling, not warming, because it’s not as hot right now as it was a few years back.
The MMGW proponents use the exact same tactics to promote MMGW as the moron Paulie K decries. The hypocrisy is stunning.
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G’Morning All
Dang, Hammie, you’re blowing and going today.
Is it close to this time? -
BTW, speaking of the Olympics, I saw where Homeland Security sent TSA agents to London to aid British screeners with Olympic tourists. They are going to share expertise. The Brit’s have a huge database of likely terrorists,
and the TSA agents are trained to look a suspect in the eye and tell if she’ll file suit for groping. -
We must be ever vigilant. Eric the commie Holder has publicly proclaimed that the Constitution does not give the individual the right to bear arms. Given his propensity to not enforce the laws with which he does not agree, and actively persecute those with whom he is politically opposed, and has made clear that he will not prosecute flagrant voter intimidation by blacks against whites while at the same time throw up every road block to prevent states from preventing fraudulent votes, can we really trust this man to uphold the Constitution and the recent SCOTUS ruling regarding the private ownership of firearms?
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Bones
Constitution does not give the individual the right to bear arms.
We can be thankful for Article V: Amending the Constitution
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
The United States Constitution is unusually difficult to amend. As spelled out in Article V, the Constitution can be amended in one of two ways. First, amendment can take place by a vote of two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate followed by a ratification of three-fourths of the various state legislatures (ratification by thirty-eight states would be required to ratify an amendment today). This first method of amendment is the only one used to date. Second, the Constitution might be amended by a Convention called for this purpose by two-thirds of the state legislatures, if the Convention’s proposed amendments are later ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures.
Because any amendment can be blocked by a mere thirteen states withholding approval (in either of their two houses), amendments don’t come easy. In fact, only 27 amendments have been ratified since the Constitution became effective, and ten of those ratifications occurred almost immediately–as the Bill of Rights. The very difficulty of amending the Constitution greatly increases the importance of Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Constitution, because reversal of the Court’s decision by amendment is unlikely except in cases when the public’s disagreement is intense and close to unanimous. Even unpopular Court decisions (such as the Court’s protection of flagburning) are likely to stand unless the Court itself changes its collective mind. -
Bones
Just got this in my email:Politicians, city officials and businesses who support “Gun Free Zones” are killing us with their lunacy.
Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Well let’s ask our elected officials, opinion leaders, the news media, and those businesses who support the insanity of gun control and “Gun Free Zones” how many more Americans are they willing to kill by continuing to disarm responsible, trained citizens WHO CAN STOP a deranged gunman BEFORE he can massacre disarmed and helpless citizens?
How many MORE times are our elected officials going to pass gun control laws, enforce “Gun Free Zones” or consider signing an Arms Treaty to circumvent our cherished Second Amendment and expect a different result than what we received at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises?
It is INSANITY to believe that more gun control will make us safer.
Criminals, terrorists, and the deranged DO NOT follow gun control laws. Never have and never will. -
Good morning Hamsters. No rain last night so we weren’t in the 50% who got some.
High overcast and 74 at 6, still high overcast with a hazy bright spot where the Sun is. Rain chances fluctuate like stock prices.
Regarding the court martial conviction of the Air Force instructor at Lackland AFB in San Antonio for rape and assault of a subordinate, it would seem the AF has a different but correct outlook on “justice delayed is justice denied” than does the Army. Why has Major Nidal Hassan not been tried, convicted, and sentenced by now for the Fort Hood Massacre? Looks to me like the top Army brass are a herd of politically correct geldings. 🙁 -
The rest of the fast food industry is distancing themselves from Chick-Fil-A.
The statement from Five Guys Burgers and Fries is my favorite. -
I saw Evan Bayh (former IN Democrat senator and governor) yesterday talking about gun control. First time I’ve ever heard a Democrat publicly say that the 10 year “assault weapons ban” had no effect whatsoever on crimes committed with guns.
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From the department of truthers, birthers, and miscellaneous conspiracy nuts comes this:
-Colorado Batman shooting shows obvious signs of being staged
-Holmes was clearly provided with exotic gear (and bomb-making skills)
-FBI has a track record of staging similar assaults, then stopping them at the last minute
-How does an unemployed medical student afford $20,000 in weapons gear?Staged just in time for a vote on the UN small arms treaty?
More and more, this shooting is looking like a deliberate plot staged by the government itself much like Operation Fast and Furious pulled off by the ATF -
Well at least it gives the Paulestianians something to talk about now that their savior has no role in the pubby convention.
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We don’t need a new amendment.
The Supremes upheld the individual right to bear arms in 2008 (D.C. vs. Heller) and two years later reinforced that decision (McDonald v. Chicago),
ruling that the Second Amendment limits state and local governments to the same extent that it limits the federal government.
We simply need to get that criminal out of the Justice Department. -
Now he looks like the runaway bride/Pelosi/Jackson triplets.
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We simply need to get that criminal out of the Justice Department.
That’s looking more likely. Even Minnesota and Oregon are moving closer to the “toss-up” column. I dismissed Texpat’s prediction that Romney would win an electoral college blowout. Now I’m not so sure.
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crazy eyes are not just for wimmins
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27
…dismissed Texpat’s prediction that Romney would win an electoral college blowout.
Hah !
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Why the Future of Manufacturing Belongs to America and not China
Several technologies advancing and converging will cause this.
First, robotics. The robots of today aren’t the androids or Cylons that we are used to seeing in science fiction movies, but specialized electromechanical devices run by software and remote control. As computers become more powerful, so do the abilities of these devices. Robots are now capable of performing surgery, milking cows, doing military reconnaissance and combat, and flying fighter jets. Several companies, such Willow Garage, iRobot, and 9th Sense, sell robot-development kits for which university students and open-source communities are developing ever more sophisticated applications.
The factory assembly that China is currently performing is child’s play compared to the next generation of robots — which will soon become cheaper than human labor. One of China’s largest manufacturers, Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, announced last August that it plans to install one million robots within three years to do the work that its workers in China presently do. It has found even low-cost Chinese labor to be too expensive and demanding.and,
These new materials make it possible to create products that are stronger, lighter, more energy-efficient, and more durable than existing manufactured goods. A new field — “molecular manufacturing” — will take this one step further and make it possible to program molecules inexpensively, with atomic precision. “Over the next two decades,” Jacobstein says, “molecular manufacturing will do for our relationship with molecules and matter what the computer did for our relationship with bits and information — make the precise control of molecules and matter inexpensive and ubiquitous.”
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But they also punish a lot of innocent student athletes who had nothing to do with the horrendous crimes.
That’s the nature of sin, dude. It not only separates the sinner from God and the Body of Christ, but it causes many bad side effects throughout the Body of Christ and the world.
That’s why we have Reconciliation. -
Heh.
“Does your cauliflower have a large carbon footprint?”
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They took down JoePa’s statue – the question is why did they ever erect it in the first place?
Why is the NCAA involved in this criminal matter? I do not think they violated any NCAA rules, but they did violate the law – where are the prosecutors? Where is the due process afforded even a mass murderer – NCAA action is based on a report, not on actual evidence. Where is the victim’s justice? – What’s in this for them? This is just another smokescreen to blame the dead or the long gone to try to create the image that something is being done when nothing material really is being done. The events leading up to all this are disgusting, and the disposition of the case is also disgusting. -
I got a little sidelined over the weekend, after I stumbled upon some old “Whose Line is It” episodes. I forgot how side-splittingly funny those could be!
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TOWBWF is going to Colorado to mourn with the families of the victims of the evil crazy nut.
Why is it that it took so long for him to go visit the families of the victims of the evil crazy nut at Ft. Hood? The victims there were actually his employees. -
#35 WB
Why is it that it took so long for him to go visit the families of the victims of the evil crazy nut at Ft. Hood?
Islam means never having to say you’re sorry.
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With all the hoorah the NCAA is causing with its late to get on the train but making up time with sanctions against Penn State, it would seem that for the next several years it will be the Big 10 +1.25, with Penn State being the 0.25 and Nebraska being the #11. Maybe that’s until the Big 10 gets into the act too. 🙁
#1 GJT and #33 El Gordo nail it. Amen, this is first and foremost a criminal matter. IMHO, the athletic associations need to get in line behind the legal system in PA to have their say. -
Penn State agreed to the sanctions. The Board of Regents know they are responsible for the overall health of the school and are likely taking whatever defensive moves they can to ameliorate the impact of the scandal.
The NCAA works at the institutional level; the legal system works at the person level. Penn State as an institution is facing sanctions resulting from its failure to live up to the rules set forth in its membership in the NCAA. The individual people who have broken laws will presumably be facing the consequences of their actions and poor judgement. -
Why is the NCAA involved in this criminal matter? I do not think they violated any NCAA rules, but they did violate the law – where are the prosecutors? Where is the due process afforded even a mass murderer – NCAA action is based on a report, not on actual evidence.
The NCAA isn’t involved in the criminal matter. The university itself commissioned the Freeh investigation and fully (and publicly) accepted its findings as factual. The NCAA says they violated multiple by-laws of the organization which Penn State as a member agreed to abide. Since Penn State has accepted the Freeh report findings there is no reason for the NCAA to perform further investigations. Penn State has publicly accepted the punishment handed down by the NCAA. They could protest the NCAA ruling but they’re not. Any criminal investigation that needs to happen is independent of this ruling and is up to the appropriate authorities.
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what he said
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Wait until you get to the last one.
Hey, Obama, which finger was that? I wish I could vote for the guy. -
Here’s the consent decree.
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#’s 38 & 39
Precisely correct and concisely written. -
And we haven’t even touched on the civil morass that is surely coming.
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#36 TT
Islam means never having to say you’re sorry.
This jogged my memory of a recent odd event when I stopped at the nearby Food Doodle to get bananas and milk. Must-haves, but not worth the 3-mi drive to the large Kroger where I do most of my grocery shopping.
On the way to the checkout, I picked up a bottle of sweet red wine. At the counter, the checker rang up the bag of bananas and the gallon of milk, then used the PA to request “90 on 12.” A manager was instantly at the checkout and he took the bottle of wine from the conveyer belt and waved it over the barcode reader, then handed off to the bagger.
The checker was not Arab-looking whatsoever, but is this how a store would cope with a Muslim employee? -
Maybe the checker was under 18.
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From the department of truthers, birthers, and miscellaneous conspiracy nuts comes this:
FLASHBACK: when Dr. Amy Bishop shot her colleagues, the Left speculated that she was a Tea Partier. In fact, she was an Obama donor.
FLASHBACK: Discovery Channel hostage-taker was supposedly a climate change denier. In fact, he was an enviroweenie, D.Channel intern.
FLASHBACK: the census-taker was supposedly hanged by extremist anti-tax Tea Partiers. In fact, he hanged himself.
FLASHBACK: the Times Square Bomber was speculated to be upset about [Health Care Reform]. In fact, he was jihadi scum.
FLASHBACK: the guy who flew his plane into the IRS in TX was supposedly a Tea Partier. In fact, he quoted from the Communist Manifesto.
FLASHBACK: the guy who was stabbing NYC cabbies was supposedly an anti-Ground Zero Mosque Tea Partier. In fact, he supported the GZM.
FLASHBACK: the Pentagon shooter was supposedly a Tea Party extremist. In fact, he was a 9/11 Truther.
FLASHBACK: when the Ft. Hood shooting happened, the Left speculated that it was a “RWNJ.” In fact, it was a Muslim nutjob.
FLASHBACK: When the Tucson shooting occurred, it was immediately blamed on Tea Party rhetoric. In fact, Loughner was a-political & insane. -
From the department of truthers, birthers, and miscellaneous conspiracy nuts comes this:
No, There Isn’t a Stimulus Plan Designed to Pay Your Utility Bills
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Oh, please Lord, let it be true!
“Certainly liberalism is dead,” said R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr., author of a new book, “The Death of Liberalism.”
On a side note, I’ll be sooooo happy when I don’t have to hear another Dewhurst ad.
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#46 That makes sense.
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In my mailbox:
As we continue our fight to Take America Back in 2012, we must be determined to send a new crop of principled fiscal conservatives to join our Tea Party allies like Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Jim DeMint in the U.S. Senate.
Join thousands of Tea Party activists from across America in making calls during National Call Day – Tuesday, July 24th – in support of Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz!
Please call for Ted Cruz now!
Making calls is so easy. To get started simply log-in using your FreedomConnector account, or create an account, and instantly start calling voters for Ted Cruz right from your computer!
In the July 31st runoff election Ted Cruz is facing David Dewhurst, an establishment RINO with deep pockets. That’s why we need to call for Ted Cruz right now and ensure Texas elects a principled Senator who respects the Constitution, economic freedom, and individual liberty. That Senator is Ted Cruz. -
#53 Sarge
The sheer volume and tone of the Dewhurst ads was enough to send me into the Cruz camp. Dohurts has just wissed me off a little too much.
About thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much. -
Micheal Berry was on this morning echoing my sentiments regarding how Establishment Republicans tend to treat thier Conservative primary challengers as bad as if not worse than they do Democrats, and how our desire for a “perfect candidate” is somehow childish and irresponsible but they say that ours aren’t perfect, and thats why they can’t support them.
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#46 Hammy
Maybe the checker was under 18.
Well, he didn’t look that young to me. I guess I should have asked what was going on, but it was over in a flash. Guess I can go back tomorrow and buy a ham.
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When we wanted to visit our son at Baylor, we checked the sports schedule first. You can’t get a room for miles or find a place to eat when there is a home game. Other sports related events made hotel rooms hard to get. I suspect a lot of businesses in Pennsylvania will be hurt by this.
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Sally Ride has died
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#52 Pyro: WTF!! That wissin thing told me instantly that I had a virus and tried to prevent me from leaving the page without “cleaning”. My understanding is that if you choose to “clean” you will have to pay dearly to get that crap cleaned from your machine.
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#32:
That’s the nature of sin, dude. It not only separates the sinner from God and the Body of Christ, but it causes many bad side effects throughout the Body of Christ and the world.
In the Old Testament, when the king was evil the country suffered. Kind of like what is happening right now.
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Unfortunately, communal sin – and communal punishment – hasn’t completely disappeared with the arrival of the New Testament times.
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Don’t know why it’d trigger a virus hit for you and not for me. I got the link off Drudge.
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RIP Sally Ride
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Never thought I’d agree with a rapper on anything, but Ice-T tells the truth here.
I notice that he’s labeled a “gangster rapper” for this interview. I wonder how he’s normally labeled for, say, a “save the animals” interview? Or for something like a Trayvon incident?
He comes right out and says that the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting – it’s to protect against oppression. He says “police,” which is unfortunate, but he has the right idea. -
OK, I’m NOT keeping up, just dropped in, BUTT Cruz Dewhurts debate on NOW on Ch 26, started @ 6. VOTE early, vote often, I voted @ 4:25 today. 😀
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Dewhurst claimed to be endorsed by the NRA, Cruz pointed out he was not. Dewhurst retracted. The guy is a spontaneous liar like Clinton.
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Perhaps the seller didn’t have his certificate yet…..
TABC encourages retailers to require their employees who sell or serve alcoholic beverages to attend a seller training course through the “Safe Harbor Act.” The TABC will not take administrative action against a license/permit when an employee sells or serves an alcoholic beverage to a minor or intoxicated customer, as long as:
The person selling is not the owner or an officer of the company;
The person selling holds a current seller-server training certificate from a TABC approved school;
All employees engaged in the sale, service, or delivery of alcoholic beverages, as well as their immediate managers, are certified within 30 days of their hire date;
The employer has written policies for responsible alcohol service and ensures that each employee has read and understands these policies;
The employer does not directly or indirectly encourage the employee to violate the law; and
There are not more than three of these type of violations within a twelve month period.
This relief is commonly referred to as “safe harbor.” If an illegal sale is made, the seller/server might be arrested, but the retailer’s permit/license will have protection from administrative action by the TABC. This is referred to as a “restrained administrative case.” -
At the local grocery store they often have trainees on the check-out and a “No Alcohol This Lane” sign is posted. I was told they “haven’t taken the course, yet.”
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#58/63
As mentioned before, Sally Ride has passed away of pancreatic cancer. For those unaware she was the first American woman in space, and a genuine role model for many girls aspiring to become American astronauts. Although I have met her on several occasions, I cannot say that I knew her.
Several days ago, a hamster posted a piece about a fellow who worked 60+ years in the airline industry and what an achievement it was. I crudely attempted to point out that this remarkable gentleman was a union member, and every knucklehead that denigrated unions also disparaged individuals like this.
And so it is with other organizations demonized by the extremists. We all “know” unions are thugs, this guy didn’t look like a thug to me.
If the Foxboro Church, or the Family Research Council or the American Family Association or any other unhinged, sleazeball organization that passes itself off as American care to comment on Ms. Ride’s character, ethics, morality or chances in the afterlife, I will obsessively go out of my way to call them out on it. -
Seriously? You’re going to come in here and troll over the death of Sally Ride? That’s pretty damn disgusting.
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Your equating Foxboro with the other two is why you are held in such contempt, ahole.
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Unlike SOME of the “NASA Contract Employees” Sally Ride was a “Class Act” I don’t interact with the astronauts all that much, but I’ve met quite a few of them and many years ago I met her, she was the real deal.
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Yes she was the real deal.
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#69 Schlemiel
I crudely attempted to point out that this remarkable gentleman was a union member, and every knucklehead that denigrated unions also disparaged individuals like this.
That is absolutely the stupidest thing you have ever written here.
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It just makes me think of shamaal…
David Mills, writing in the June/July issue of First Things,• It is a problem, this problem with the eccentrics, that afflicts everyone. One of George Orwell’s most famous and entertaining passages relays his own despair about the people attracted to socialism. In The Road to Wigan Pier, published in 1937, he writes that “One sometimes gets the impression that the mere words ‘Socialism’ and ‘Communism’ draw towards them with magnetic force every fruit-juice drinker, nudist, sandal-wearer, sex-maniac, Quaker, ‘Nature Cure’ quack, pacifist, and feminist in England.”
He then tells the story of riding on a bus through a village in which a socialist summer camp was being held—there were, once, such things—“when the bus stopped and two dreadful-looking old men got on to it.”
They were both about sixty, both very short, pink, and chubby, and both hatless. One of them was obscenely bald, the other had long grey hair bobbed in the Lloyd George style. They were dressed in pistachio-colored shirts and khaki shorts into which their huge bottoms were crammed so tightly that you could study every dimple. Their appearance created a mild stir of horror on top of the bus. The man next to me, a commercial traveller I should say, glanced at me, at them, and back again at me, and murmured “Socialists.” […] -
#74 – Don’t record that with indelible ink Brother – IT will inevitably surpass it’s own BPH quotient (likely won’t take very long)
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#75 Shannon
I have had that quote saved away for years. -
#70, 71,72,74, 76: Yeah, what they said.
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1977 – Rob Reiner guest hosts for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. He requests Harry Shearer and Billy Crystal be invited on and they concoct this skit.
Shearer does the most hilarious impersonation of Tom Snyder I’ve ever seen interviewing Crystal as Muhammad Ali about his conversion to Judaism.
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Late to get back to the argument but this sums up my thoughts on the NCAA sanctions on Penn State. Penn State could not fight this, and shouldn’t have. The NCAA saw a sweet spot to increase their authoritah and swooped in.
I should also dispatch with the unfortunately necessary caveats regarding Jerry Sandusky and the administration of Penn State. The underlying acts were absolutely evil and the administrators that covered for Sandusky and allowed the continuing abuse should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Any disapproval with the NCAA and its response should not be taken as being soft on sexual abusers and those that enable them. Obviously.
That being said, it seems clear to me that anybody who believes in justice and due process of law should be deeply troubled by recent news that NCAA president Mark Emmert is going to impose punishment against Penn State University on his own, bypassing the process agreed to by member institutions. It is unclear under what authority the Board of Directors or Executive Committee can vest this power on a single man, but it is an unprecedented move on the part of an organization that has long been criticized for handing down seemingly arbitrary punishments.
In order to protect member institutions, the NCAA typically follows a process that includes an NCAA investigation and provides a report of its findings and allegations to the institution, which is given 90 days to respond. None of that is happening in this case. Instead, the NCAA is relying on the Freeh report and not allowing Penn State to respond. Again, while I am by no means an expert on the NCAA and its bylaws, I have not been able to find any justification for the NCAA taking this unprecedented step. -
#79
Texpat
I remember seeing a Carson show with what had to have been Muhammad Ali’s last appearence on the show. Ali was in really bad shape and kept his voice down real low, almost whispering. Carson kept prodding him to speak up and Ali said the conversation was just between the two of them. Carson said something like “you and me and millions of people’. Ackward moment, I felt for Johnny. -
The one thing I remember about Unions is that the inconvenient idiot Al Gorenstein said his mama sung him the “Look for the Union Label” lullaby when he was just a wee lad, yet the song was written when he was 27 years old.
The earth’s warming I tell ya cuz Al Gorenstein said so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO7VUklDlQw -
Penn State commissioned the Freeh committee to conduct an independent investigation of the Sandusky mess. They further agreed to abide with the findings. This was done essentially as a plea bargain. If PSU had tried to fight the investigation, the penalties would likely have been much more severe, including the “death penalty”.
That being said, it seems clear to me that anybody who believes in justice and due process of law should be deeply troubled by recent news that NCAA president Mark Emmert is going to impose punishment against Penn State University on his own, bypassing the process agreed to by member institutions. It is unclear under what authority the Board of Directors or Executive Committee can vest this power on a single man, but it is an unprecedented move on the part of an organization that has long been criticized for handing down seemingly arbitrary punishments.
This is patently false. Penn State’s President and Board of Regents/Trustees/whatever they call it willingly forfeited their rights spelled out in the NCAA by-laws.
It is to Penn State’s credit that it agreed to abide by the Freeh Commission’s findings, allowing the reconciliation process to begin that much more quickly and in earnest. Had they not, the penalties would have been much more severe.The NCAA saw a sweet spot to increase their authoritah and swooped in.
I really have to disagree with this. One of the objectives of the NCAA is to ensure the integrity of student athletic programs and that they serve a purpose to elevate the perspectives and education of the student athletes. Those in charge of a football program covering for a low-life scum child molester so that the football program won’t suffer any bad publicity is a case that screams for justice to be served. If a member institution feels that it must not only allow such heinous crimes – actual, real crimes with actual, real, innocent victims – but actually cover them up and establish an environment where many more can occur, then that is a case where the NCAA has a moral duty to step in and do what it can to put an end to that cesspool of evil.
I can only hope for Paterno’s sake that he was able to make peace with his maker before he assumed locker room temperature. -
So, what kind of message does this send other colleges/universities with deep dark secrets that they have been hiding?
Fess up or hunker down? -
addendum to my #79
Harry Shearer these days, at 69 years old, does most of the supporting character voiceovers for the Simpson’s show.
Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Dr. Hibbert, Lenny Leonard, Principal Skinner, Otto Mann and Rainier Wolfcastle.
Harry also wrote Spinal Tap. -
I think Brent Musburger was JoePa’s biggest groupie.
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I think Brent Musburger was JoePa’s biggest groupie.
Until JoePa was replaced by Colt McCoy. Ol’ Brent sounded like he wanted to Sandusky McCoy every televised UT game.
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I’m not an attorney, but it is my understanding that a criminal defense attorney will often stipulate to some heinous criminal act committed by his client in order to avoid having the entire gruesome matter displayed in front of the jury. He recognizes that if the jury were required to visualize the details of the crime the members would be so revolted he would never stand a chance. That sounds like the case here at PSU. By rolling over and avoiding an investigation, the gory details do not have to be put on display for all the world to see. While $60 million sounds like a big number, it’s peanuts to PSU. I think they are getting off real easy – much like B’re Rabbit and his don’t throw me in the briar patch line.
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Crises too big to waste, power grabbing and presedent is all I’m sayin’. I have no alma mater or favorites, so it all just sporting interest – get it 😀 – to me, but it’s coming to one near you.
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Oh, and
NCAA has a moral duty
NCAA, the moral police. Yaright.
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