Sports

The Need For Wealthy, Powerful People To Be Held Accountable In Our Justice System

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The conviction of Bill Cosby today on sexual abuse charges should be the tip of the iceberg.

We are living in a time where famous and wealthy people, mostly men, are abusing their power and influence in innumerable ways.

Whether in the Hollywood community, the sports community, the business community, the politics and government community, or any other situation, it is time for the indictment, trial, conviction, and incarceration of anyone who is abusing his or her position to take advantage of women, children, minorities, immigrants, workers, consumers or any other category of person mistreated in a violent or abusive manner!

We need the law to stop favoring the rich and the powerful, and to set good moral and ethical examples, and no matter how high a station, prosecution should be possible.

This includes our President, Donald Trump, who has abused his authority, in his love life, his business life, his refusal to release his financial history, as it would show the truth about his Russian Collusion and his lies about his wealth; and his abuses of power every day, that should lead to his facing justice as much as anyone else.

Fortunately, the New York State violations of the Trump family cannot be resolved in their favor for Trump or anyone else, and they will ultimately face the music! Presidential pardoning would not be in play for state violations, and that is driving Donald Trump mad!

The Sickening Sexual Harassment Scandals

Ronald 3 Comments

The last few weeks have seen the destruction of the public reputations of many prominent people in Hollywood and in politics.

Being a public figure, and with great power, influence, and financial assets, many well known men have exploited women, and in some cases, men, in a disgraceful way over the years.

It was an unspoken secret that this was going on for a long time, with few individuals being exposed.

The attention was primarily on Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy, but also many Republicans, including Newt Gingrich and Strom Thurmond, plus Dennis Hastert, Henry Hyde, Mark Foley, Rudy Giuliani, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Cosby, and now in the last month, Harvey Weinstein, and numerous others who became infamously involved in sex scandals.

But now the list of exposed public figures continues to mount, with resultant disillusionment by many that such people as George Takei, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Dreyfuss, Kevin Spacey, and Al Franken, all much admired, have been engaged in sexual harassment and abuse, including children and boys, as well as girls, women, and men.

And now, Bill Clinton, who went through impeachment and disbarment twenty years ago, is again being pilloried, along with his wife, Hillary Clinton for covering it up, but somehow, Donald Trump, the ultimate sexual harasser and abuser, seems able to escape accountability, along with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

The only good aspect of the present revelations is that women are now more engaged in doing something momentous about it, unlike the failure to move ahead on this after the Clarence Thomas scandal of 1991.

Women must insist on full disclosure of misbehavior, and do whatever is necessary, to change the situation in Hollywood, politics, sports, and the corporate business community.

Factual Knowledge Unimportant To Donald Trump: Substance Does Not Matter!

Ronald 22 Comments

It is very clear that Donald Trump wants to be President, but has not done the “homework” needed, as he, regularly, shows ignorance of basic information about international affairs and foreign policy, and also over simplifies domestic issues that the nation faces.

His lack of knowledge is astounding, with his ignorance shining through his bravado, his bullying, and his ego maniacal behavior in public meetings.

Trump seems to think his charisma and controversial nature can carry him through to victory, but that is not going to work, once we get past the novelty of a businessman, who has never really studied public affairs, as he has always been engaged in “the art of the deal”, as his best selling book is named.

Once in the Oval Office, without any clear and detailed knowledge of what history and political sciences and foreign policy reveal, he is in for a rude awakening, which this nation can ill afford.

Trump may be affronted by being challenged by media who ask him specific questions, but that is far less than the daunting challenges he would face if he became President.

The whole idea that a non politician is qualified to be President is totally preposterous, as would one want a doctor who did not have proper medical training  and knowledge?  Would one want an attorney who had not mastered the law and the Constitution? Would one go to a dentist who did not have expertise to do dental surgery?  Would one wish to hire an accountant to do one’s business or personal taxes, who had no training?  Would a sports team allow someone to be on their team who had no training or proven skills?

Why is it that ignorant people seem to think “anyone” who claims to be qualified , is truly someone we should give power and control over nuclear weapons because they touch a nerve of disillusionment and discontent in the mass of the population?  Is that the way to run a government, to put amateurs in power?

National Spelling Bee Champion Brings Up Issue Of Our Educational System NOT Teaching Spelling As Important Skill!

Ronald 4 Comments

It was thrilling to see 13 year old Arvind Mahankali of Bayside, New York, win the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC on Thursday evening.

His accomplishment, and the fact that he had competed three earlier years and been in the Top Ten all three times, is something to honor and admire, as much as any athlete doing well in any team or individual sport.

But does such an accomplishment get the kind of attention it deserves, as compared to sports? Of course not, and in that, there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

It is not “cool” to be smart, to be intellectual, to have academic skills, and it might very well be that this talented young man, for all that he has accomplished, might face bullying or taunting, as not being “masculine” enough, because his accomplishment is in that lost art, spelling.

But it is not just spelling; it is also history; it is also science; it is also geography; it is also poetry; it is also ANY intellectual area of knowledge!

And in that fact, we have a long range problem. And it is in the loss of economic growth, competition with other nations, and in the future of our children.

Why is not spelling emphasized in the school system, and why is it allowed that young people, including many of my own students in the past and present, cannot spell, and do not see that weakness as a big deal they need to work on?

Why is it that ignorance is seen as bliss, and that we have people in Congress who display their ignorance regularly, showing their lack of knowledge or acceptance of science, of truth really in any area of learning, and in fact, wish to cut expenditures and investment in education and in teachers?

And as wonderful as it was to see boys and girls of South Asian heritage being the top ten finalists, why is it that white Anglos of European heritage, and Hispanics-Latinos and African American young people did not end up competing with these kids from South Asia, and often in the past, from East Asia as well?

Could it be the role of parents, emphasizing spelling and history and science and geography and poetry and other fields of learning at home, and could it be also the fact that education is the way that past generations of immigrants and their descendants succeeded in America?

We, as a nation, need to look within ourselves, and work to promote the levels of excellence that these children of South Asian heritage demonstrated, putting the rest of us to shame!

Ultimately, we must praise and give honors and attention more to academic excellence than our worship of sports, as good as it is to promote that field of human endeavor!

Celebrities And International Affairs: Ignore Them!

Ronald 5 Comments

In the last few days, we have seen a number of “celebrities” become engaged in international affairs actions and commentaries, an embarrassment to themselves and America.

These include:

National Basketball Hall of Fame player Dennis Rodman
Actor Sean Penn
Director Oliver Stone
New York Congressman Jose Serrano

It is inadvisable for public celebrities in sports and the entertainment industry to speak up in support of anti American foreign dictators, as the first three have done, with Rodman trying to play the role of a “diplomat” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a man who has been developing nuclear weapons and threatening his neighbors; and Sean Penn and Oliver Stone publicly mourning the death of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, a person they call a “good friend”, despite his collaboration with Moammar Gaddafi, Fidel Castro, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other enemies of the United States.

It is also reckless and loony that Congressman Jose Serrano should act as if Chavez was good for his people, and to ignore Chavez’ s rants and raves against both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Of course, nothing can or should be done about these utterances and statements, as we all have freedom of speech, but any decent American should repudiate these people and their irresponsible and toxic behavior!

As The Presidential Campaign Of 2012 Comes To An End, The Presidential Campaign Of 2016 Begins!

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This morning, Vice President Joe Biden voted in Delaware, and was asked if this is the last time he will be on an election ballot.

Biden made it clear that in no way was this the last time!

So the Presidential Campaign of 2016 has begun, even before we count the ballots of the Presidential Election of 2012!

Such is politics in America, a never ending game that never escapes us, just like sports, always there, always entertaining!

The National Geographic Bee: What It Tells Us!

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Today, the National Geographic Channel had the finals of the National Geographic Bee, one of the scholarly competitions that need to be promoted much more than they are.

The ten finalists, nine males and one female, comported themselves extremely well, and made anyone proud that we have some extremely brilliant students of 13 and 14 years of age to give us hope for the future.

But when one saw people on the streets who were asked very basic questions on American geography and history, the response was absolutely pitiful, as compared to the difficult questions on World Geography, which required sophisticated knowledge by these young scholars.

And also noticed was that the vast majority of the ten finalists were of Asian heritage, with most from Indian heritage, and one of Chinese heritage. Only two of the ten were so called Anglo Americans!

This tells us that Asian Americans far outshine the average young person of any other ethnicity or race, and this is clearly due to the parental influence in Asian American families, over whites, African Americans, and Hispanic and Latino Americans.

This should be a clarion call for parents of all backgrounds to get to work, promote learning, and stop blaming teachers and schools for the failures of their children to excel, as the best educators are really parents, who are motivated to promote their children’s intellectual ability!

If only as much attention was paid to academic pursuits as to sports, this would be a far better nation!

Meanwhile, let everyone salute these ten very outstanding young people who make their families and themselves proud!

A Great Moment: Groundbreaking For National Museum Of African American History And Culture On National Mall In Washington, DC!

Ronald 2 Comments

Today, the birthday of President George Washington, marks an important day in American History, and not just because of the celebration of the birth of our first President.

We also saw today the groundbreaking on the National Mall in Washington DC of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, due to be opened to the public in 2015. President and Mrs. Obama and Laura Bush took part in the ceremonies, along with other dignitaries.

The museum construction, enacted by Congress in 2003, will create the 19th museum under the aegis of the Smithsonian Institution, and is long overdue.

About 19,000 artifacts so far have been gathered for this museum, which will cover African American history and culture from slavery thorough the Civil War and Reconstruction, the age of segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and modern times, including African American contributions to our culture, music, sports and every other area of American life.

This is a wonderful day, and everyone should look forward to this national contribution to our history, and recognition of the importance of African Americans to our history.

Barack Obama And Recognition Of Science!

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President Obama should be applauded for emphasizing the significance and importance of science, which was downgraded by George W. Bush during his years in the Presidency, and continues to be repudiated by most Republicans today, who deny that climate change or global warming is occurring, and also deny the validity of Darwin’s theory of evolution!

As part of his promotion of science, Obama held a Science Fair at the White House on Monday to give recognition to the contributions of scientific research!

He pointed out that we give respect and attention to athletes who perform great deeds, and that the White House has for many years held public ceremonies for the World Series champions in Major League Baseball, the Super Bowl champions in Football, the NBA champions is Basketball, and the Stanley Cup champions in Hockey.

So why not give equal recognition to young people in the field of science, which affects our lives for the better and for the long run?

The life of the mind, indeed, needs as much, if not more, respect and honors, which we already give to sports!

Thank you, Mr. President, for taking America forward, and overcoming the ignorance of George W. Bush and much of the membership of the GOP!