11-11-2012

NCAA Gestapo: the most dysfunctional organization in the United States.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with how the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) applies penalties we offer the following as a simplistic but poetic factual example.  First, we present a brief explanation and description on NCAA infractions. The NCAA has established rules that all student athletes and academic institutions are to follow in order to create a level playing field, while maintaining an amateur environment. Institutions whose members violate the rules are subject to penalties generally referred to as sanctions. The penalties can include reductions in scholarships, bans from post season games, payments of cash, and probation.

Nevin Shapiro, a University of Miami booster and convicted Ponzi schemer, told Yahoo sports, that he provided money and other benefits to 72 past and current University of Miami football players. The report by Yahoo sports was first made public in August of 2011 and entailed in nearly a year of interviews while Shapiro was in prison serving a 20 year sentence. For those interested in greater details regarding the case, a number of links have been provided at the end of this post.

A sad story:

In 2005 through 2008, the house located at 7391 Palm Beach Shores Avenue was occupied by three wealthy bachelors that were well-known drug dealers. Over that time, they sold $23 million worth of drugs and ripped off several people under the influence. On numerous occasions they had parties where drugs were given to women in order to more easily obtain sexual favors. In the summer of 2008, they were told by an informant that the police were slowly moving in on them. They put the house up for sale at a low rate and took off to another country to continue their business where the local authorities had no jurisdiction.

In September of 2008 John and Mary, a married couple felt fortunate to purchase this expensive home at such a reduced rate. Mary invited her recently divorced sister Donna, to move in with them. For nearly one year all of them worked hard, upgraded the home and lived a life beyond their imagination. However, at 4 AM on August 10, 2009, the house was raided by the police and they were all taken into custody.

Over the next three years, they were charged with 220 counts of the sale of cocaine, with the rape of 73 women and extorting another 24 people. Under the law, guilt is determined by address and not by who committed the crime. During the three years of the investigation, the family was put on probation and was not permitted to work extended hours, attend out-of-state conventions, and not receive any bonuses from their employer. They were barely scraping by to cover their costs.

Although there were remnants of the Shapiro case six months earlier, the NCAA announced an investigation in August of 2011.

As a result, eight Miami players received suspensions and were required to return any money received from Shapiro or his associates. One other player was permanently released from the team.

The University also paid $83,000 to a bankruptcy court which is the amount of money estimated that were provided to past players in the way of cash, goods and services. Among other things, players allegedly received car rentals, jewelry, the services of prostitutes, and gratuities.

To date, the University of Miami has self imposed various sanctions and penalties. These include the following:

2011 bowl ban

2012 ACC championship game and bowl ban– as a result of the postseason bans, the University is estimated to have lost a few million dollars in additional revenue.

It is estimated University has lost close to $2 million in revenues as a result of self imposed bold bans.

Larry Bluestein, noted Florida high school recruiting analyst informed us that at least two players rejected Miami as a result of potential sanctions. He would not confirm that any others went elsewhere because of potential sanctions. However, we contacted several coaches in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties whom had a lot to say off the record. According to the estimates of those who spoke with us, anywhere from 8 to 17 players would have enrolled at Miami if not for pending sanctions. Even if you take the low end of eight players, that’s significant considering three of them had five-star ratings according to rivals.com. One coach, who was a past starter for Miami, told us that at least two players informed him of other schools pointing out potential sanctions and the possible death penalty the University of Miami could receive.

So where does this all leave us?

Our guess is that there is a 50-50 chance the University of Miami will receive a third year bowl ban and lose approximately 20 scholarships over a three-year period. A little stiff you might think. However, odd things happened to Miami that do not occur elsewhere in college football and in our humble opinion they are unprecedented. We leave you with just two classic examples.

In October 1988, the University of Miami and Notre Dame play a game that is often mentioned till this day. At the end of the game, due to a controversial call Notre Dame won by a score of 31 to 30. But did they really win? The short answer is no. The circumstances are complicated and therefore we provided a link to an excellent explanation provided in the Los Angeles Times. Miamigetsscrewedagain Had there been instant replay, Miami would have without a doubt won this game and went on to play in another national championship. However, due to a mistake by the officials, Notre Dame won and ended up going to and winning the national championship. So the next time you see someone on television patting Lou Holtz on the back for winning a national championship at Notre Dame, remember it was only because the University of Miami wasn’t fairly treated. So Mr. Holtz, please thank the hurricanes that lost a collegiate record of 36 straight wins and handed you a national championship which you otherwise would never had won.

The year is 2000 and the University of Miami ended the season with one loss, the same as Florida State and the University of Washington. However, even though Miami beat Florida State, they were chosen selected by the then CBS formula to participate in the national championship game. As a result, Miami was not afforded an additional opportunity to play in the game. Furthermore, because of the circumstances the rules were changed in which the circumstances can no longer occur. Convenient, if you’re Florida State. Link-2000

Now if anyone out there can tell us where these type of situations have occurred with any other university in the past 30 years, we will be more than glad to post your responses and acknowledge our incorrect investigation and analysis.

11-11 2012

updated-1-14-2013

By

Charles Arnold and

R.J. Intindola

Below is the oath of office given to all state elected officials within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We checked the 15 other states, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio whom have very similar requirements for state elected officials. You will note that the oath requires an affirmation to, support, uphold, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Both the XV and the XIX Amendments of the United States Constitution guarantee and protect the right to vote.

Therefore, one would believe that in Pennsylvania and other states where elected officials are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, they would protect the right to vote at all cost. To not uphold the Constitution and one’s right to vote, in our opinion would be Anti-American. In the 2012 presidential election there was considerable discussion regarding the Republican Party’s attempts to thwart the ability of certain groups and individuals from voting. These efforts were mainly directed towards minorities and other groups that typically vote Democratic. Un-American without a doubt. On this post which will be updated on a regular basis, we will list those individuals of any party affiliation who are making an effort to affect the voting rights of American Citizens. We will deem them as Anti-American and on a second post will display their pictures. Please let us hear your comments on this matter as it is a serious issue.

The list begins below the Pennsylvania oath of office.

  § 3. Oath of office. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
       Senators, Representatives and all judicial, State and county
     officers shall, before entering on the duties of their
     respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or
     affirmation before a person authorized to administer oaths.
        "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey
     and defend the Constitution of the United States and the
     Constitution of this Commonwealth and that I will discharge the
     duties of my office with fidelity."
        The oath or affirmation shall be administered to a member of
     the Senate or to a member of the House of Representatives in the
     hall of the House to which he shall have been elected.
        Any person refusing to take the oath or affirmation shall
     forfeit his office.
     (May 17, 1966, 1965 P.L.1928, J.R.10)

 Reince Priebus:

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is pushing a Republican program in blue states
that will greatly alter the outcome of presidential elections. It is unlikely that Pres.
Obama would have one under this system even though he would have lead in the popular vote. Under this
concept, blue states such as Pennsylvania which Obama won handedly would distribute elected Oriel
votes based on the winner of congressional districts. Due to gerrymandering redistricting in 2010, the
state government of Pennsylvania is controlled by Republicans as they won more seats. However, the
Democrats overall cast more votes for the house even though Republicans won more seats within the
gerrymandered districts.    Gerrymandering

Full Transcript:

Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

For more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.

For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.

We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.

We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.

For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.

My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.

You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.

You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.

Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.

Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.

1-18 2013

From the perspective of many political pundits, Marco Rubio is an embarrassment to Florida and not close to being ready for prime time. If you have been sleeping the past several months, please be advised that Marco Rubio thinks he’s a prime candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Fact of the matter is, he’s a lousy United States Sen. and lacks the intellect to comprehensively discuss many of the issues.

And the gun issue is the latest subject where he is stumbling to find the right message. Eyeonmiamiblog notes, “When quoted by the national press, Rubio sounds like a candidate reciting from the playbook that lost the last election.” Rubio hasn’t yet got the memo but that mainly stems from his from the fact that he lacks analytical ability. Till Marco Rubio he is on the wrong side and that Floridians are against assault weapons and magazines that will hold more than 100 rounds.

As noted in the BrowardBeat, Marco Rubio has lost all of his common senses and decency in his quest to run for the office of President. In an effort to solidify his national base, Rubio voted against aid to the victims of Super Storm Sandy. What will he do when Floridians are hit by the next natural disaster and need federal relief. Will he catered to the national base or assistant the citizens that elected him in the first place? In any event, his actions display his lack of character. browardbeat.com

By Rick Staggenborg

People who wonder how the tremendously profitable insurance industry can be failing need only consider the basic fact that as medical insurance costs rise, fewer people can afford it and profits drop, forcing further premium increases to maintain profit margins. This is the “death spiral” that single payer proponents have talked about from the beginning of the health care “reform” debate but which was ignored by the corporate media and both major Parties. It is time that taxpayers demand an honest discussion about the one option for addressing the crisis in health care access and affordability. Congress will continue to avoid this debate if we do not force them to. We need to make them fear us more than the anger of their political patrons in the medical-industrial complex of the insurance, pharmaceutical and corporate health care delivery industries.

Democratic politicians used a very clever strategy to avoid talking about true universal health care. At the outset of the debate, they took single payer off the table, arguing the self-fulfilling prophecy that it was “not politically possible.” Knowing that many of their own members were as dependent on campaign contributions from these industries as are the Republicans, they deliberately undermined support for Medicare-for-All by presenting a classic bait-and-switch in the form of a public option that had no chance of leading to single payer. The cat was out of the bag when Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer assured the medical insurance industry that they had no intention of creating a public option that could compete with for-profit insurance.