BALTIMORE, Maryland December 11, 2014 - One part of the recent article here on the so-called 'torture' report written by Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee was wrong and Credible and Incisive apologizes for same. In the article it was stated that Attorney General Holder was combing the report in advance of filing charges against those found to have violated Federal Law. In fact, Holder has stated that he will not file any charges against Bush Administration officials involved in the intelligence gathering duty. President Obama has stated that he empathizes with those officials and the decisions they made in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
One valid criticism of the report is that no member of the Bush Administration in charge of intelligence gathering was interviewed for the report. This is abominable inasmuch as the authors had years to conduct such interviews. It almost makes certain the fact that these authors were less interested in the truth than they were in embarassing those who ran intelligence for the USA in the wake of 9/11.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
'Torture' Report Released by Democrats in Senate
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 9, 2013 - There are many conflicting views about the so-called "torture" report released today by Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Read without context, the edited release is downright appalling according to those who have seen it. Senator John McCain of Arizona - a longtime critic of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques - spoke with emotion on the Senate Floor, the lone Republican to do so. Other members of the GOP were critical of the release, seeing it as a political ploy just weeks before the Democrats lose control of the Senate and their ability to ever release the report, at least officially. The GOP also says, and the Obama administration agrees, that the release will endanger United States personnel and facilities abroad and even here at home. Military units have been put on high alert as a result as Obama seeks to avoid the so-called situation on the night of the Benghazi massacre, when, it was claimed, no appropriate Military Units were in a position to offer assistance to those under attack at Benghazi. Democrats ordered the preparation of the report and it cost taxpayers $40 million to do so.
The enhanced interrogation techniques drawing the most criticism are no longer used by the CIA. They were employed in the immediate wake of the 9/11 Massacres when intelligence indicated that follow-up attacks were imminent. The USA military and the CIA were able to capture several top Al Qaeda leaders, and when normal interrogation failed to loosen their lips, interrogators sought permission to use the so-called enhanced techniques. Ono of those enhanced techniques is known as water boarding, where a detainee is lashed to a chair at the end of a long board and dunked under water for varying periods of time. Another technique is sleep deprivation, and the report is said to document one instance where a detainee was kept awake for over seven days. Senator Diane Feinstein of California, a leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says one reason she insisted on the release of the report was that CIA officials continually lied to her about the techniques being used. The lies ran the gamut, from the duration of the techniques, the precise nature of the techniques, and how often they were employed. The Senate Committee is charged with overseeing the CIA and their ability to do so depends on the CIA being candid with committee members. The CIA, on the other hand, argue that telling the Senate Committee too much almost guarantees that sensitive and potentially harmful information will be leaked by Senators or their staffers.
Eric Holder, the ultra far left Attorney General, is said to be combing the report in advance of attempting to prosecute some of those involved in using the enhanced techniques. President Bush had a bevy of legal experts fully vet the techniques, and they were uniformly approved. In addition, CIA and military officials fully briefed congressional leaders prior to the use of the techniques. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were among those who were briefed and who approved of use of the techniques. These briefings were taking place in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when Democrats were anxious to be seen as spearheading the United States' response to 9/11.
The enhanced interrogation techniques drawing the most criticism are no longer used by the CIA. They were employed in the immediate wake of the 9/11 Massacres when intelligence indicated that follow-up attacks were imminent. The USA military and the CIA were able to capture several top Al Qaeda leaders, and when normal interrogation failed to loosen their lips, interrogators sought permission to use the so-called enhanced techniques. Ono of those enhanced techniques is known as water boarding, where a detainee is lashed to a chair at the end of a long board and dunked under water for varying periods of time. Another technique is sleep deprivation, and the report is said to document one instance where a detainee was kept awake for over seven days. Senator Diane Feinstein of California, a leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says one reason she insisted on the release of the report was that CIA officials continually lied to her about the techniques being used. The lies ran the gamut, from the duration of the techniques, the precise nature of the techniques, and how often they were employed. The Senate Committee is charged with overseeing the CIA and their ability to do so depends on the CIA being candid with committee members. The CIA, on the other hand, argue that telling the Senate Committee too much almost guarantees that sensitive and potentially harmful information will be leaked by Senators or their staffers.
Eric Holder, the ultra far left Attorney General, is said to be combing the report in advance of attempting to prosecute some of those involved in using the enhanced techniques. President Bush had a bevy of legal experts fully vet the techniques, and they were uniformly approved. In addition, CIA and military officials fully briefed congressional leaders prior to the use of the techniques. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were among those who were briefed and who approved of use of the techniques. These briefings were taking place in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when Democrats were anxious to be seen as spearheading the United States' response to 9/11.
Levin Blasts GOP Leaders and Obama; A Look at a Small Catholic Music Company; Terps Move Up in AP Poll; Ravens Have Clear Path to Playoffs
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 9, 2013 - One public figure who I have come to respect a gread deal if Mark Levin. He almost seems a reluctant radio host and yet anyone who listens to him knows the tremendous passion he brings to his work. These days he is almost strident in his objections about the conduct and behind the scenes scheming, not of President Obama, but of John Beiner and Mitch McConnell, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the incoming Senate President. Levin has charged that they are scheming to fund Obama Care, Obama's bald grab at power known, in the vernacular, as his executive order on immigration. As most Americans know, the promise of many Republicans on the campaign trail this summer and fall was to repeal Obama Care. In promising to do so, everyone realized that the chances of success now is not great since Obama will certainly veto any such legislation. But the hope is that even Democrats will be tempted to break ranks and vote for such legislation since so many of those who voted for Obama Care were voted out of office in the November elections, and public opinion polls continue to show a majority of all Americans want the law repealed altogether. Despite this, and despite McConnell's promises during his campaign, he has said that it is fruitless to attempt something that will not succeed. Levin believes it is more than that. He believes the two men are sympathetic to the legislation and to Obama's executive order on immigration, an order that purports to grant amnesty to over 5 million persons who came to the United States illegally. Not all of Mr. Levin's ire during his radio broadcast tonight was showered on Beiner and McConnell, however. He blasted Obama for the latest revelations on the scandal at the IRS. It now appears certain that thousands of documents, including income tax information about private citizens, were sent by the IRS to the White House. Apparently, another effort by Obama to discredit the Koch Brothers was the reason that some of the documents were sent to the White House.
Levin decried the lack of anger expressed by the media and even elected Republicans about such gross violations of the law. I would join with him on all of these counts. When elected officials so quickly act exactly contrary to the promises made during their campaigns is a gross violation of the voters' trust. It is also reprehensible to promise something and then not stick to your word. Shame on these men for doing what they did. And shame, again, on Obama, for what his office has done with the IRS in direct violation of American Federal Law.
In this most Holy Season of Advent, the cloistered sisters of Ephesus have recorded music for Advent through the auspices of the De Montfort Music company. De Montfort, a very small company that works with Catholic orders who regularly sing sacred music on their own. Visit their web page at http://www.demontfortmusic.com/ to learn of their offerings.
Maryland's basketball team actually moved up in the AP Top 25 in the latest poll released Monday. The poll, which has Kentucky at No. 1 and Duke at No. 2, moved the Terps up from 21 to 19 despite the fact that Maryland suffered its first setback of the season last Wednesday when they were defeated by Virginia, now ranked No. 6. Virginia beat Maryland in a hard fought game by 11 points, even though the Terps were without their leading scorer and best player, Dez Wells, and fellow starter Evan Smotrycz. Wells broke his wrist during the Terps victory over then No. 13 Iowa State, while Smotrycz reinjured the same foot that he broke during the offseason. Maryland rebounded from the loss to rout Winthrop on Saturday. They return to the Court on Wednesday for a game with North Carolina A & T. The game will be televised nationally on the BTN network, beginning at 7 pm Eastern Standard Time.
The Ravens' dominating performance against the Dolphins in Miami on Sunday caught many pundits by surprise. The feeling was that the "loss" to San Diego the week before - a second game literally stolen from the Ravens by NFL Officials - and the loss of All-Pro Defensive Lineman Hloti Ngata for the last four games of the regular season was the death knell to their playoff hopes for this season. Ngata was suspended by the NFL for substance violations. He would be eligible for the playoffs so long as the Ravens qualify. If you look at the standings today you will notice that the Ravens are technically not one of the playoff teams following this weekend's play. They are the first "team out," while the Steelers are the last team in because they have a slightly better division record than the Ravens. Both teams have identical 8-5 records, exactly one-half game behind the Bengals, who are 8-4-1. But hold on. The Ravens do control their own destiny. If the Ravens can win their remaining three games - home this Sunday against Jacksonville, at Houston and home against the Browns - they will qualify for the playoffs regardless of what the other teams in the conference do in their remaining games. Why? The Bengals and Steelers play each other again (they played each other this past weekend in Cincinatti) on the final week of the regular season. Even if both of those teams win their two games before that final weekend, something will have to give in that game. And the Ravens are so close to both of them that even if that is their only stumble, it will be enough to allow the Ravens to pass them. And if they tie? The Ravens would be 11-5 (.6875), the Steelers would be 10-5-1 (.667) and the Bengals would be 10-4-2 (.7142). But wait, the Bengals play Denver the week before they play Pittsburgh, and the Bengals are in Cleveland this weekend. I believe the Ravens will finish 11-5, the Steelers 10-6, and the Bengals 9-7-1. If the NFL officials hadn't stolen those two games from the Ravens, they would finiah at 13-3. If they finish at 11-5, they will be going into the playoffs as a 13-3 team. Watch out Patriots.
Levin decried the lack of anger expressed by the media and even elected Republicans about such gross violations of the law. I would join with him on all of these counts. When elected officials so quickly act exactly contrary to the promises made during their campaigns is a gross violation of the voters' trust. It is also reprehensible to promise something and then not stick to your word. Shame on these men for doing what they did. And shame, again, on Obama, for what his office has done with the IRS in direct violation of American Federal Law.
In this most Holy Season of Advent, the cloistered sisters of Ephesus have recorded music for Advent through the auspices of the De Montfort Music company. De Montfort, a very small company that works with Catholic orders who regularly sing sacred music on their own. Visit their web page at http://www.demontfortmusic.com/ to learn of their offerings.
Maryland's basketball team actually moved up in the AP Top 25 in the latest poll released Monday. The poll, which has Kentucky at No. 1 and Duke at No. 2, moved the Terps up from 21 to 19 despite the fact that Maryland suffered its first setback of the season last Wednesday when they were defeated by Virginia, now ranked No. 6. Virginia beat Maryland in a hard fought game by 11 points, even though the Terps were without their leading scorer and best player, Dez Wells, and fellow starter Evan Smotrycz. Wells broke his wrist during the Terps victory over then No. 13 Iowa State, while Smotrycz reinjured the same foot that he broke during the offseason. Maryland rebounded from the loss to rout Winthrop on Saturday. They return to the Court on Wednesday for a game with North Carolina A & T. The game will be televised nationally on the BTN network, beginning at 7 pm Eastern Standard Time.
The Ravens' dominating performance against the Dolphins in Miami on Sunday caught many pundits by surprise. The feeling was that the "loss" to San Diego the week before - a second game literally stolen from the Ravens by NFL Officials - and the loss of All-Pro Defensive Lineman Hloti Ngata for the last four games of the regular season was the death knell to their playoff hopes for this season. Ngata was suspended by the NFL for substance violations. He would be eligible for the playoffs so long as the Ravens qualify. If you look at the standings today you will notice that the Ravens are technically not one of the playoff teams following this weekend's play. They are the first "team out," while the Steelers are the last team in because they have a slightly better division record than the Ravens. Both teams have identical 8-5 records, exactly one-half game behind the Bengals, who are 8-4-1. But hold on. The Ravens do control their own destiny. If the Ravens can win their remaining three games - home this Sunday against Jacksonville, at Houston and home against the Browns - they will qualify for the playoffs regardless of what the other teams in the conference do in their remaining games. Why? The Bengals and Steelers play each other again (they played each other this past weekend in Cincinatti) on the final week of the regular season. Even if both of those teams win their two games before that final weekend, something will have to give in that game. And the Ravens are so close to both of them that even if that is their only stumble, it will be enough to allow the Ravens to pass them. And if they tie? The Ravens would be 11-5 (.6875), the Steelers would be 10-5-1 (.667) and the Bengals would be 10-4-2 (.7142). But wait, the Bengals play Denver the week before they play Pittsburgh, and the Bengals are in Cleveland this weekend. I believe the Ravens will finish 11-5, the Steelers 10-6, and the Bengals 9-7-1. If the NFL officials hadn't stolen those two games from the Ravens, they would finiah at 13-3. If they finish at 11-5, they will be going into the playoffs as a 13-3 team. Watch out Patriots.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Burnley Runs Unbeaten Streak to 4 with 1-1 Draw Against Newcastle United; George Boyd Scores for Claret, Who Face Queens Park on Saturday
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 5, 2014 - Sean Dyche celebrated his 100th game as coach of Burnley by promising not to keep looking at the Premier League Table. His Claret took on surging Newcastle United at Turf Moor in a mid-week encounter between two of the League's hottest teams. When the match ended in a 1-1 draw, the Claret briefly climbed out of the land of the relegated, a magnificent accomplishment for a team that started as poorly as Burnley did. Alas, one night later Hull City earned a similar point and, as their goal differential is better than the Claret, they reclaimed the spot outside of the relegated three, although Hull and Burnley remain tied in points with 12.
Newcastle, having now come through a streak of seven games in which they earned 16 of the 21 possible points at issue, found themselves behind at Turf Moor as the two sides went to the half. George Boyd scored for Burnely in the 33rd minute - a play started nicely by red hot Danny Ings - to put the homestanding Claret ahead, 1-0. A second half goal by Papiss Cisse provided Newcastle with the necessary goal to earn a point in the match, witnessed by over 18,000 at Turf Moor.
On Saturday, Burnley travels to London to take on the Queens Park Rangers, a side, like the Claret, which was promoted to the Premier for this season. The Rangers trail Burnley on the table, and this is a pivotal match for them, to say the least.
The Magpies of Newcastle United are tied with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur after the match, each with 20 points.
Newcastle, having now come through a streak of seven games in which they earned 16 of the 21 possible points at issue, found themselves behind at Turf Moor as the two sides went to the half. George Boyd scored for Burnely in the 33rd minute - a play started nicely by red hot Danny Ings - to put the homestanding Claret ahead, 1-0. A second half goal by Papiss Cisse provided Newcastle with the necessary goal to earn a point in the match, witnessed by over 18,000 at Turf Moor.
On Saturday, Burnley travels to London to take on the Queens Park Rangers, a side, like the Claret, which was promoted to the Premier for this season. The Rangers trail Burnley on the table, and this is a pivotal match for them, to say the least.
The Magpies of Newcastle United are tied with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur after the match, each with 20 points.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Grand Jury Declines to Indict Police Officer in Staten Island Death of a Black Man Whose Death the Coroner Called Homicide
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 3, 2014 - In New York, the Grand Jury looking into the death of a black man, Eric Garner, has decided not to indict the police officer who caused Garner's death in the course of about one dozen officers placing Garner under arrest. Officer Daniel Pantaleo grabbed Garner around his neck once it appeared Garner was going to resist his arrest for selling contraband cigarrettes. The July 17, 2014 incident in Staten Island, New York was captured on video. Up to one dozen officers surrounded Garner - a huge, barrel-chested black man - and, when he allegedly resisted their attempts to take him into custody, Pantaleo put a hold on Garner and wrestled him down. Garner was said to suffer from asthma, and he could be heard saying on the video that he could not breathe as he lay on the ground, on his stomach, with police officers swarming over him, although not actually laying on his back. A controversial coroner's report ruled that Garner's death - due to compression of the neck and throat during his restraint - was a death by homicide. Nonetheless, the Grand Jury returned a decision of "no bill," meaning that the Grand Jury had voted not to indict Pantaleo. The Grand Jury could have indicted Pantaleo on charges ranging from first degree murder to any number of manslaughter charges or even for reckless endangerment. Garner did not actually die from the alleged choke hold, but had a heart attack subsequent to his arrest that, the coroner ruled, was brought on by the means of the arrest.
Coming, as it did, on the heels of the Feguson, Mo., Grand Jury decision not to indict a white police officer for the killing of a black man who did not have a weapon, city officials were prepared for mass protests. However, the weather in New York is cold and wet, and this may hold down the response.
The entire Staten Island incident will be magnified by what has just happened in Missouri. Also in the spotlight will be the actions of Eric Holder, the out-going United States Attorney General, who compared Michael Brown to Emmett Till, a young black man from Chicago who was tortured and murdered by two or more white men in Mississippi in late August, 1955. Till, in Mississippi to visit his great uncle, had spoken and, allegedly, flirted with a 21-year-old white proprietor of a grocery store. Three nights later, the woman's husband and another family member abducted Till from his great uncle's house, took him to a barn, beat him, gouged out one of his eyes, and shot him in the head. They threw his body into the Tallahatchie River with a 70-pound weight attached to his body with barbed wire. Three days later his body was discovered and pulled from the river. It was returned to Chicago, where he lived. There, Till's mother insisted on an open casket to force America to confront the heinous nature of the crime. The entire incident captivated and enraged America and put a strong focus on the racism that still lingered in the south.
Holder was openly criticized for comparing Brown's case to Till's.
Coming, as it did, on the heels of the Feguson, Mo., Grand Jury decision not to indict a white police officer for the killing of a black man who did not have a weapon, city officials were prepared for mass protests. However, the weather in New York is cold and wet, and this may hold down the response.
The entire Staten Island incident will be magnified by what has just happened in Missouri. Also in the spotlight will be the actions of Eric Holder, the out-going United States Attorney General, who compared Michael Brown to Emmett Till, a young black man from Chicago who was tortured and murdered by two or more white men in Mississippi in late August, 1955. Till, in Mississippi to visit his great uncle, had spoken and, allegedly, flirted with a 21-year-old white proprietor of a grocery store. Three nights later, the woman's husband and another family member abducted Till from his great uncle's house, took him to a barn, beat him, gouged out one of his eyes, and shot him in the head. They threw his body into the Tallahatchie River with a 70-pound weight attached to his body with barbed wire. Three days later his body was discovered and pulled from the river. It was returned to Chicago, where he lived. There, Till's mother insisted on an open casket to force America to confront the heinous nature of the crime. The entire incident captivated and enraged America and put a strong focus on the racism that still lingered in the south.
Holder was openly criticized for comparing Brown's case to Till's.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Newly Updated: Sizing up the Blame When White Police Officers Shoot Black Citizens
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 1, 2014 - I've cringed more in recent weeks than I have throughout my entire life. It is the aftermath of Ferguson and now Staten Island that causes me this awful tension. Why us, Lord? We have tried hard. We have made big mistakes, but we have tried and we want to do good. Yet, I cringe when some angry white guy gets on the tube and says the entire blame for Ferguson is the abdication of responsibility by black parents. I cringe when some angry black man says white people are, by definition, racist. And I really really cringe when race hustlers claim - without coming right out and saying it - that black people will never be equal to white people in America but will, instead, forever need financial assistance and expanded legal protections.
Some say the Ferguson episode is part of what is right about America because we wash our dirty laundry right out there in the public eye. I know I feel a whole lot better about these United States after I listen to Rev. Al Sharpton berate all things patriotic. I watched the videos available from the night in question in dear old Ferguson and listened and read the information available from the grand jury in Missouri. Michael Brown, it seems, was a disaster waiting to happen on the night he was killed. But that doesn't mean he should've been killed.
Through all of this, in Ferguson and now in Staten Island, is a common thread. We, as Americans, will not admit the obvious lessons from these awful episodes, and we will not accept the obvious, the almost necessary penalties that society has pushed upon it when its people cannot or will not accept these truths.
This is what I mean when I say that we will not admit the obvious. Bear with me on this.
The first slaves were brought to what we colloquially call the New World in the year 1501. The nation that started the slave trade, it seems, was Spain. They weren't alone for long. Britain joined in this debauched slave trade in 1562. By 1581 there were slaves in Florida. In 1612 the first crop of tobacco was planted in Virginia and it was obvious, from the start, that this was a crop that was perfect for forced labor. Within seven years, in 1619, slaves had been imported from Africa to tend to the tobacco crops, first in Virginia, and then in other American locations. (I draw this historical account from my own knowledge and from a well-researched timeline posted at https://sharondraper.com/timeline.pdf)
England ended its involvement with slavery in 1833. The legendary civil rights leader, William Wilberforce, was one of the members of Parliament who first introduced the legislation that brought about the end of all things slavery-related. There is a movie that depicts these events called "Amazing Grace." The film follows Wilberforce's decades-long fight to eliminate Britain's participation in the slave trade, and it is both moving and gut-wrenching. The superb cast has Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce, Benjamin Cumberbatch as William Pitt the Younger, Michael Gambon as Charles James Fox, whose stunning defection from the side of the slave traders eventually wins the day for Wilberforce, Albert Finney, in a tour de force performance as a reformed but still self-tortured slave trader who injects so much of the God-Awful practice's barbaric inhumane reality onto the screen, and Romola Garai as Wilberforce's Wife, Barbara Spooner. There are, I'm positive, more realistic depictions of the slave-trading practice during the years right before and right after the American Revolution, but I am not familiar with them. Even for someone who knows the story, this movie will make you squirm and sweat.
It took America until January 1, 1863, when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, to rid itself, officially, of slavery. But, as every American knows, the Emancipation Proclamation changed the law on paper, but the wholesale discrimination and other acts of repression openly practiced in American society against the black race took a century or more to disappear. And, to be honest, not every discriminatory result of slavery has gone away. Only God knows how long that will take. Ferguson and Staten Island indicate that the final act is not exactly right around the corner.
During the years of slavery in America, enslaved blacks were prohibited from learning to read and enslaved blacks were prohibited from learning to write. Enslaved blacks could not own property and in some states they were prohibited from marrying. Enslaved blacks were treated like chattel or property and in many cases berated, criticized and humiliated around the clock. Enslaved blacks were beaten and subjected to physical intimidation and punishment of the most fiendish kind. Furthermore, white people freely talked and acted as if they were racially superior, and even the suggestion that blacks and whites were equal was met with derision and open hostility.
Changes took place gradually, moving forward in fits and starts, and sometimes slipping backwards. There were improvements after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but not quick changes. Improvements in the lot of the Black American were slow in coming and, when they finally did come, they did not show up nationwide but instead came to one part of the country at a different time than they came to other parts. Throughout these generations of time, whites ruled in American society and blacks either did what they were told or suffered for it. Only in the 20th century were improvements palpable. Only in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's did blacks really begin to pull equal to whites in most phases of American life.
And yet Americans today expect that the sinister and debilitating effects of slavsry to have completely disappeared from our world today. At least by today, the thinking goes, we are so far past slavery that it is totally a thing of the past. It's been over a century, you know. Well, the legacy of slavery has not disappeared. What other reason is there for the ghettos of our great cities to be populated, by and large, by a minority race? How long does it take an entire race to completely recover from centuries of base discrimination; i.e. discrimination in all walks of life? It takes generations, at least. At least.
At least now blacks have an expectation of equal treatment. At least now public officials enforce laws that demand that all people be treated equally. At least now any person can escape the life they were born into. But for those who start in the ghetto, that escape will be far more difficult than the upward climb will be for someone born in an affluent suburb. The reality of equality? We are not there yet.
So this is the truth we want to ignore, but have to accept: Slavery did a tremendous amount of insidious harm. It wasn't just economic harm. Black intellectuallism was all but non-existant during the times of slavery, and even when slavery ended, the number of black intellectuals in America has grown ever so slowly. There are other professions that are only now gaining a respectable representation of minority persons. I graduated from the University of Maryland in 1977. In my final year I wrote a long piece for the school magazine on the trouble the school was having, not in attracting minority students, but in keeping them enrolled. It's hard to believe that as recently as the later days of the 20th century - 1975 to be exact - the National Pastime finally hired its first black manager. Blacks rally still to any lingering effect of racism because it is a vestige of slavery. Sadly, now there are the Sharptons of the world who seize situations like Ferguson for their own low-brow gain.
Only during the presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy did the idea of real societal equality get a firm kick in the pants. Other Presidents since then have pushed and pushed to get us where we are now. Johnson dragged the landmark civil rights acts through a sometimes openly hostile Congress. Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush the Elder, Clinton and Bush the Younger continued the surge forward, some more forcefully than others. One legacy of the two Bush Presidencies is the firm and inarguable societal statement that America will not slip backwards on civil rights, no matter who is president and no matter what the priority of the ruling party is.
Actual societal integration is now getting to be a reality as states and the federal government vigorously enforce open housing laws.
But the reality of our racial journey in America is that the black population was held back, thwarted, and prevented from making progress as a matter of public policy, and this went on for many many years. The reality of equality - the reality of having a right to live in a society where your race will not be used against you - is only now taking hold.
And still, stone cold statistics tell us that black people are far more likely to be shot by police than are whites. There are lots of reasons for this reality, but at least part of it is a legacy of racism and slavery. Certainly the most pervasive reason why blacks are far more likely to be shot by police than are whites is the geographic reality that the inner cities, the most violent part of America, is the domain, for the most part, of poor black people. More people are killed in urban settings, and some of those deaths are brought about because of gunfire from police. A huge percentage of the total number of police shootings are legally justified. The few that are found to not be legally justified are met with harsh punishments. Statistics tell of this, stone cold statistics. But this is not the end of the road. It cannot be.
Some shootings are legally justified, but not, in reality, absolutely necessary. In other words, the officer pulling the trigger will not be sanctioned for doing so, even though, in reality, the story might have had a different ending. This is the portion of police shootings that might be susceptible to change if the public will is mustered.
It does not seem like a huge leap for police departments to admit the truth of all of this without being indignant about it. Most of the time - in reality, almost all of the time - police are not to blame when a citizen is shot by an officer. Charles Barclay is taking heat now because he says "we have to be very careful in criticizing police. If it wasn't for police we would be living in the wild wild west in our neighborhoods." What Mr. Barclay says is also unquestionably true. But the fact that most police shootings are legally justified, and that police provide an absolutely necessary anti-crime force in urban areas, does not mean that open-minded people cannot look into the fact that a lot of police shootings are white officers shooting black people.
Officer Wilson - the man at the middle of the Feguson Uprising - says that if a white man did what Michael Brown did, he, too, would be dead. I won't argue with him, but there are times that I believe white officers shoot quicker and with more deadly results in situations where a shooting is legally justified but not actually necessary to protect the officer. Some of this is because whites have an inherant fear of blacks in urban settings. Is this justified? It isn't an easy question to even consider. I hope I can say that I assign my trepidation in a given situation to the so-called facts on the ground. If a person is attacking me and I have the means to defend myself, I want to believe I would use deadly force in a very few situations, only those when it is the only possible way to save my own life.
I believe that an overwhelming number of police officers - more, I believe, than some black leaders will admit to - are good and decent poeple trying their best to make the community they patrol a better place to live.
Society cloaks its police officers with a right to kill people so long as a well-defined set of conditions exist at the moment the lethal shot is fired. At a minimum, the Officer has to believe his life is in danger, or the life of a third person, and the only way to protect either his life or the innocent third person's life is to use so-called lethal force. What I wonder is whether the officer must use lethal force everytime he is cloaked with the protection of the law?
In the moment when snap decisions are made and lives are on the line, I want to believe that police officers are totally color blind. But police officers are human, and at the core of this extremely vexing problem is whether a vestige of racism plays a part in the life and death equation that is solved by the action taken by the officer. Society has to keep up the drumbeat of equality and dignity, and it also has to keep up the drumbeat of those other societal problems that play a role in this problem.
I literally break into a cold sweat even considering the questions that are confronted when we examine these issues. They are that innately troubling. And they - these questions - are well worth being troubled about.
Some say the Ferguson episode is part of what is right about America because we wash our dirty laundry right out there in the public eye. I know I feel a whole lot better about these United States after I listen to Rev. Al Sharpton berate all things patriotic. I watched the videos available from the night in question in dear old Ferguson and listened and read the information available from the grand jury in Missouri. Michael Brown, it seems, was a disaster waiting to happen on the night he was killed. But that doesn't mean he should've been killed.
Through all of this, in Ferguson and now in Staten Island, is a common thread. We, as Americans, will not admit the obvious lessons from these awful episodes, and we will not accept the obvious, the almost necessary penalties that society has pushed upon it when its people cannot or will not accept these truths.
This is what I mean when I say that we will not admit the obvious. Bear with me on this.
The first slaves were brought to what we colloquially call the New World in the year 1501. The nation that started the slave trade, it seems, was Spain. They weren't alone for long. Britain joined in this debauched slave trade in 1562. By 1581 there were slaves in Florida. In 1612 the first crop of tobacco was planted in Virginia and it was obvious, from the start, that this was a crop that was perfect for forced labor. Within seven years, in 1619, slaves had been imported from Africa to tend to the tobacco crops, first in Virginia, and then in other American locations. (I draw this historical account from my own knowledge and from a well-researched timeline posted at https://sharondraper.com/timeline.pdf)
England ended its involvement with slavery in 1833. The legendary civil rights leader, William Wilberforce, was one of the members of Parliament who first introduced the legislation that brought about the end of all things slavery-related. There is a movie that depicts these events called "Amazing Grace." The film follows Wilberforce's decades-long fight to eliminate Britain's participation in the slave trade, and it is both moving and gut-wrenching. The superb cast has Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce, Benjamin Cumberbatch as William Pitt the Younger, Michael Gambon as Charles James Fox, whose stunning defection from the side of the slave traders eventually wins the day for Wilberforce, Albert Finney, in a tour de force performance as a reformed but still self-tortured slave trader who injects so much of the God-Awful practice's barbaric inhumane reality onto the screen, and Romola Garai as Wilberforce's Wife, Barbara Spooner. There are, I'm positive, more realistic depictions of the slave-trading practice during the years right before and right after the American Revolution, but I am not familiar with them. Even for someone who knows the story, this movie will make you squirm and sweat.
It took America until January 1, 1863, when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, to rid itself, officially, of slavery. But, as every American knows, the Emancipation Proclamation changed the law on paper, but the wholesale discrimination and other acts of repression openly practiced in American society against the black race took a century or more to disappear. And, to be honest, not every discriminatory result of slavery has gone away. Only God knows how long that will take. Ferguson and Staten Island indicate that the final act is not exactly right around the corner.
During the years of slavery in America, enslaved blacks were prohibited from learning to read and enslaved blacks were prohibited from learning to write. Enslaved blacks could not own property and in some states they were prohibited from marrying. Enslaved blacks were treated like chattel or property and in many cases berated, criticized and humiliated around the clock. Enslaved blacks were beaten and subjected to physical intimidation and punishment of the most fiendish kind. Furthermore, white people freely talked and acted as if they were racially superior, and even the suggestion that blacks and whites were equal was met with derision and open hostility.
Changes took place gradually, moving forward in fits and starts, and sometimes slipping backwards. There were improvements after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but not quick changes. Improvements in the lot of the Black American were slow in coming and, when they finally did come, they did not show up nationwide but instead came to one part of the country at a different time than they came to other parts. Throughout these generations of time, whites ruled in American society and blacks either did what they were told or suffered for it. Only in the 20th century were improvements palpable. Only in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's did blacks really begin to pull equal to whites in most phases of American life.
And yet Americans today expect that the sinister and debilitating effects of slavsry to have completely disappeared from our world today. At least by today, the thinking goes, we are so far past slavery that it is totally a thing of the past. It's been over a century, you know. Well, the legacy of slavery has not disappeared. What other reason is there for the ghettos of our great cities to be populated, by and large, by a minority race? How long does it take an entire race to completely recover from centuries of base discrimination; i.e. discrimination in all walks of life? It takes generations, at least. At least.
At least now blacks have an expectation of equal treatment. At least now public officials enforce laws that demand that all people be treated equally. At least now any person can escape the life they were born into. But for those who start in the ghetto, that escape will be far more difficult than the upward climb will be for someone born in an affluent suburb. The reality of equality? We are not there yet.
So this is the truth we want to ignore, but have to accept: Slavery did a tremendous amount of insidious harm. It wasn't just economic harm. Black intellectuallism was all but non-existant during the times of slavery, and even when slavery ended, the number of black intellectuals in America has grown ever so slowly. There are other professions that are only now gaining a respectable representation of minority persons. I graduated from the University of Maryland in 1977. In my final year I wrote a long piece for the school magazine on the trouble the school was having, not in attracting minority students, but in keeping them enrolled. It's hard to believe that as recently as the later days of the 20th century - 1975 to be exact - the National Pastime finally hired its first black manager. Blacks rally still to any lingering effect of racism because it is a vestige of slavery. Sadly, now there are the Sharptons of the world who seize situations like Ferguson for their own low-brow gain.
Only during the presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy did the idea of real societal equality get a firm kick in the pants. Other Presidents since then have pushed and pushed to get us where we are now. Johnson dragged the landmark civil rights acts through a sometimes openly hostile Congress. Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush the Elder, Clinton and Bush the Younger continued the surge forward, some more forcefully than others. One legacy of the two Bush Presidencies is the firm and inarguable societal statement that America will not slip backwards on civil rights, no matter who is president and no matter what the priority of the ruling party is.
Actual societal integration is now getting to be a reality as states and the federal government vigorously enforce open housing laws.
But the reality of our racial journey in America is that the black population was held back, thwarted, and prevented from making progress as a matter of public policy, and this went on for many many years. The reality of equality - the reality of having a right to live in a society where your race will not be used against you - is only now taking hold.
And still, stone cold statistics tell us that black people are far more likely to be shot by police than are whites. There are lots of reasons for this reality, but at least part of it is a legacy of racism and slavery. Certainly the most pervasive reason why blacks are far more likely to be shot by police than are whites is the geographic reality that the inner cities, the most violent part of America, is the domain, for the most part, of poor black people. More people are killed in urban settings, and some of those deaths are brought about because of gunfire from police. A huge percentage of the total number of police shootings are legally justified. The few that are found to not be legally justified are met with harsh punishments. Statistics tell of this, stone cold statistics. But this is not the end of the road. It cannot be.
Some shootings are legally justified, but not, in reality, absolutely necessary. In other words, the officer pulling the trigger will not be sanctioned for doing so, even though, in reality, the story might have had a different ending. This is the portion of police shootings that might be susceptible to change if the public will is mustered.
It does not seem like a huge leap for police departments to admit the truth of all of this without being indignant about it. Most of the time - in reality, almost all of the time - police are not to blame when a citizen is shot by an officer. Charles Barclay is taking heat now because he says "we have to be very careful in criticizing police. If it wasn't for police we would be living in the wild wild west in our neighborhoods." What Mr. Barclay says is also unquestionably true. But the fact that most police shootings are legally justified, and that police provide an absolutely necessary anti-crime force in urban areas, does not mean that open-minded people cannot look into the fact that a lot of police shootings are white officers shooting black people.
Officer Wilson - the man at the middle of the Feguson Uprising - says that if a white man did what Michael Brown did, he, too, would be dead. I won't argue with him, but there are times that I believe white officers shoot quicker and with more deadly results in situations where a shooting is legally justified but not actually necessary to protect the officer. Some of this is because whites have an inherant fear of blacks in urban settings. Is this justified? It isn't an easy question to even consider. I hope I can say that I assign my trepidation in a given situation to the so-called facts on the ground. If a person is attacking me and I have the means to defend myself, I want to believe I would use deadly force in a very few situations, only those when it is the only possible way to save my own life.
I believe that an overwhelming number of police officers - more, I believe, than some black leaders will admit to - are good and decent poeple trying their best to make the community they patrol a better place to live.
Society cloaks its police officers with a right to kill people so long as a well-defined set of conditions exist at the moment the lethal shot is fired. At a minimum, the Officer has to believe his life is in danger, or the life of a third person, and the only way to protect either his life or the innocent third person's life is to use so-called lethal force. What I wonder is whether the officer must use lethal force everytime he is cloaked with the protection of the law?
In the moment when snap decisions are made and lives are on the line, I want to believe that police officers are totally color blind. But police officers are human, and at the core of this extremely vexing problem is whether a vestige of racism plays a part in the life and death equation that is solved by the action taken by the officer. Society has to keep up the drumbeat of equality and dignity, and it also has to keep up the drumbeat of those other societal problems that play a role in this problem.
I literally break into a cold sweat even considering the questions that are confronted when we examine these issues. They are that innately troubling. And they - these questions - are well worth being troubled about.
Courageous Pontiff Joins Orthodox Christian Leader in Blasting ISIS and Other Jihadists for Butchering Christians in MIddle East
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 1, 2014 - Pope Francis has ended his three-day visit to Turkey after blasting ISIS and other Jihadists for butchering Christians, an act he said has no redeeming purpose. And in a rare joint statement on a present day issue, the Pope joined with the leader of the Orthodox Christian world to emphasize that there can never be justification for killing innocents, most notably Christian citizens of predominantly Muslim nations.
Incredibly, the President of Turkey took the opportunity to blame the west including the United States, for the killing of Christians. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was the fault of the West for the rise of ISIS, and the west has to accept their strategies and acts.
The Pontiff would have nothing of such talk. "Fanaticism and fundamentalism, as well as irrational fears which foster misunderstanding and discrimination, need to be countered by the solidarity of all believers," Pope Francis said.
The Pontiff met in Istanbul Saturday and Sunday with Bartholomew I, the leader of the Orthodox Christian Church, which has millions of followers in Russia, Turkey and other nations in the Eurasia areas. He was invited to the meeting by Bartholomew, who asked that the Pontiff participate with him in celebrating the Feast of Saint Andrew, founder of the Orthodox Church and brother of Saint Peter.
In a rare joint statement, the two Christian Leaders said “We cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus there for two thousand years.” the two Church leaders said in a joint declaration. The report and more information about the visit can be found in the Times of Israel and at the website of the Holy See at Vatican City, Rome. See: http://www.timesofisrael.com/pope-orthodox-head-pledge-to-protect-mideast-christians/#ixzz3KfZ7UzRL Also see the Holy See Web page at http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html
Incredibly, the President of Turkey took the opportunity to blame the west including the United States, for the killing of Christians. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was the fault of the West for the rise of ISIS, and the west has to accept their strategies and acts.
The Pontiff would have nothing of such talk. "Fanaticism and fundamentalism, as well as irrational fears which foster misunderstanding and discrimination, need to be countered by the solidarity of all believers," Pope Francis said.
The Pontiff met in Istanbul Saturday and Sunday with Bartholomew I, the leader of the Orthodox Christian Church, which has millions of followers in Russia, Turkey and other nations in the Eurasia areas. He was invited to the meeting by Bartholomew, who asked that the Pontiff participate with him in celebrating the Feast of Saint Andrew, founder of the Orthodox Church and brother of Saint Peter.
In a rare joint statement, the two Christian Leaders said “We cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus there for two thousand years.” the two Church leaders said in a joint declaration. The report and more information about the visit can be found in the Times of Israel and at the website of the Holy See at Vatican City, Rome. See: http://www.timesofisrael.com/pope-orthodox-head-pledge-to-protect-mideast-christians/#ixzz3KfZ7UzRL Also see the Holy See Web page at http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html
Sunday, November 30, 2014
NFL Referees Steal Second Game From Ravens; Obvious Errors Defy Explanation
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 30, 2014 - Are the NFL officials this totally pathetic, or is something more sinister afoot? I used to laugh at people who thought there was a conspiracy when their team was always on the losing end of a bad call by a boneheaded NFL official. Now, I'm sounding like one who is starting to wonder. That would be because I am starting to wonder. Are officials, consciously or unconsciously, punishing the Ravens because of their [wrongly] perceived role in the Ray Rice controversy? I mean, one could see why the league doesn't want the Ravens getting a lot of positive hype in the upcoming playoffs. The best way to keep that from happening is for the Ravens not to make the playoffs. Aw shucks, this can't be happening, can it? Can it?
The Ravens just "lost" to the Chargers by one point in Baltimore after San Diego got a gift TD from from the refs in the first half - a mistake the boneheads even overlooked on replay - and then gift-wrapped another TD as time ran out in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter boffo mistake was so ironic that it strained the credulity of even the biggest backer of NFL referees. And the CBS in-studio expert - a former ref - who tried to explain away another clear error in rule interpretation was immediately and rightly excoriated by Dan Fouts, the former NFL QB who was the CBS analyst for the game. This was the first time in weeks that I didn't turn the TV sound off and listen to the radio. Dan Fouts is that honest and insightful. Here is a recapitulation of the major mistakes made by today's officials in order of their occurrence:
A. First Half, Ravens leading, 10-0. A pass from Phillip Rivers to Keanan Allen is ruled a TD catch by the on-field ref. But the replay shows Allen never had control of the ball and allowed it to hit the ground and roll back up his ribs as he struggled to control it. Even when shown the obvious miscue by the receiver on replay, which would have made the pass incomplete and forced the Chargers to try a FG, the call was not overturned. Incredible. Cheap. And as Wrong as wrong can be. At the time the call occurred, Credible and Incisive wondered whether it had missed a change in the rules that made it legal for teams playing the Ravens to make "virtual" catches that counted for touchdowns, even when official replays show that the catch was not made.
B. Joe Flacco throws to Torey Smith in the endzone, but Smith is clearly interfered with in the very back corner of the endzone, and as a direct result of the interference, Smith cannot catch the accurate pass. The interference call is correctly made, but the ball is placed at the six-yard-line instead of the one. The in-studio expert tries to say that the interference was called on a play upfield. If there was, in fact, another one upfield, no one besides the in-studio dude saw it, and even so, the one everybody, including the ref, saw was in the back of the endzoone. When pass interference by the defense occurs in the endzone, the ball, by rule, is placed at the one-yard-line. Really incredible. Very Cheap. Really really pathetic. From the six, a variety of running plays by the Ravens gets the ball inside the one, but the Ravens have to settle for a FG. The refs made the exact same error later in the game, placing a ball at the six yard line when the interference occurred well into the endzone, but this time the Ravens scored a TD anyway.
[We will not recite a variety of really bad calls that occur between Bad Call B and Bad Call C, including one call on Raven Offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele that was totally preposteros. In the course of blocking on a pass play, Osemele's hand literally grazed the face mask of the man he was blocking. The long completion by the Ravens was nullified and they were penalized 10 yards. The rotten call caused the Ravens to settle for a field goal. Nor will we delve into the most effective way that officials work their will on a team, which was on full display yesterday. The Ravens have outstanding pass rushers, and in the first quarter yesterday, they were getting to Rivers on a regular basis. Then it stopped. Why? The Chargers started holding openly and obviously. And so the Chargers, who block all day for a pocket passer who often takes his time to get a throw off, are called for just one holding penalty. One one play, the Ravens Pernell McPhee was literally turned around by a hold, but wasn't permitted to pull out of the hold even though his back was to the QB. Swish that one around for a second. McPhee was held so tightly that even when turned completely around and trying to actually back away from the block, the offensive lineman will not let go. And why should he, since holding wasn't being called. One hold the whole game even though the pocket passer is lingering in the pocket all day. On a play when Terrell Suggs sacked Rivers, the ref blew the whistle with Suggs laying on top of Rivers. A Charger offensive lineman lay next to Suggs with both arms wrapped tightly around Suggs' legs. Now the officials will say that on that one play they didn't call holding because Suggs sacked the QB despite the hold. Really? What about all of the other plays. Watch any five consecutive offensive plays by the Chargers and you will find at least three, and usually five to ten obvious holds. For the game, one hold called on the Chargers.]
C. On the final desperation drive by the Chargers, Rivers throws again into the endzone. The receiver and the defender - the Ravens' Anthony Levine - battle for the pop-up pass that is descending with Levine on the inside and in position to intercept. Allen puts an arm on Levine's shoulder and holds him down. It was at least three times as obvious and five times as egregious as the offensive interference actually called on the Ravens' Steve Smith, Sr. a few weeks back when his incredible catch against the Bengals was nullified, stealing a hard-earned victory from the Ravens. Fouts, a former Charger, exclaimed as the crew in the booth waited to see exactly what the officials were calling, that "they are calling this on Allen." Wrong, Dan. The penalty was called on Levine, and it was a terrible travesty of a call. Levine did nothing illegal and, in fact, would have intercepted the pass had Allen not willfully held him down and pushed him away.
As hard to believe as it seems, it got worse for the Ravens. The ball was placed on their one. How did they get the ball placement right on this occurrence after getting it wrong twice before to the detriment of the Ravens? On the first play Rivers throws to Allen, who scampers in for the TD. Levine was trying to cover Allen, but well before Allen caught the ball, another Charger smashed into Levine and took him out of the play. It was another obvious instance of offensive pass interference against the Chargers, and it wasn't called. Unbelievable. But don't take my word on any of this. Look for yourself.
On the NFL website, by the way, you will have to be a detective to find the play in question at the end. I just watched the "discussion" of the game, by four so-called experts, but heard no mention of a call that the CBS analyst saw the exact opposite of the way it was called. If this was a real league where the main focus of game officials was getting the call correct, you'd have thought the officials would have reviewed the travails the Ravens have had with boneheaded officiating. How in the world so-called professional officials can call the play with Levine and Allen the way they did in the wake of the God-awful call against the Ravens in the Bengal game is totally baffling. If Steven Smith committed offensive interference, then Keanan Allen committed a mugging.
Fans will still watch their beloved Ravens. Over 70,000 have already paid for tickets for every one of the remaining home games. The NFL will take their money without battin an eye. But they will not even attempt to explain how the Ravens could have lost the Bengal game and the Charger game. They can't. That is, unless they come clean and admit that the Ravens lost because the game officials made atrocious calls. Even if they admit the calls were wrong, they won't try to explain why it happened. They won't tell us what, if any, communications took place between the league and the officials involved.
The Ravens just "lost" to the Chargers by one point in Baltimore after San Diego got a gift TD from from the refs in the first half - a mistake the boneheads even overlooked on replay - and then gift-wrapped another TD as time ran out in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter boffo mistake was so ironic that it strained the credulity of even the biggest backer of NFL referees. And the CBS in-studio expert - a former ref - who tried to explain away another clear error in rule interpretation was immediately and rightly excoriated by Dan Fouts, the former NFL QB who was the CBS analyst for the game. This was the first time in weeks that I didn't turn the TV sound off and listen to the radio. Dan Fouts is that honest and insightful. Here is a recapitulation of the major mistakes made by today's officials in order of their occurrence:
A. First Half, Ravens leading, 10-0. A pass from Phillip Rivers to Keanan Allen is ruled a TD catch by the on-field ref. But the replay shows Allen never had control of the ball and allowed it to hit the ground and roll back up his ribs as he struggled to control it. Even when shown the obvious miscue by the receiver on replay, which would have made the pass incomplete and forced the Chargers to try a FG, the call was not overturned. Incredible. Cheap. And as Wrong as wrong can be. At the time the call occurred, Credible and Incisive wondered whether it had missed a change in the rules that made it legal for teams playing the Ravens to make "virtual" catches that counted for touchdowns, even when official replays show that the catch was not made.
B. Joe Flacco throws to Torey Smith in the endzone, but Smith is clearly interfered with in the very back corner of the endzone, and as a direct result of the interference, Smith cannot catch the accurate pass. The interference call is correctly made, but the ball is placed at the six-yard-line instead of the one. The in-studio expert tries to say that the interference was called on a play upfield. If there was, in fact, another one upfield, no one besides the in-studio dude saw it, and even so, the one everybody, including the ref, saw was in the back of the endzoone. When pass interference by the defense occurs in the endzone, the ball, by rule, is placed at the one-yard-line. Really incredible. Very Cheap. Really really pathetic. From the six, a variety of running plays by the Ravens gets the ball inside the one, but the Ravens have to settle for a FG. The refs made the exact same error later in the game, placing a ball at the six yard line when the interference occurred well into the endzone, but this time the Ravens scored a TD anyway.
[We will not recite a variety of really bad calls that occur between Bad Call B and Bad Call C, including one call on Raven Offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele that was totally preposteros. In the course of blocking on a pass play, Osemele's hand literally grazed the face mask of the man he was blocking. The long completion by the Ravens was nullified and they were penalized 10 yards. The rotten call caused the Ravens to settle for a field goal. Nor will we delve into the most effective way that officials work their will on a team, which was on full display yesterday. The Ravens have outstanding pass rushers, and in the first quarter yesterday, they were getting to Rivers on a regular basis. Then it stopped. Why? The Chargers started holding openly and obviously. And so the Chargers, who block all day for a pocket passer who often takes his time to get a throw off, are called for just one holding penalty. One one play, the Ravens Pernell McPhee was literally turned around by a hold, but wasn't permitted to pull out of the hold even though his back was to the QB. Swish that one around for a second. McPhee was held so tightly that even when turned completely around and trying to actually back away from the block, the offensive lineman will not let go. And why should he, since holding wasn't being called. One hold the whole game even though the pocket passer is lingering in the pocket all day. On a play when Terrell Suggs sacked Rivers, the ref blew the whistle with Suggs laying on top of Rivers. A Charger offensive lineman lay next to Suggs with both arms wrapped tightly around Suggs' legs. Now the officials will say that on that one play they didn't call holding because Suggs sacked the QB despite the hold. Really? What about all of the other plays. Watch any five consecutive offensive plays by the Chargers and you will find at least three, and usually five to ten obvious holds. For the game, one hold called on the Chargers.]
C. On the final desperation drive by the Chargers, Rivers throws again into the endzone. The receiver and the defender - the Ravens' Anthony Levine - battle for the pop-up pass that is descending with Levine on the inside and in position to intercept. Allen puts an arm on Levine's shoulder and holds him down. It was at least three times as obvious and five times as egregious as the offensive interference actually called on the Ravens' Steve Smith, Sr. a few weeks back when his incredible catch against the Bengals was nullified, stealing a hard-earned victory from the Ravens. Fouts, a former Charger, exclaimed as the crew in the booth waited to see exactly what the officials were calling, that "they are calling this on Allen." Wrong, Dan. The penalty was called on Levine, and it was a terrible travesty of a call. Levine did nothing illegal and, in fact, would have intercepted the pass had Allen not willfully held him down and pushed him away.
As hard to believe as it seems, it got worse for the Ravens. The ball was placed on their one. How did they get the ball placement right on this occurrence after getting it wrong twice before to the detriment of the Ravens? On the first play Rivers throws to Allen, who scampers in for the TD. Levine was trying to cover Allen, but well before Allen caught the ball, another Charger smashed into Levine and took him out of the play. It was another obvious instance of offensive pass interference against the Chargers, and it wasn't called. Unbelievable. But don't take my word on any of this. Look for yourself.
On the NFL website, by the way, you will have to be a detective to find the play in question at the end. I just watched the "discussion" of the game, by four so-called experts, but heard no mention of a call that the CBS analyst saw the exact opposite of the way it was called. If this was a real league where the main focus of game officials was getting the call correct, you'd have thought the officials would have reviewed the travails the Ravens have had with boneheaded officiating. How in the world so-called professional officials can call the play with Levine and Allen the way they did in the wake of the God-awful call against the Ravens in the Bengal game is totally baffling. If Steven Smith committed offensive interference, then Keanan Allen committed a mugging.
Fans will still watch their beloved Ravens. Over 70,000 have already paid for tickets for every one of the remaining home games. The NFL will take their money without battin an eye. But they will not even attempt to explain how the Ravens could have lost the Bengal game and the Charger game. They can't. That is, unless they come clean and admit that the Ravens lost because the game officials made atrocious calls. Even if they admit the calls were wrong, they won't try to explain why it happened. They won't tell us what, if any, communications took place between the league and the officials involved.
At it Again in Baltimore; NFL Referees Ridiculous Error Gives San Diego a TD Unearned
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 30, 2014 - A pass from Phillip Rivers to Keanan Allen was incomplete. Allen tried to pick the ball off the turf, but as he rolled over he let the ball slip from his grasp, and only regained possession after the ball hit the turf. The on-field official called TD. That was bad enough. But the idiots in the replay booth and under the cover confirmed the call. So are the rules now changed so that semi-catches and close-to-catches are called complete? Or are the rules only changed for teams playing the Ravens? You watch. You decide.
Monday, November 24, 2014
In-Game NFL Officiating Update: At New Orleans, Officials are Making Fools of Themselves, Again
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 24, 2014 - Here is the roll call of really really awful calls made in the first half of the Ravens game tonight at New Orleans by the NFL Offiating crew:
A. After the Ravens stopped the Saints on about four plays inside the Ravens five-yard-line, the Ravens marched 99 yards, scoring a touchdown on a pass from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith, Sr. Then the Saints were three and out. But the Ravens couldn't score and the Saints got it back. On third down, an incomplete pass was thrown, meaning another three and out and a punt. But after the play one official threw a flag and said there was some kind of violation on the Ravens. A replay showed conclusively that no violation occurred. It wasn't even close. On TV, Jon Gruden of ESPN said, "I didn't see anything." Given another set of downs, the Saints scored a touchdown.
B. The same thing happened again. The Ravens stopped the Saints on third down, forcing a punt. Then, after the play, a flag was thrown. They called "roughing the passer" on Haloti Ngata. He is an all-pro lineman for Baltimore. Once Breeze threw his incompletion, Ngata did everything he could to avoid all contact with the New Orleans QB, grabbing other players to avoid Breeze, and falling himself at Breeze's feet. The actual contact was so much of nothing that Breeze did not lose his footing. The call was so bad it stunk way up here in Baltimore, even though the play was in New Orleans.
C. The same drive, but later, and Drew Breeze throws a long bomb. Frank Gorrer appeared to be in a position to intercept, but the Saints receiver wrestled the ball away from him and caught it himself. But his catch occurred out of bounds, clearly. Before he was out of bounds he did not have the ball, but instead was fumbling it and bobbling it, and trying to squeeze it between his knees, On the field, one of the morons nonetheless called it a catch. Really, he did. John Harbaugh, the Ravens' coach, threw his red challenge marker. The replay made the fact that the ball was caught out of bounds crystal clear. The referee looked at the replays. It was taking him a long time and I figured he was taking the opportunity to sneak off for a potty break. Instead, he was steeling himself for another barage from Baltimore. He called it a catch. It was not a catch. But this moron called it a catch.
The Saints now lead the game at halftime, 17-14. If the game was officiated by real competent officials, the score would be 14-7, Ravens. If the Ravens hadn't fumbled at the one it would be 21-7.
If the lads at league headquarters have th decency to look at the replays of this half of football, they will take action. That is, if they care about the game. One wonders how they let folk like this out on the field to begin with. Jerry Sandusky, the Ravens radio voice and a man from a football family (and not the family of man from Penn State). said he is tired of having to rant about the referees every week. He should not have to do this, but if he didn't his listeners would not have a clue what was going on. It is very very bad out there.
A. After the Ravens stopped the Saints on about four plays inside the Ravens five-yard-line, the Ravens marched 99 yards, scoring a touchdown on a pass from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith, Sr. Then the Saints were three and out. But the Ravens couldn't score and the Saints got it back. On third down, an incomplete pass was thrown, meaning another three and out and a punt. But after the play one official threw a flag and said there was some kind of violation on the Ravens. A replay showed conclusively that no violation occurred. It wasn't even close. On TV, Jon Gruden of ESPN said, "I didn't see anything." Given another set of downs, the Saints scored a touchdown.
B. The same thing happened again. The Ravens stopped the Saints on third down, forcing a punt. Then, after the play, a flag was thrown. They called "roughing the passer" on Haloti Ngata. He is an all-pro lineman for Baltimore. Once Breeze threw his incompletion, Ngata did everything he could to avoid all contact with the New Orleans QB, grabbing other players to avoid Breeze, and falling himself at Breeze's feet. The actual contact was so much of nothing that Breeze did not lose his footing. The call was so bad it stunk way up here in Baltimore, even though the play was in New Orleans.
C. The same drive, but later, and Drew Breeze throws a long bomb. Frank Gorrer appeared to be in a position to intercept, but the Saints receiver wrestled the ball away from him and caught it himself. But his catch occurred out of bounds, clearly. Before he was out of bounds he did not have the ball, but instead was fumbling it and bobbling it, and trying to squeeze it between his knees, On the field, one of the morons nonetheless called it a catch. Really, he did. John Harbaugh, the Ravens' coach, threw his red challenge marker. The replay made the fact that the ball was caught out of bounds crystal clear. The referee looked at the replays. It was taking him a long time and I figured he was taking the opportunity to sneak off for a potty break. Instead, he was steeling himself for another barage from Baltimore. He called it a catch. It was not a catch. But this moron called it a catch.
The Saints now lead the game at halftime, 17-14. If the game was officiated by real competent officials, the score would be 14-7, Ravens. If the Ravens hadn't fumbled at the one it would be 21-7.
If the lads at league headquarters have th decency to look at the replays of this half of football, they will take action. That is, if they care about the game. One wonders how they let folk like this out on the field to begin with. Jerry Sandusky, the Ravens radio voice and a man from a football family (and not the family of man from Penn State). said he is tired of having to rant about the referees every week. He should not have to do this, but if he didn't his listeners would not have a clue what was going on. It is very very bad out there.
Referees Messing With the Ravens: Again (And You Know You Are Shocked)
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 24, 2014 - The Saints could not score despite a whole lot of plays run inside the Raven five yard line. The last couple were run inside the Raven one-yard-line/ Then all the Ravens did was march 99 yards, with the TD taking the form of a pass from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith, Sr. Smith, Sr., Torey Smith and Justin Forsett (with more than a little help from Bernard Pierce) are combining to help the Ravens move the ball at will. Save for a ridiculous fumble by that Harvard guy, Kyle Jusczyk, at the Saints' one, this game would not be close. Then the Saints were about the go three and out again until the goofie official threw a flag for unknown reasons. What he said happened did not happen, the replay showed. The replay also showed that there wasn't a reason to even think an infraction occurred. Given a reprieve, the Saints got a long completion and scored. The Ravens marched again to go up, 14-7. Then the morons called a late hit on Haloti Ngata. Ngata fell to keep from hitting Breeze. Breeze did not go down. It was about as bad as these kind of calls can be. Then there was a long pass that Danny Gorrer of the Ravens and one of the Saints fought for. The Saints man made the catch but only when he was well out of bounds. John Harbaugh threw the flag and on the radio they said it was a done deal. On the replay it was a done deal. But the morons in stripes blew it. How you can look at a replay like that and still get it wrong is beyond me. It sure looks like the league wants the Saints to win this game. Really it does. Given a first and goal at the Ravens five, The Saints settled for a field goal.
The officials are again trying to do the Ravens in. I suppose New Orleans is a "glamor team" that the league wants competing for the playoffs. This year they aren't good enough. But with the officials behind them, I could be wrong about that.
The officials are again trying to do the Ravens in. I suppose New Orleans is a "glamor team" that the league wants competing for the playoffs. This year they aren't good enough. But with the officials behind them, I could be wrong about that.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Like a Phoenix, Burnley Wins Second Straight; Claret Win at Stoke City, 2-1; Ings Scores Twice in Two Minute Span
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 22, 2014 - The Phoenix is a mythical bird that springs back to life from the burning ashes of a failed effort. Burnley now appears ready to realize that very role. For the first two months of the current campaign the Claret could not so much as win a single match. Only a handful of draws separated them from total frustration. Their two leading scorers from one year ago were doing nothing. Sam Vokes had still not returned from a season-ending injury suffered late in the last campaign. Danny Ings returned at the start of this season, but without his scoring buddy, Vokes, Ings appeared to be lost. He did score two matches back. Now, however, he is back! Danny Ings is back! Oh, he has been back physically and playing better and better, but now he is really back to where he along with Vokes ushered Burnley into the Premier by running roughshod through the Championship. Saturday, in a two minute span, he found the back of the net twice to push Burnley past Stoke City, 2-1, on the loser's home pitch. It was Burnley's second straight win and it lifted the Claret off of the bottom of the barrel and to within a hare's breath of a far more respeotable spot on the table. With 10 points, they are tied with Leicester City and ahead of Crystal Palace and the Queens Park Rangers. They are but one point behind Aston Villa and Hull City, and just three points behind Sunderland and West Brom. Suddenly, things are looking up for Sean Dyche and company.
At Britannia Stadium in front of over 27,000 fans, Ings struck first in the 12th minute, and then, again, two minutes later. Stoke was able to pull back to within one, but no more. Official stats showed Stoke with possession for 73% of the game, for all the good it did them. Ings has now scored three goals in his past three matches after going scoreless for five.
The Claret's next match, on November 29, is with Aston Villa, and it will be at Turf Moor. Burnley will have the chance to move itself up the table, and away from the land of the relegated, with a win.
At Britannia Stadium in front of over 27,000 fans, Ings struck first in the 12th minute, and then, again, two minutes later. Stoke was able to pull back to within one, but no more. Official stats showed Stoke with possession for 73% of the game, for all the good it did them. Ings has now scored three goals in his past three matches after going scoreless for five.
The Claret's next match, on November 29, is with Aston Villa, and it will be at Turf Moor. Burnley will have the chance to move itself up the table, and away from the land of the relegated, with a win.
Obama's Speech: Unbelievable in So Many Ways; Fortunately, Nobody is Shocked By That
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 22, 2014 - The President of the United States took to the Television Bully Pulpit on Thursday Night, but even though he was speaking to all of America, it appeared that his target audience was the crowd that usually is watching E! News, or Gerry Springer. Some of the things Obama said were well nigh unbelievable. You know why they were well nigh unbelievable? They were untrue. But who did Obama think would believe that which he actually said? I am afraid to guess. It would surely rile the Politically Correct Crowd.
Obama said: His administration's record for border security is unmatched in American History. He actually said this. Even as border guards sit in their barracks, unable to do anything, or anything having anything to do with stopping illegal entry into these United States, Obama wants us to believe he has all but slammed the Southern Border shut tight. He points to figures which show the many deportations carried out by his administration. Most Americans have learned that Obama achieves this mark by counting, as deportations, those persons caught in the act and immediately turned around and sent back to Mexico. No other President has counted these persons as That has never before been counted as a deportation, but Obama has the numbers for this act plugged right in, making it look like he really is interested in border security. It is at least very bad faith with the American people. I will stop there.
Obama said: In granting amnesty to well over five million persons who entered these United States illegally, Obama said he is acting no differently than at least eleven other Presidents. This is grossly untrue. It is as if ten Presidents shop lifted an apple from the grocery store, then along came Obama and he stole the Crown Jewels. All eleven stole something, Obama says, including himself. The acts of the previous presidents do not compare in any real way to what Obama has done. But because a fair few number of sadly underinformed Americans still believe things this man says, and a gross majority of main stream media folk still report what he says without the necessary factual underpinnings, some of this garbage will be repeated the next day as if the Lord had spoken those words to Moses.
Obama said: He has the authority to do what he is doing, and what he is doing is legal. He is at least wrong. Unless you watch only MSNBC or some other DNC outlet you have by now seen the very recent video tapes of Obama explaining why he is unable, legally, to do exactly what he has now done. In the videos, he explains to several differnt groups that for him to do what he has just done would be a direct breech of the time-honored, court-approved way to changing existing black letter law. Doing it the right way entails introducing legislation in the Congress and then shepherding it through. He could have accomplished this during the first two years he was President because the Democrats held sway in both houses of the Congress. He chose not to. Do you hear that America? HE CHOSE NOT TO. He sat on his advantages and now, only when these powerful advantages are all gone forever does he pull this dictatorial stunt for the very tired masses, making himself out to be a reasonable victim. Ask yourself how a man who had a virtual and fully legal dictatorship for two very very long years managed to squander this advantage, leaving himself, for his final two years, as a penultimate lame duck, lacking a majority in either the house or senate, and having been so mightily slammed by the electorate that even members of his own party look at him with wary eyes. The answer begins with the false way he sold himself in 2008, campaigning as a moderate. The first half second after he was inaugurated he shed the moderate tag and donned the uber leftist radical uniform he has worn with total beligerance ever since.
Let us go back now to one of Obama's very few real American moments. Called on the carpet by a number of Hispanic Organizations for not moving on immigration when he had a majority in both houses of Congress, Obama appeared and explained, honestly, that he could not accomplish what they wanted unless Congress enacted his legislation. "We are not a dictatorship!" he snapped once on the podium. He said that, sadly, he could not get a pen out and sign some kind of order doing what the group wanted. And what did the group want? Exactly what he purported to give them last week with this so-called Executive Order. What has changed since Obama made those statements, over and over again, just a few years ago? Nothing subjectively. No laws have changed. No relevant part of the Constitution has changed. Certainly Obama changed his mind. He got up one morning and it tickled his fancy to say that he now has the authority to do exactly what he said he didn't have the authority to do just a year or so ago. And that is it. Now, he wants everyone to believe that he now does possess the authority to do what he argued vociferously against just months ago. Funny thing is, he doesn't even give us the respect, as citizens, to explain how this metamorphesis in his thinking took place. What a guy! What a guy!
All of you Far Left Radicals now applauding Obama, I have some sobering thoughts for you. What happens if someone as far right as Obama is far left gets into office sometime in the future, and he says he is going to do exactly what Obama did, only instead of ignoring precedent and the laws in the area of immigration, he goes to town on the laws in the area of religion in the classrooms, or abortion? How about if he or she decides that instead of simply closing the southern border, he is going to stake out a fifty mile demilitarized zone south of the border? And out comes the pen and he signs the order and Voila! It is done! How about if the new GOP Conservative President just does away with the EPA and IRS. Out comes the pen and Voila, it is done!
Obama started it. Rome had a Republic, once. Then it had Emperors. How fast was the transition? Sometimes our system seems slow. Sometimes laws take decades to change. Even good ideas aren't implemented overnight. In retrospect, that seems awful. But sometimes, as hard to believe as it is, society isn't ready for positive change until it gets debated by the public, or by Congress. Over the last 238 years, give or take, we have managed to make an awful lot of right decisions in almost every area imaginable. When Obama says he is tired of waiting, most of the country says, too bad! Most Americans have said, over and over again, that the next time there is an amnesty of any kind it has to be matched with a hard and fast closure of the Southern Border. But Obama is an Uber Leftist, and in his closed and bigoted world, common sense is absolutely prohibited.
Obama said: His administration's record for border security is unmatched in American History. He actually said this. Even as border guards sit in their barracks, unable to do anything, or anything having anything to do with stopping illegal entry into these United States, Obama wants us to believe he has all but slammed the Southern Border shut tight. He points to figures which show the many deportations carried out by his administration. Most Americans have learned that Obama achieves this mark by counting, as deportations, those persons caught in the act and immediately turned around and sent back to Mexico. No other President has counted these persons as That has never before been counted as a deportation, but Obama has the numbers for this act plugged right in, making it look like he really is interested in border security. It is at least very bad faith with the American people. I will stop there.
Obama said: In granting amnesty to well over five million persons who entered these United States illegally, Obama said he is acting no differently than at least eleven other Presidents. This is grossly untrue. It is as if ten Presidents shop lifted an apple from the grocery store, then along came Obama and he stole the Crown Jewels. All eleven stole something, Obama says, including himself. The acts of the previous presidents do not compare in any real way to what Obama has done. But because a fair few number of sadly underinformed Americans still believe things this man says, and a gross majority of main stream media folk still report what he says without the necessary factual underpinnings, some of this garbage will be repeated the next day as if the Lord had spoken those words to Moses.
Obama said: He has the authority to do what he is doing, and what he is doing is legal. He is at least wrong. Unless you watch only MSNBC or some other DNC outlet you have by now seen the very recent video tapes of Obama explaining why he is unable, legally, to do exactly what he has now done. In the videos, he explains to several differnt groups that for him to do what he has just done would be a direct breech of the time-honored, court-approved way to changing existing black letter law. Doing it the right way entails introducing legislation in the Congress and then shepherding it through. He could have accomplished this during the first two years he was President because the Democrats held sway in both houses of the Congress. He chose not to. Do you hear that America? HE CHOSE NOT TO. He sat on his advantages and now, only when these powerful advantages are all gone forever does he pull this dictatorial stunt for the very tired masses, making himself out to be a reasonable victim. Ask yourself how a man who had a virtual and fully legal dictatorship for two very very long years managed to squander this advantage, leaving himself, for his final two years, as a penultimate lame duck, lacking a majority in either the house or senate, and having been so mightily slammed by the electorate that even members of his own party look at him with wary eyes. The answer begins with the false way he sold himself in 2008, campaigning as a moderate. The first half second after he was inaugurated he shed the moderate tag and donned the uber leftist radical uniform he has worn with total beligerance ever since.
Let us go back now to one of Obama's very few real American moments. Called on the carpet by a number of Hispanic Organizations for not moving on immigration when he had a majority in both houses of Congress, Obama appeared and explained, honestly, that he could not accomplish what they wanted unless Congress enacted his legislation. "We are not a dictatorship!" he snapped once on the podium. He said that, sadly, he could not get a pen out and sign some kind of order doing what the group wanted. And what did the group want? Exactly what he purported to give them last week with this so-called Executive Order. What has changed since Obama made those statements, over and over again, just a few years ago? Nothing subjectively. No laws have changed. No relevant part of the Constitution has changed. Certainly Obama changed his mind. He got up one morning and it tickled his fancy to say that he now has the authority to do exactly what he said he didn't have the authority to do just a year or so ago. And that is it. Now, he wants everyone to believe that he now does possess the authority to do what he argued vociferously against just months ago. Funny thing is, he doesn't even give us the respect, as citizens, to explain how this metamorphesis in his thinking took place. What a guy! What a guy!
All of you Far Left Radicals now applauding Obama, I have some sobering thoughts for you. What happens if someone as far right as Obama is far left gets into office sometime in the future, and he says he is going to do exactly what Obama did, only instead of ignoring precedent and the laws in the area of immigration, he goes to town on the laws in the area of religion in the classrooms, or abortion? How about if he or she decides that instead of simply closing the southern border, he is going to stake out a fifty mile demilitarized zone south of the border? And out comes the pen and he signs the order and Voila! It is done! How about if the new GOP Conservative President just does away with the EPA and IRS. Out comes the pen and Voila, it is done!
Obama started it. Rome had a Republic, once. Then it had Emperors. How fast was the transition? Sometimes our system seems slow. Sometimes laws take decades to change. Even good ideas aren't implemented overnight. In retrospect, that seems awful. But sometimes, as hard to believe as it is, society isn't ready for positive change until it gets debated by the public, or by Congress. Over the last 238 years, give or take, we have managed to make an awful lot of right decisions in almost every area imaginable. When Obama says he is tired of waiting, most of the country says, too bad! Most Americans have said, over and over again, that the next time there is an amnesty of any kind it has to be matched with a hard and fast closure of the Southern Border. But Obama is an Uber Leftist, and in his closed and bigoted world, common sense is absolutely prohibited.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Faroe Islands Stun Greece, Poland Routs Georgia, Wales Gets Draw at Belgium; Liechtenstein Scores Historic Victory, Scotland Beats Back Ireland, Romania Defeats Northern Ireland as Euro 2016 Ends First Year Of Qualifying Play
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 17, 2014 - When do you not win, fall from first place to second place, and still consider that results were good? When you are the Welsh National Team and you came away with a critical point in qualifying play for the Euro 2016 championship. Israel took over first place in the group by routing Bosnia and Herzogovina, 3-0, in the first match played at Haifa's new Itztadion Sammy Ofer. Gil Vermouth, Omer Damari and Eran Zahavi get the goals for the home team, which won its third match in as many outings. In Belgium, a strong Wales team led by Gareth Bale battled the World Cup Quarterfinalists at every turn in securing the critical point. At year's end, Israel leads Group A with 9 points in three matches. Wales is in a solid second position, just one point behind after their fourth match. Surprising Cyprus is in third place with 6 points in four matches, while Belgium is in fourth place with only five points in three matches. Bosnia and Herzogovina is in fifth place and in big trouble. They have only two draws and two losses to show after four matches, good for only two points. Andorra is last with 0 points in four games.
A bit of the lustre fell off of Iceland's early burst of points when the islanders came up empty in their showdown with the Czech Republic. An own goal did Iceland in after the teams went to the half tied at 1-1. Hannes Halldórsson's own goal was the only score of the second half in the match at Pizen. The Czech's, now with four wins in four attempts, lead Group A with 12 points. Iceland holds on to second with 9 points, but just behind them now are the Netherlands, which humbled Latvia, 6-0, and now has two wins and two losses, good for six points. Turkey, which beat back Kazakhstan, 3-1, in Istanbul, is in fourth place with four points. Latvia and Kazakhstan bring up the rear.
Slovakia, at 4-0-0, leads Group C with 12 points after their 2-0 win over Macedonia. Spain and Ukraine are tied for second with 3 wins and 1 loss. Spain beat Belarus, and Ukraine stopped Luxembourg by identical 3-0 scores.
Poland continued its successful run with a solid 4-0 win at Georgia. The White Eagles lead Group D with 10 points on three wins and one draw in four matches. Scotland, which beat Ireland, 1-0, in Glasgow, is now tied with Ireland and Germany for second place with 7 points apiece. Germany defeated Gibralter, 4-0 in Germany. Georgia, with one win in four matches, is in fifth place with 3 points. England is having its way in Group E. The English have four wins in four matches, good for 12 points. Three nations are tied for second with 6 points each: Switzerland, Slovenia and Lithuania.
Romania moved into the lead in Group F with a 2-0 win over visiting Northern Island. Paul Papp scored twice for the homestanding Romanians, who lead the group with 10 points (three wins and one draw in four matches). Northern Island, which was 3-0-0 coming into the match, hangs on to second with 9 points. Hungary has 7 points in third place after their 1-0 win over Finland in Budapest. Finland is in fourth place with 4 points. The Faroe Islands are alone in fifth place after their stunning 1-0 win before an unbelieving crowd in Piraeus. Jóan Edmundsson's 61st-minute goal were all the visitors needed. Wikipedia said the victory for the andsliðið, as they are called in the Faroe Islands, was a "major international football upset." The islanders are now in fifth place, ahead of Greece. They have 3 points while the Hellenics have but 1.
Austria is the surprise leader of Group G. The Austrians have three wins and a draw in four matches, good for ten points. Over the past weekend, they beat Russia in Vienna, 1-0. Sweden, with one win and three draws in four matches, is in second place with 6 points. They drew with Montenegro, 1-1. Montenegro is tied for third with Russia at five points apiece. Liechtenstein is directly (and closely) behind those two with four points. The Alpine Nation stunned Moldova, 1-0, on a goal by their Captain Franz Burgmeier. The score came on a free kick in the 74th minute in a match otherwise dominated by the homestanding Moldovans. Liechtenstein will have an opportunity to build on their momentum when they open 2015 play on March 28th against Austria, with the match taking place in the Liechtenstein Capital of Vaduz. For those who do not know, Liechtenstein is located in the Alps between Switzerland and Austria. It is the last surviving member of the Holy Roman Empire.
Hotly contested Group H has Italy and Croatia in the lead with ten points each, while Norway is hot on their heels with 9 points. This past weekend, Croatia went to Milan and stole a point from the Italians by earning a 1-1 tie, while Norway edged Azerbaijan, 1-0. One cannot put much credence in the Group I standings since only one nation - the Group Leader, Denmark - has played four matches, while two nations, Serbia and Albania, have played but two. Denmark has only 7 points in its four matches (two wins, one draw and one loss), but that is good enough, for now, to lead the group. Portugal, with two wins and one loss in three matches, is in second place with 6 points. Albania has a win and a draw in its two matches, good for four points and third place. Servia has a draw and a loss for one point, while Armenia has a draw and two losses, also good for one point. Over the weekend, Denmark beat Servia, 3-1, while Portugal edged Armenia, 1-0.
The next qualifying matches are at the end of March.
^
A bit of the lustre fell off of Iceland's early burst of points when the islanders came up empty in their showdown with the Czech Republic. An own goal did Iceland in after the teams went to the half tied at 1-1. Hannes Halldórsson's own goal was the only score of the second half in the match at Pizen. The Czech's, now with four wins in four attempts, lead Group A with 12 points. Iceland holds on to second with 9 points, but just behind them now are the Netherlands, which humbled Latvia, 6-0, and now has two wins and two losses, good for six points. Turkey, which beat back Kazakhstan, 3-1, in Istanbul, is in fourth place with four points. Latvia and Kazakhstan bring up the rear.
Slovakia, at 4-0-0, leads Group C with 12 points after their 2-0 win over Macedonia. Spain and Ukraine are tied for second with 3 wins and 1 loss. Spain beat Belarus, and Ukraine stopped Luxembourg by identical 3-0 scores.
Poland continued its successful run with a solid 4-0 win at Georgia. The White Eagles lead Group D with 10 points on three wins and one draw in four matches. Scotland, which beat Ireland, 1-0, in Glasgow, is now tied with Ireland and Germany for second place with 7 points apiece. Germany defeated Gibralter, 4-0 in Germany. Georgia, with one win in four matches, is in fifth place with 3 points. England is having its way in Group E. The English have four wins in four matches, good for 12 points. Three nations are tied for second with 6 points each: Switzerland, Slovenia and Lithuania.
Romania moved into the lead in Group F with a 2-0 win over visiting Northern Island. Paul Papp scored twice for the homestanding Romanians, who lead the group with 10 points (three wins and one draw in four matches). Northern Island, which was 3-0-0 coming into the match, hangs on to second with 9 points. Hungary has 7 points in third place after their 1-0 win over Finland in Budapest. Finland is in fourth place with 4 points. The Faroe Islands are alone in fifth place after their stunning 1-0 win before an unbelieving crowd in Piraeus. Jóan Edmundsson's 61st-minute goal were all the visitors needed. Wikipedia said the victory for the andsliðið, as they are called in the Faroe Islands, was a "major international football upset." The islanders are now in fifth place, ahead of Greece. They have 3 points while the Hellenics have but 1.
Austria is the surprise leader of Group G. The Austrians have three wins and a draw in four matches, good for ten points. Over the past weekend, they beat Russia in Vienna, 1-0. Sweden, with one win and three draws in four matches, is in second place with 6 points. They drew with Montenegro, 1-1. Montenegro is tied for third with Russia at five points apiece. Liechtenstein is directly (and closely) behind those two with four points. The Alpine Nation stunned Moldova, 1-0, on a goal by their Captain Franz Burgmeier. The score came on a free kick in the 74th minute in a match otherwise dominated by the homestanding Moldovans. Liechtenstein will have an opportunity to build on their momentum when they open 2015 play on March 28th against Austria, with the match taking place in the Liechtenstein Capital of Vaduz. For those who do not know, Liechtenstein is located in the Alps between Switzerland and Austria. It is the last surviving member of the Holy Roman Empire.
Hotly contested Group H has Italy and Croatia in the lead with ten points each, while Norway is hot on their heels with 9 points. This past weekend, Croatia went to Milan and stole a point from the Italians by earning a 1-1 tie, while Norway edged Azerbaijan, 1-0. One cannot put much credence in the Group I standings since only one nation - the Group Leader, Denmark - has played four matches, while two nations, Serbia and Albania, have played but two. Denmark has only 7 points in its four matches (two wins, one draw and one loss), but that is good enough, for now, to lead the group. Portugal, with two wins and one loss in three matches, is in second place with 6 points. Albania has a win and a draw in its two matches, good for four points and third place. Servia has a draw and a loss for one point, while Armenia has a draw and two losses, also good for one point. Over the weekend, Denmark beat Servia, 3-1, while Portugal edged Armenia, 1-0.
The next qualifying matches are at the end of March.
^
Terps Seeded Fourth Overall in NCAA Soccer Tournament; Maryland Gets First Round Bye and Will Play Winner of UMBC and Wake Forest in Second Round; Weird Seeding Has Michigan State (5th Seed in Big Ten Tournament) Getting Seeded Ahead of Maryland and Indiana (2nd Seed in Big Ten)
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 17, 2014 - There are no words to describe the seeding decisions made by the NCAA Selection Committee for this year's National Soccer Championship. Rest assured, Maryland is in. They guaranteed themselves that on Sunday when they won the Big Ten Tournament in their first year in the conference, after winning the regular season title on the last day of play. The Terps are seeded fourth overall - nothing to sneeze at after they started their season 3-5-2 and 1-2-2 in the Big Ten. But after an early October overtime loss at Northwestern - a game marred by some baffling officiating - Maryland has run off what most would call an 11 game win streak. The only match that in the most technical sense wasn't a win during that streak was the Big Ten Semifinal against Michigan State, a match Maryland won in a shootout. The Terps dominated the game and had three opportunities to score that they somehow didn't convert. Michigan State had no real chances to score and their only shot on goal came in overtime. The game finally went to a shootout which Maryland won with ease. The All-American Keeper, Zack Steffen, only allowed 2 of 5 Spartan Penalty Kicks to get by him, and two of those were out-and-out superior saves, while the final Michigan State kick missed the goal. The Terps converted their first three kicks before missing their fourth.
The Selection Committee seeded Notre Dame No. 1 with their 11-4-4 mark. UCLA was seeded second with an exactly similar record of 11-4-4. Michigan State is third at 11-4-5 (if you count the match against Maryland as a loss, they are 11-5-3. Maryland, officially at 13-5-3 (count the Spartan match as a win and they are 14-5-2). Indiana is seeded 5th at 12-4-5.
Stanford, with only two defeats (13-2-3) is seeded sixth. They are ranked number one by Top Drawer after winning the Pac 12 Tournament. UCLA is No. 2 with a record of 11-4-4. Someone, I'm sure, will explain why Stanford isn't the top seed in the Tournament, or at least the second seed instead of UCLA. I suppose they will get around to that after they explain how Michigan State is seeded ahead of Maryland and Indiana. The Spartans faded down the stretch and lost to Michigan in the final weeks. And, as stated, they were only the No. 5 team in the Big Ten. But the all-knowing selection committee seeds them ahead of the first and second place teams in the Big Ten regular season, the same two teams that waded through the conference tournament to the championship game, which Maryland won, 2-1. Do you think, maybe, that the folk on the committee are tired of Maryland and Indiana. What was it, three seasons ago that Indiana won the National Championship after being unseeded?
All tongue-in-cheek commentaries aside, the point of this is that the committee's standards for their picks should be announced so that coaches and athletic directors know how to go about being seeded in a way that accurately reflects their season accomplishments. When two schools finish first and second in the regular season and advance to the conference tournament championship game, how does the fifth place team get seeded ahead of both of them? Maybe an alternate committee or at least a reality check person should be selected to review the selection committee's job before it is announced to the public. At least in this way an obvious mistake could be corrected before it is announced to the public. I don't suggest that the committee be subordinate to this reality check person. I merely suggest that the committee be called upon to explain why they did something that is wrong before it goes public. Not that anything so logical would happen.
Anyway, The 16 first round games take place on Thursday, November 20. The 16 second round games take place on Sunday, November 23. Here is the way that these games will be played:
*First round game: Akron at Ohio State, winner plays Notre Dame, seeded No. 1.
*First round game: University of San Diego at California State University-Fullerton, winner plays UCLA, seeded No. 2.
*First round game: Oakland at Kentucky, winner plays Michigan State, seeded No. 3.
*First round game: Wake Forest at UMBC, winner plays Maryland, seeded No. 4.
*First round game: Monmouth at Xavier, winner plays Indiana, seeded No. 5.
*First round game: University of California-Irvine at UNLV, winner plays Stanford, seeded No. 6.
*First round game: Old Dominion at St. Francis (New York), winner plays Georgetown.
*First round game: Florida Gulf Coast University at Coastal Carolina, winner plays Clemson.
*First round game: University of North Carolina-Wilmington at Bucknell, winner plays Virginia, with winner of second round playing team emerging from Akron, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
*First round game: Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at Northwestern, winner plays California, with winner of second round game playing team emerging from University of San Diego, California State University-Fullerton and UCLA.
*First round game: University of Alabama-Birmingham at Furman, winner plays Washington, with winner of second round game playing team emerging from Oakland, Kentucky and Michigan State.
*First round game: Tulsa at Saint Louis, winner plays Louisville, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from UMBC, Wake Forest and Maryland.
*First round game: Oregon State at Denver, winner plays Creighton, with winner of second round game playing team emerging from Monmouth, Xavier and Indiana.
*First round game: Fordham at Dartmouth, winner plays Providence, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from University of California-Irvine, UNLV and Stanford.
*First round game: Hartwick at Penn State, winner plays Syracuse, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from Old Dominion, St. Franchis (New York) and Georgetown.
*First round game: North Carolina at James Madison, winner plays Charlotte, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from Florida Gulf Coast University, Coastal Carolina and Clemson.
Third round games will be played on November 30 at the school with the highest remaining seed. The fourth round will be played on December 5 or 6, again at the school with the highest remaining seed. The National Semi-Finals are December 12 at 5 pm and 7 pm at Cary, North Carolina. The Finals are December 14 at a time to be announced, although it will certainly be in the afternoon. Last season the semi-finals and finals were in suburban Philadelphia, and it was cold on both Friday and Sunday, with temperatures below freezing for all of the games.
The Selection Committee seeded Notre Dame No. 1 with their 11-4-4 mark. UCLA was seeded second with an exactly similar record of 11-4-4. Michigan State is third at 11-4-5 (if you count the match against Maryland as a loss, they are 11-5-3. Maryland, officially at 13-5-3 (count the Spartan match as a win and they are 14-5-2). Indiana is seeded 5th at 12-4-5.
Stanford, with only two defeats (13-2-3) is seeded sixth. They are ranked number one by Top Drawer after winning the Pac 12 Tournament. UCLA is No. 2 with a record of 11-4-4. Someone, I'm sure, will explain why Stanford isn't the top seed in the Tournament, or at least the second seed instead of UCLA. I suppose they will get around to that after they explain how Michigan State is seeded ahead of Maryland and Indiana. The Spartans faded down the stretch and lost to Michigan in the final weeks. And, as stated, they were only the No. 5 team in the Big Ten. But the all-knowing selection committee seeds them ahead of the first and second place teams in the Big Ten regular season, the same two teams that waded through the conference tournament to the championship game, which Maryland won, 2-1. Do you think, maybe, that the folk on the committee are tired of Maryland and Indiana. What was it, three seasons ago that Indiana won the National Championship after being unseeded?
All tongue-in-cheek commentaries aside, the point of this is that the committee's standards for their picks should be announced so that coaches and athletic directors know how to go about being seeded in a way that accurately reflects their season accomplishments. When two schools finish first and second in the regular season and advance to the conference tournament championship game, how does the fifth place team get seeded ahead of both of them? Maybe an alternate committee or at least a reality check person should be selected to review the selection committee's job before it is announced to the public. At least in this way an obvious mistake could be corrected before it is announced to the public. I don't suggest that the committee be subordinate to this reality check person. I merely suggest that the committee be called upon to explain why they did something that is wrong before it goes public. Not that anything so logical would happen.
Anyway, The 16 first round games take place on Thursday, November 20. The 16 second round games take place on Sunday, November 23. Here is the way that these games will be played:
*First round game: Akron at Ohio State, winner plays Notre Dame, seeded No. 1.
*First round game: University of San Diego at California State University-Fullerton, winner plays UCLA, seeded No. 2.
*First round game: Oakland at Kentucky, winner plays Michigan State, seeded No. 3.
*First round game: Wake Forest at UMBC, winner plays Maryland, seeded No. 4.
*First round game: Monmouth at Xavier, winner plays Indiana, seeded No. 5.
*First round game: University of California-Irvine at UNLV, winner plays Stanford, seeded No. 6.
*First round game: Old Dominion at St. Francis (New York), winner plays Georgetown.
*First round game: Florida Gulf Coast University at Coastal Carolina, winner plays Clemson.
*First round game: University of North Carolina-Wilmington at Bucknell, winner plays Virginia, with winner of second round playing team emerging from Akron, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
*First round game: Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at Northwestern, winner plays California, with winner of second round game playing team emerging from University of San Diego, California State University-Fullerton and UCLA.
*First round game: University of Alabama-Birmingham at Furman, winner plays Washington, with winner of second round game playing team emerging from Oakland, Kentucky and Michigan State.
*First round game: Tulsa at Saint Louis, winner plays Louisville, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from UMBC, Wake Forest and Maryland.
*First round game: Oregon State at Denver, winner plays Creighton, with winner of second round game playing team emerging from Monmouth, Xavier and Indiana.
*First round game: Fordham at Dartmouth, winner plays Providence, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from University of California-Irvine, UNLV and Stanford.
*First round game: Hartwick at Penn State, winner plays Syracuse, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from Old Dominion, St. Franchis (New York) and Georgetown.
*First round game: North Carolina at James Madison, winner plays Charlotte, with winner of second round game playing team that emerges from Florida Gulf Coast University, Coastal Carolina and Clemson.
Third round games will be played on November 30 at the school with the highest remaining seed. The fourth round will be played on December 5 or 6, again at the school with the highest remaining seed. The National Semi-Finals are December 12 at 5 pm and 7 pm at Cary, North Carolina. The Finals are December 14 at a time to be announced, although it will certainly be in the afternoon. Last season the semi-finals and finals were in suburban Philadelphia, and it was cold on both Friday and Sunday, with temperatures below freezing for all of the games.
Corboz Goal Decisive in Maryland's 2-1 Win Over Indiana in Big Ten Soccer Championship Game
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 16, 2014 - It was so sublime that it shocked even those hoping for success, so perfect that even the opposition had to tip their cap, and so perfectly timed that it might just as well have been the very last act of a dramatic masterpiece.
Maryland and Indiana had battled through 85 minutes of gritty, 'give no quarter, take no quarter' soccer on a cold, gray Sunday afternoon at Ludwig Field in College Park, Maryland. It was the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament, a game Maryland earned the right to host by winning the regular season title. The Terps scored just before the half when the Freshman from Sweden, Christoffer Wallander-Ianev, beat the Hoosier Keeper, Colin Webb. Mikey Ambrose and Chris Odoi-Atsem were credited with assists. For over one half of an hour in the second half the Terps defended that lead while still attacking the Indiana Goal with almost reckless abandon. The Maryland Defense has been so stingey during their long unbeaten streak (now 11 games) that Maryland's athletic and talented midfielders dared to do that, even in so pressured a situation. Then disaster struck Maryland, even though, in truth, the Hoosiers had played so well that they didn't deserve to be behind. Andrew Oliver of the Hoosiers barged into the box with the ball in the 64th minute, but his way to the goal was blocked by a Terrapin defender. The ball seemed to flick away from Oliver as he tried to move past the defender, just as All-American Middie Dan Metzger raced back to help. Metzger ran onto the ball and intended to pass it to Maryland Keeper Zack Steffen, the hero of heroes in the semi-final shootout win on Friday over Michigan State. But Metzger's pass hit Oliver's heel and richocheted past Steffen for what was ruled an own goal. Now, the game was tied. Maryland now pressed like they hadn't pressed the entire weekend. With just under five minutes left Alex Shinsky ran right down the middle of the field looking for a pass. Two Hoosiers crowded in on him. As Shinsky began to put space between himself and the defenders, one of them swung and arm and sent the Maryland Senior to the turf. The referee saw this - an unlikely event off of the ball - and sounded his whistle. The Indiana bench howled. But it was a very good call. You just don't see a call like that very often when the game is being officiated by only one man. The foul occurred just two yards beyond the top of the penalty area. Indiana's players formed a wall and edged it as close to the spot of the ball as they dared. The official moved them back a shade. Tsubassa Endoh and Mael Corboz stood over the ball, with either of them free to take the kick. Corboz - who takes most of Maryland's penalty kicks - advanced quickly to the ball after the referee whistled play to continue. His kick rose quickly over the wall, then knuckled to the left, finally nestling into the upper corner of the net just past the desperate dive of Colin Webb. Even Indiana Fans were left tipping their cap. There were just over four minutes left when it went in, and with it, Maryland won their first Big Ten Soccer Championship in just their first year in the Conference.
Indiana was so crest-fallen that they seemed only a shadow of the team that competed so ferociously for the first 85 minutes. One of their players tried to pass a ball to Webb, but it went way wide of the Keeper and past the endline, giving Maryland a corner kick that they took plenty of time to set up. Twice Indiana kicked the ball out of bounds and the ball never came near the Terrapin end during the entire four minutes Maryland had to kill. Then came the celebration.
Maryland, by winning, gets the conference's official NCAA Tournament Berth, but in truth, both the Terps and Hoosiers are in the Big Show, probably to be joined by anywhere from three to five other Big Ten Schools. The entire field will be announced Monday, November 17.
Maryland and Indiana had battled through 85 minutes of gritty, 'give no quarter, take no quarter' soccer on a cold, gray Sunday afternoon at Ludwig Field in College Park, Maryland. It was the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament, a game Maryland earned the right to host by winning the regular season title. The Terps scored just before the half when the Freshman from Sweden, Christoffer Wallander-Ianev, beat the Hoosier Keeper, Colin Webb. Mikey Ambrose and Chris Odoi-Atsem were credited with assists. For over one half of an hour in the second half the Terps defended that lead while still attacking the Indiana Goal with almost reckless abandon. The Maryland Defense has been so stingey during their long unbeaten streak (now 11 games) that Maryland's athletic and talented midfielders dared to do that, even in so pressured a situation. Then disaster struck Maryland, even though, in truth, the Hoosiers had played so well that they didn't deserve to be behind. Andrew Oliver of the Hoosiers barged into the box with the ball in the 64th minute, but his way to the goal was blocked by a Terrapin defender. The ball seemed to flick away from Oliver as he tried to move past the defender, just as All-American Middie Dan Metzger raced back to help. Metzger ran onto the ball and intended to pass it to Maryland Keeper Zack Steffen, the hero of heroes in the semi-final shootout win on Friday over Michigan State. But Metzger's pass hit Oliver's heel and richocheted past Steffen for what was ruled an own goal. Now, the game was tied. Maryland now pressed like they hadn't pressed the entire weekend. With just under five minutes left Alex Shinsky ran right down the middle of the field looking for a pass. Two Hoosiers crowded in on him. As Shinsky began to put space between himself and the defenders, one of them swung and arm and sent the Maryland Senior to the turf. The referee saw this - an unlikely event off of the ball - and sounded his whistle. The Indiana bench howled. But it was a very good call. You just don't see a call like that very often when the game is being officiated by only one man. The foul occurred just two yards beyond the top of the penalty area. Indiana's players formed a wall and edged it as close to the spot of the ball as they dared. The official moved them back a shade. Tsubassa Endoh and Mael Corboz stood over the ball, with either of them free to take the kick. Corboz - who takes most of Maryland's penalty kicks - advanced quickly to the ball after the referee whistled play to continue. His kick rose quickly over the wall, then knuckled to the left, finally nestling into the upper corner of the net just past the desperate dive of Colin Webb. Even Indiana Fans were left tipping their cap. There were just over four minutes left when it went in, and with it, Maryland won their first Big Ten Soccer Championship in just their first year in the Conference.
Indiana was so crest-fallen that they seemed only a shadow of the team that competed so ferociously for the first 85 minutes. One of their players tried to pass a ball to Webb, but it went way wide of the Keeper and past the endline, giving Maryland a corner kick that they took plenty of time to set up. Twice Indiana kicked the ball out of bounds and the ball never came near the Terrapin end during the entire four minutes Maryland had to kill. Then came the celebration.
Maryland, by winning, gets the conference's official NCAA Tournament Berth, but in truth, both the Terps and Hoosiers are in the Big Show, probably to be joined by anywhere from three to five other Big Ten Schools. The entire field will be announced Monday, November 17.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Steffen Stars as Maryland Beats Michigan State on Penalty Kicks, Earns Berth in Big Ten Title Game v. Indiana
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 15, 2014 - Zack Steffen allowed only two of five Michigan State shootout penalty kicks to get past him, and Maryland's defense and ball control starved Michigan's State's scoring chances so severely that the Spartans did not even manage a shot on goal until the first overtime period, as the Terrapins earned a place in Sunday's Big Ten Soccer Championship Game against Indiana by defeating Michigan State on in a shootout. The Hoosiers beat back Ohio State, 2-1, in Friday's first game to also earn a spot in Sunday's title game. The winner, in addition to being the Big Ten Champ, will be awarded the conference's official NCAA Tournament Berth, although both teams are almost certainly in the tournament already.
Tsubassa Endoh, Mael Corboz and Alex Shinsky each converted penalty kicks during the Shootout. When Michigan State's fifth kick failed to get past Steffen and into the goal, Maryland knew they had won the game and advanced. Maryland had the game's only scoring chances. Endoh had the best of the chances near the end of regulation. Shinsky penetrated the Spartan defense to the keeper's right, and lifted a crossing pass right to Endoh breaking to the post on keeper's left. Endoh put his forehead to the picture perfect pass, but he lifted it just over the cross bar. Endoh later got off of a shot as he broke into the penalty area to the keeper's left in the first overtime. He got off a shot at the post on the keeper's right, but shot wide. Alex Crognale also got off a head shot on a corner kick that could easily have been a score, but he also shot just over the cross bar. For the game, Maryland outshot Michigan State, 13-8, including 8-2 in the first half. In reality, Michigan State never came close to scoring. Maryland was awarded six corner kicks to only one for the Spartans. Michigan State jammed the penalty area with up to eight players and was successful in frustrating Maryland's close in passing game. But by playing that way, they were in essence giving up any chance of scoring on Maryland.
Tsubassa Endoh, Mael Corboz and Alex Shinsky each converted penalty kicks during the Shootout. When Michigan State's fifth kick failed to get past Steffen and into the goal, Maryland knew they had won the game and advanced. Maryland had the game's only scoring chances. Endoh had the best of the chances near the end of regulation. Shinsky penetrated the Spartan defense to the keeper's right, and lifted a crossing pass right to Endoh breaking to the post on keeper's left. Endoh put his forehead to the picture perfect pass, but he lifted it just over the cross bar. Endoh later got off of a shot as he broke into the penalty area to the keeper's left in the first overtime. He got off a shot at the post on the keeper's right, but shot wide. Alex Crognale also got off a head shot on a corner kick that could easily have been a score, but he also shot just over the cross bar. For the game, Maryland outshot Michigan State, 13-8, including 8-2 in the first half. In reality, Michigan State never came close to scoring. Maryland was awarded six corner kicks to only one for the Spartans. Michigan State jammed the penalty area with up to eight players and was successful in frustrating Maryland's close in passing game. But by playing that way, they were in essence giving up any chance of scoring on Maryland.
Friday, November 14, 2014
The President as Spoiled Child
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 13, 2014 - News Item A: From coast to coast, voters in almost every state in these United States went to the polls on Election Day and Voted clearly and unambiguously against President Barack Obama and his Ultra Far Left Policies. Senate and House seats in Congress changed hands, as did Governorships and seats in many state legislatures. There were many things that motivated the voters, but this is a short list: voters despised Obamacare, Taxes and Fees charged by the Federal Government were way too high during a time of severe economic hardship, the scandal at the IRS needed thorough investigation and numerous prosecutions, the Benghazi Episode was an abomination, and the Federal Government needed to give the Special (Congressional) Committee its complete cooperation; prosecutions are in order here, also, the men who rule Iran are evil and they are going to build a nuclear bomb and launch it at Israel; all efforts to placate them that does not entail a complete abandonment of all nuclear activity with up close and personal monitoring must be abandoned, and, as an addendum, the way Obama treated the State of Arizona, suing it for attempting to enforce black letter federal law when the federal government would not, was nothing short of outrageous.
News Item B: While President Obama gave lip service to the will of the voters, his actions speak far louder than his words. Our government has worked for over 200 years precisely because we do not allow one person to make the laws. Now, Obama is taking it upon himself to do exactly that. While it is true that legal precedent allows a President to decline to prosecute a law-breaker or two under extenuating circumstances, a wholesale disregard of black letter law, which the President took an oath to uphold, is disgusting, ridiculous, and wholly illegal. If the Democrats back him, thereby indicating a willingness to weaken the legislative branch of government, they are as Anti-American as he is. And this nonsensical argumeht that he has waited long enough is infantile. It may be that the representatives of the people, duly elected, are unwilling to enact a law that would suit Obama. They have that right under the Constitution, as many prior Presidents have learned. Only Obama believes he has dictatorial power.
News Item C: The American People, through their elected representatives, may be in a mood to reform the immigration laws. But that mood does not now, nor has it ever, included an inclination to grant amnesty to millions and millions of illegal aliens. The only immigration plan that has a chance of success is one that begins with a hard and fast closure of the Southern Border.
You may recall that in 2007 and 2008, Barack Obama campaigned for President as a moderate. Anyone who had read even a small amount of background material knew that there was nothing moderate about him. He was and is and, I do not doubt, always will be an ultra far left radical elitist. He lives that moniker every day. He also has a very active and latent infatuation with dictators. He adored Chavez and Castro, and gussied up to them whenever the opportunity presented itself.'Right now he is merely a failure as President. You would like to think that the country, as a whole, learned something - albeit the hardway - about electing someone so ill-suited for the job. I am not sure. We will see if the Dems nominate Mrs. Clinton. If she is elected, we learned nothing at all. And as for Obama's legacy, if he allows Iran to build a nuclear weapon, he will go from being a failure to being a something far worse. It is given that if Iran gets a nuke they will use it against Israel almost at once. And yet, Obama seems fully willing to allow Iran to obtain a bomb.
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News Item B: While President Obama gave lip service to the will of the voters, his actions speak far louder than his words. Our government has worked for over 200 years precisely because we do not allow one person to make the laws. Now, Obama is taking it upon himself to do exactly that. While it is true that legal precedent allows a President to decline to prosecute a law-breaker or two under extenuating circumstances, a wholesale disregard of black letter law, which the President took an oath to uphold, is disgusting, ridiculous, and wholly illegal. If the Democrats back him, thereby indicating a willingness to weaken the legislative branch of government, they are as Anti-American as he is. And this nonsensical argumeht that he has waited long enough is infantile. It may be that the representatives of the people, duly elected, are unwilling to enact a law that would suit Obama. They have that right under the Constitution, as many prior Presidents have learned. Only Obama believes he has dictatorial power.
News Item C: The American People, through their elected representatives, may be in a mood to reform the immigration laws. But that mood does not now, nor has it ever, included an inclination to grant amnesty to millions and millions of illegal aliens. The only immigration plan that has a chance of success is one that begins with a hard and fast closure of the Southern Border.
You may recall that in 2007 and 2008, Barack Obama campaigned for President as a moderate. Anyone who had read even a small amount of background material knew that there was nothing moderate about him. He was and is and, I do not doubt, always will be an ultra far left radical elitist. He lives that moniker every day. He also has a very active and latent infatuation with dictators. He adored Chavez and Castro, and gussied up to them whenever the opportunity presented itself.'Right now he is merely a failure as President. You would like to think that the country, as a whole, learned something - albeit the hardway - about electing someone so ill-suited for the job. I am not sure. We will see if the Dems nominate Mrs. Clinton. If she is elected, we learned nothing at all. And as for Obama's legacy, if he allows Iran to build a nuclear weapon, he will go from being a failure to being a something far worse. It is given that if Iran gets a nuke they will use it against Israel almost at once. And yet, Obama seems fully willing to allow Iran to obtain a bomb.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Italy v. Croatia, Iceland at the Czech Republic, Wales at Belgium, Northern Ireland at Romania, Poland at Georgia, Ireland at Scotland, Bosnia and Herzogovina at Israel Highlight Final Qualifying Round of 2014 in UEFA's Euro 2016 Championships
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 12, 2014 - Some of the matches are sure to be barn burners while others are almost certain to be snoozers. When every national soccer team in Europe - except France, which, because it is hosting the finals does not have to qualify for that portion of the tournament - takes to the pitch on the same weekend, that almost has to be the result. The best of the matches appear to be the ones between Iceland and the Czech Republic and between Italy and Croatia, as both matches boast teams tied for first in their respective Groups, and between Romania and Northern Ireland, as Northern Ireland is in first place in Group F, with Romania only two points behind in second place. What's more, the match is in Bucarest, and the home crowd will know that a win will put Romania into first place at year's end. The matches this weekend are the last for 2014. The match between Italy and Croatia will be in Milan, while Iceland will travel to the Czech Republic.
Other matches with great importance to the standings include Wales at Belgium, Bosnia and Herzogovina at Israel, and Poland at Georgia. Wales has zoomed into the lead in Group B with 7 points after 3 matches played. Israel is in second place, just one point behind, and with only two matches played. Belgium is in third place with four points, and also after only two matches, while disappointing Bosnia and Herzogovina - expected to struggle with Belgium for the Group Championship, is in fifth place with only two points after three matches. Wales has two wins and a draw in their three matches, while Belgium - a World Cup Quarterfinalist after its breathtaking victory over the United States - has a win over winless Andorra and a tie with Bosnia and Herzogovina. Wales also drew with Bosnia and Herzogovina, while defeating Andorra and Cyprus. Israel has defeated Andorra and Cyprus - Cyprus is in fourth place with three points - the latter match having been played in Nicosia. Bosnia and Herzogovina, besides the two draws recounted above, has been defeated by Cyprus.
For the match in Belgium, Wales has been buoyed by the return of several important players recently sidelined by injuries, including the near-legendary Gareth Bale, the Real Madrid star and one of the most prolific scorers in the game. It was Bale who, in the Tournament's opening game at Andorra, which was opening its new national stadium, brought the Welsh from behind with two second half scores. He had been sidelined for several games with a muscle injury, but returned last week with a 30-minute appearance in Real Madrid's 1-0 Champions League victory over Liverpool. Welsh Coach Chris Coleman has announced that Bale will play against Belgium. According to Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Coleman has also revealed that midfielders Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal and Joe Allen of Liverpool, both also sidelined recently with injuries, will also play against Belgium. However, two other key players will not play: Andy King, who was sent off during the win over Cyprus last month, begins a two-game suspension with the Belgium match. And Sam Vokes, the prolific Burnley scorer, has still not recovered from a serious knee injury sustained last spring while playing for the Claret. An earlier release by the Wales squad gave hope that Vokes would be ready to go in this match. For its part, Belgium has revealed that it will have striker Christian Benteke available. The Aston Villa star injured his achilles in March and hasn't played for the national team since then. But Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has now recalled Benteke to his squad, and he is expected to play against the Welsh, Sky Sports has reported.
Poland and the Irish Republic are tied atop Group D. The Poles gained their lofty perch by virtue of their stunning 2-0 win over World Cup Champ Germany on October 11 in Warsaw. They also boast a victory at Gibralter in September, and a draw with Scotland last month in Warsaw. The Irish, for their part, tied the powerful Germans, 1-1, in Germany on October 14. They have also defeated Georgia in Tbilisi. in September, and Gibralter on October 11 in Dublin. Besides the match between Poland and Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday, The Irish travel to Glasgow to meet the Scots and Germany hosts Gibralter. Scotland goes into the match with one win, one draw and one loss. Their win was over Georgia on October 11 in Glasgow, their draw was with Poland three days later, and their loss was to Germany, by a 2-1 score, on September 7.
Other matches this weekend have the Faroe Islands at Greece, Finland at Hungary, Armenia at Portugal, Denmark at Servia, Ukraine at Luxembourg, Russia at Austria, Liechtenstein at Moldova, Slovenia at England, Estonia at San Marino, Lithuania at Switzerland, Belarus at Spain, Sweden at Montenegro, Slovakia at Macedonia, Latvia at the Netherlands, Andorra at Cyprus, Norway at Azerbaijan, Malta at Bulgaria, Croatia at Italy, and Kazakhstan at Turkey.
The complete schedule for the entire qualifying rounds can be found at http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/qualifiers/season=2016/matches/day=4/index.html, and that page has direct links to a comprehensive look at the Standings and other information about the Euro 2016 Tournament. France, which hosts the finals in 2016, has an automatic berth in the finals, which explains why there is no mention of the French in this story.
Other matches with great importance to the standings include Wales at Belgium, Bosnia and Herzogovina at Israel, and Poland at Georgia. Wales has zoomed into the lead in Group B with 7 points after 3 matches played. Israel is in second place, just one point behind, and with only two matches played. Belgium is in third place with four points, and also after only two matches, while disappointing Bosnia and Herzogovina - expected to struggle with Belgium for the Group Championship, is in fifth place with only two points after three matches. Wales has two wins and a draw in their three matches, while Belgium - a World Cup Quarterfinalist after its breathtaking victory over the United States - has a win over winless Andorra and a tie with Bosnia and Herzogovina. Wales also drew with Bosnia and Herzogovina, while defeating Andorra and Cyprus. Israel has defeated Andorra and Cyprus - Cyprus is in fourth place with three points - the latter match having been played in Nicosia. Bosnia and Herzogovina, besides the two draws recounted above, has been defeated by Cyprus.
For the match in Belgium, Wales has been buoyed by the return of several important players recently sidelined by injuries, including the near-legendary Gareth Bale, the Real Madrid star and one of the most prolific scorers in the game. It was Bale who, in the Tournament's opening game at Andorra, which was opening its new national stadium, brought the Welsh from behind with two second half scores. He had been sidelined for several games with a muscle injury, but returned last week with a 30-minute appearance in Real Madrid's 1-0 Champions League victory over Liverpool. Welsh Coach Chris Coleman has announced that Bale will play against Belgium. According to Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Coleman has also revealed that midfielders Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal and Joe Allen of Liverpool, both also sidelined recently with injuries, will also play against Belgium. However, two other key players will not play: Andy King, who was sent off during the win over Cyprus last month, begins a two-game suspension with the Belgium match. And Sam Vokes, the prolific Burnley scorer, has still not recovered from a serious knee injury sustained last spring while playing for the Claret. An earlier release by the Wales squad gave hope that Vokes would be ready to go in this match. For its part, Belgium has revealed that it will have striker Christian Benteke available. The Aston Villa star injured his achilles in March and hasn't played for the national team since then. But Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has now recalled Benteke to his squad, and he is expected to play against the Welsh, Sky Sports has reported.
Poland and the Irish Republic are tied atop Group D. The Poles gained their lofty perch by virtue of their stunning 2-0 win over World Cup Champ Germany on October 11 in Warsaw. They also boast a victory at Gibralter in September, and a draw with Scotland last month in Warsaw. The Irish, for their part, tied the powerful Germans, 1-1, in Germany on October 14. They have also defeated Georgia in Tbilisi. in September, and Gibralter on October 11 in Dublin. Besides the match between Poland and Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday, The Irish travel to Glasgow to meet the Scots and Germany hosts Gibralter. Scotland goes into the match with one win, one draw and one loss. Their win was over Georgia on October 11 in Glasgow, their draw was with Poland three days later, and their loss was to Germany, by a 2-1 score, on September 7.
Other matches this weekend have the Faroe Islands at Greece, Finland at Hungary, Armenia at Portugal, Denmark at Servia, Ukraine at Luxembourg, Russia at Austria, Liechtenstein at Moldova, Slovenia at England, Estonia at San Marino, Lithuania at Switzerland, Belarus at Spain, Sweden at Montenegro, Slovakia at Macedonia, Latvia at the Netherlands, Andorra at Cyprus, Norway at Azerbaijan, Malta at Bulgaria, Croatia at Italy, and Kazakhstan at Turkey.
The complete schedule for the entire qualifying rounds can be found at http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/qualifiers/season=2016/matches/day=4/index.html, and that page has direct links to a comprehensive look at the Standings and other information about the Euro 2016 Tournament. France, which hosts the finals in 2016, has an automatic berth in the finals, which explains why there is no mention of the French in this story.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Maryland Stops Rutgers to Gain Big Ten Tournament Semi-Finals; Burnley Defeats Hull City, 1-0, in Breathtaking Match at Turf Moor; Ravens Drub Titans, 21-7, After Woeful First Quarter
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 9, 2014 - George Campbell and Mael Corboz scored and the Maryland defense shut down a Rutgers attack that had scored five goals against Wisconsin Saturday afternoon in a Tournament Play-In Game, as the Terps marched into the Big Ten Tournament Semi-Finals by beating back the Scarlet Knights, 2-0. Corboz' score was on a penalty kick with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half. The Freshman Campbell scored in the 75th minute to seal the victory for Maryland, which has now won nine games in succession.
Ashley Barnes scored the match's only goal, and the Burnley Defense again showed it was equal to the best the remarkable Premier League has to offer as the Claret beat back Hull City, 1-0, for their first win in their return to the Premier League. The erstwhile Barnes headed in the games only goal five minutes into the second half. Head Coach Sean Dyche, ebullient in victory, said afterwards that the win changes everything.
"The season is reshaping already. That three points already gives it a different twist. It's amazing how much difference a win makes," Dyche told the BBC. "We knew we would win a game. A marker has been laid down now," said the 43-year-old Dyche.
"But it is literally one game, so now it's about two, three, four or five and whether we can go on the road and take that forward," Dyche continued. "I believe in the players here and the believe hashtag of the club has been built from the beginning of last season through to where we are now...It's great for everyone. We believe and I want the fans to believe and I think they do...The thing they certainly believe is that we have a manager, a staff and a playing squad who will give them everything."
Torey Smith's 32-yard-touchdown catch and two Justin Forsett touchdown runs led the Ravens to a relatively easy 21-7 victory over Tennessee. After a woeful first quarter completely dominated by the Titans' offense - the Ravens ran only four offensive plays in the quarter, which ended with them behind, 7-0 - Baltimore scored 21 unanswered points over the game's finsl three quarters. The game ended with the Ravens on the Tennessee one-yard-line, but taking a knee in deference to the effort put forth by the Titans. Forset tied the score with a six yard run on a fourth down and one yard to go at the Tennessee six-yard-line. Then, in the third quarter, Forsett ran 11 yards for a go-ahead score. Baltimore sealed the game in the fourth quarter when Flacco connected with Torey Smith on a 32-yard scoring strike.
The Ravens' victory combined with defeats by the Bengals and Steelers left the wild AFC North Race looking like this on Monday morning:
AFC NORTH STANDINGS
1. Cleveland Browns: 6 wins, 3 losses, .667 pct
2. Cincinnati Bengals: 5 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie, .611 pct, 0.5 games behind
3. Pittsburgh Steelers: 6 wins, 4 losses, .600 pct, 0.5 games behind
4. Baltimore Ravens: 6 wins, 4 losses, .600 pct, 0.5 games behind
Ashley Barnes scored the match's only goal, and the Burnley Defense again showed it was equal to the best the remarkable Premier League has to offer as the Claret beat back Hull City, 1-0, for their first win in their return to the Premier League. The erstwhile Barnes headed in the games only goal five minutes into the second half. Head Coach Sean Dyche, ebullient in victory, said afterwards that the win changes everything.
"The season is reshaping already. That three points already gives it a different twist. It's amazing how much difference a win makes," Dyche told the BBC. "We knew we would win a game. A marker has been laid down now," said the 43-year-old Dyche.
"But it is literally one game, so now it's about two, three, four or five and whether we can go on the road and take that forward," Dyche continued. "I believe in the players here and the believe hashtag of the club has been built from the beginning of last season through to where we are now...It's great for everyone. We believe and I want the fans to believe and I think they do...The thing they certainly believe is that we have a manager, a staff and a playing squad who will give them everything."
Torey Smith's 32-yard-touchdown catch and two Justin Forsett touchdown runs led the Ravens to a relatively easy 21-7 victory over Tennessee. After a woeful first quarter completely dominated by the Titans' offense - the Ravens ran only four offensive plays in the quarter, which ended with them behind, 7-0 - Baltimore scored 21 unanswered points over the game's finsl three quarters. The game ended with the Ravens on the Tennessee one-yard-line, but taking a knee in deference to the effort put forth by the Titans. Forset tied the score with a six yard run on a fourth down and one yard to go at the Tennessee six-yard-line. Then, in the third quarter, Forsett ran 11 yards for a go-ahead score. Baltimore sealed the game in the fourth quarter when Flacco connected with Torey Smith on a 32-yard scoring strike.
The Ravens' victory combined with defeats by the Bengals and Steelers left the wild AFC North Race looking like this on Monday morning:
AFC NORTH STANDINGS
1. Cleveland Browns: 6 wins, 3 losses, .667 pct
2. Cincinnati Bengals: 5 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie, .611 pct, 0.5 games behind
3. Pittsburgh Steelers: 6 wins, 4 losses, .600 pct, 0.5 games behind
4. Baltimore Ravens: 6 wins, 4 losses, .600 pct, 0.5 games behind
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Again Newly Updated: Showdown at the OK Corral: Obama Shows No Mood to Admit to Voter Outrage Over His Leftist Agenda During Meeting With GOP at Whitehouse
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 5, 2014 - Now we learn the impact.
We learn the whole impact, if any, of the historic drubbing sustained by the ultra far left Obama Administration in the 2014 mid-term elections. The GOP gained firm control of the Senate by picking up eight seats held by Democrats until the election, gained a vice-grip lock in the House of Representatives, and turned so many Governorships toward the Republicans that interested parties will need a scorecard to track all of the changes.
It is a given that Obama will publicly misinterpret the strong and clear message of the voters, the message that said 'we have had it with Obama's policies.' Obama and his folk will not publicly admit that the voters rejected - with pure unadulterated gusto - the Obama Administration's ultra far left politics. Instead, Obama and his supporters will mouth the nonsense about the voters letting Washington know that they want to end gridlock. Had that been the message, the election would've ousted incumbents of both parties, not just candidates from one.
It is true that the voters want to end Washington's nonsense. But the nonsense that has angered voters is the far left policy initiatives of Obama and company, In particular, the voters let it be known with absolute clarity that they want the following to occur immediately:
(1) An immediate end to Obamamess; i.e. Obamacare. All of it. If Obama vetoes legislation ending Obamacare and the Congress cannot over-ride such a veto, then piecemeal repeal becomes an acceptable alternative;
(2) While voters might tolerate some kind of immigration reform, they want it to start with an absolute and certain closing of the southern border. Obama's idea of starting reform with blanket amnesty for millions of illegal aliens already in the USA is the last thing voters want;
(3) An immediate end to all tax hikes, new taxes, new fees, and anything else that takes a bigger gouge out of voters' paychecks;
(4) Programs that will stimulate job growth, and not just the lousy part-time jobs that are the hallmark of Obama's economy. A tax cut has always stimulated the economy and sparked new employment by American business. Obama's idiotic plan to drastically cut emissions while allowing the world's biggest polluter, China, to continue raising its emissions unabated for at least 15 more years, will cause more unemployment if it is enacted in any form;
(5) An end to negotiations with Iran over the building of nuclear weapons. Anybody who has paid half an ounce of attention to the Iranians and the way they go about terrorizing the rest of the world, knows that they are moving as rapidly as possible to build a nuclear weapon. They also know that the minute Iran has a nuclear weapon it is going to launch it against Israel. The Mullahs have publicly promised to do this. Any agreement that curtails our ability to closely monitor all of Iran's nuclear activities up close and personally is a very bad idea. Prudence demands an attack now on Iran's nuclear facilities. Yet we understand that the Obama Administration is doing everything it can to prevent Israel from attacking Iran now. That is a mistake for all of the ages. Here Israel wants to do the dirty work we should be doing, and Obama is keeping them from doing it. And we read that Obama believes he can get a deal with Iran which will entail the Iranians promising not to build a nuclear weapon in return for a very large sum of money paid by us to Iran. And have no doubt, Iran will take our money and continue to build their bomb. And, as said, when it is done, they will launch it at Israel. Obama needs to stop negotiating with people who are hell bent on acquiring the bomb at all cost, and destroying Israel as soon as possible. If Obama thinks he can talk Iran out of its intentions, he is believing in pure fantasy. If he is wasting time trying to do that, he is a very dangerous person.
At a news conference last Wednesday afternoon Obama said that he would sign an executive order giving some kind of amnesty to up to four million illegal aliens unless Congress passes legislation in the next six weeks that accomplishes a similar goal. He said that he heard the voters, but he also said, curiously, that he also heard the two-thirds of the electorate that chose not to vote. What is it that he thinks people too disinterested to vote are saying to him in unison? So the folk who didn't care eough to go to the polls carry a message that Obama thinks carries way more weight than the millions who did vote, almost in unison, thereby sending a certain and clear message to Washington to get away from the ultra far left policies and, well, 'get American.' It is ideas precisely like Obama's planned amnesty for millions of lawbreakers that laid the groundwork for the compelling voter statement on Tuesday. And Obama, while claiming he heard, also apparently doesn't give a hoot about it. And, by the way, the Democrats will react to Tuesday night by nominating a fellow ultra leftist two years hence in the person of Mrs. Clinton. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker last week called Mrs. Clinton's ultra far left ideas "old and tired." You think?
Here is what this observer predicts for these intervening two years:
(1) Obama will, indeed, sign a self-styled 'executive order' purporting to provide amnesty for most illegal aliens.
(2) A Citizen's Group will file a suit to block the action and obtain an injunction from a Federal District Judge. The Justice Department will appeal and a Federal Circuit Court will overturn the District Court decision. But the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, and, in time, rule that Obama - as appears obvious from the Constitution - wholly overstepped his bounds when he granted amnesty in a field where Congress has legislated since the beginning of the Republic.
(3) Congress will, in fact, pass legislation overturning Obamacare. The bill will have bipartisan support. Obama, of course, will veto. Congress will then stun the Washington Elite set by over-riding the veto.
(4) Obama will finally approve the Keystone Pipeline, but he will attach so many so-called environmental stipulations to this approval that the project will again face lengthy delays, and may, in fact, never be built. At best, construction will not start until the next President takes office.
(5) With the GOP now in charge of both Houses of Congress, a Senate Committee begins a very public investigation of the IRS Scandal. At least two Senators will face indictment after revelations uncovered by the Senate Probe show they were urging former IRS Boss Lois Lerner to use the power of the agency to harass opponents: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Al Franken of Minnesota. While Obama himself will not be indicted, it will be clear as the investigation continues that Obama was aware of the corruption very early on and elected to 'stay above the fray' rather than clean house at the IRS. And the cleaning house part is critical, because somebody in Obama's inner circle was, in fact, one of the movers and shakers in the corruption scheme which turned the IRS and other federal agencies loose on perceived enemies of the Obama Administration.
(6) It is the Benghazzi Committee and its final report which most sullies both Obama and Mrs. Clinton. The Committee's final report will crystalize for the nation the sordid scene at Andrews Air Force Base when the bodies of the four massacred Americans are returned home, and are met on the tarmac by the grieving families and a few national officials, including Obama and Mrs. Clinton. Both will be shown to have known that the so-called video played no role whatsoever in the massacre. Both Obama and Clinton will be shown to have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only reason the four men died was their abject failure to increase security at Benghazi - despite frantic requests that they do so by Ambassador Stevenson - for fear it would undermine Obama's re-election in 2012, when he was campaigning on a platform that included, prominently, his boast that he had gutted Al Qaeda by killing Osama Bin Laden. And so on that day at Andrews, Obama and Mrs. Clinton knew they were telling bald-faced lies when they 'comforted' survivors with promises of bringing the video-maker to justice, because he was the person who caused the deaths of their loved ones. Despite the damage to the Clinton Presidential bid, she trudges on, but loses to the GOP nominee in the 2016 Presidential Election.
(7) This is the prediction that scares me the most. Iran will have a nuclear bomb within 12 to 18 months from today. They will immediately provoke a conflict with Israel with an eye toward using the bomb on Israel because of some manufactured provocation. Israel, of course, will immediately launch a full-scale military strike. How this plays out will determine what kind of world order exists 24 months from today. Obama will still be President when Iran gets the bomb ready to go and Israel is compelled to attack. This nation's citizens will be seething that Obama allowed this to happen because he thought he could 'talk' to Iran. He talked to them, alright. Right up to the eve of Armageddon.
It seems to me and to others that Obama is just itching to exercise the executive order pen with regard to immigration. He either doesn't get the country's message or is oblivious to it. On national television Wednesday night the scholarly Charles Krauthamer said Obama is "oblivious" and reckless, a truly dangerous combination. Obama literally promised to use it with regard to immigration and amnesty. He has strongly hinted he would act himself with regard to Iran. That should make everyone feel better. The thought that of Obama barricaded in the Whitehouse firing off executive orders on immigration, the environment and Iran's nuclear program are frightening but, I believe, highly possible because I just do not think he can get along with a GOP-controlled Congress that he has to share power with. He was infatuated with Chavez and Castro, and the nation might get to see that infatuation play out over the next two years.
We learn the whole impact, if any, of the historic drubbing sustained by the ultra far left Obama Administration in the 2014 mid-term elections. The GOP gained firm control of the Senate by picking up eight seats held by Democrats until the election, gained a vice-grip lock in the House of Representatives, and turned so many Governorships toward the Republicans that interested parties will need a scorecard to track all of the changes.
It is a given that Obama will publicly misinterpret the strong and clear message of the voters, the message that said 'we have had it with Obama's policies.' Obama and his folk will not publicly admit that the voters rejected - with pure unadulterated gusto - the Obama Administration's ultra far left politics. Instead, Obama and his supporters will mouth the nonsense about the voters letting Washington know that they want to end gridlock. Had that been the message, the election would've ousted incumbents of both parties, not just candidates from one.
It is true that the voters want to end Washington's nonsense. But the nonsense that has angered voters is the far left policy initiatives of Obama and company, In particular, the voters let it be known with absolute clarity that they want the following to occur immediately:
(1) An immediate end to Obamamess; i.e. Obamacare. All of it. If Obama vetoes legislation ending Obamacare and the Congress cannot over-ride such a veto, then piecemeal repeal becomes an acceptable alternative;
(2) While voters might tolerate some kind of immigration reform, they want it to start with an absolute and certain closing of the southern border. Obama's idea of starting reform with blanket amnesty for millions of illegal aliens already in the USA is the last thing voters want;
(3) An immediate end to all tax hikes, new taxes, new fees, and anything else that takes a bigger gouge out of voters' paychecks;
(4) Programs that will stimulate job growth, and not just the lousy part-time jobs that are the hallmark of Obama's economy. A tax cut has always stimulated the economy and sparked new employment by American business. Obama's idiotic plan to drastically cut emissions while allowing the world's biggest polluter, China, to continue raising its emissions unabated for at least 15 more years, will cause more unemployment if it is enacted in any form;
(5) An end to negotiations with Iran over the building of nuclear weapons. Anybody who has paid half an ounce of attention to the Iranians and the way they go about terrorizing the rest of the world, knows that they are moving as rapidly as possible to build a nuclear weapon. They also know that the minute Iran has a nuclear weapon it is going to launch it against Israel. The Mullahs have publicly promised to do this. Any agreement that curtails our ability to closely monitor all of Iran's nuclear activities up close and personally is a very bad idea. Prudence demands an attack now on Iran's nuclear facilities. Yet we understand that the Obama Administration is doing everything it can to prevent Israel from attacking Iran now. That is a mistake for all of the ages. Here Israel wants to do the dirty work we should be doing, and Obama is keeping them from doing it. And we read that Obama believes he can get a deal with Iran which will entail the Iranians promising not to build a nuclear weapon in return for a very large sum of money paid by us to Iran. And have no doubt, Iran will take our money and continue to build their bomb. And, as said, when it is done, they will launch it at Israel. Obama needs to stop negotiating with people who are hell bent on acquiring the bomb at all cost, and destroying Israel as soon as possible. If Obama thinks he can talk Iran out of its intentions, he is believing in pure fantasy. If he is wasting time trying to do that, he is a very dangerous person.
At a news conference last Wednesday afternoon Obama said that he would sign an executive order giving some kind of amnesty to up to four million illegal aliens unless Congress passes legislation in the next six weeks that accomplishes a similar goal. He said that he heard the voters, but he also said, curiously, that he also heard the two-thirds of the electorate that chose not to vote. What is it that he thinks people too disinterested to vote are saying to him in unison? So the folk who didn't care eough to go to the polls carry a message that Obama thinks carries way more weight than the millions who did vote, almost in unison, thereby sending a certain and clear message to Washington to get away from the ultra far left policies and, well, 'get American.' It is ideas precisely like Obama's planned amnesty for millions of lawbreakers that laid the groundwork for the compelling voter statement on Tuesday. And Obama, while claiming he heard, also apparently doesn't give a hoot about it. And, by the way, the Democrats will react to Tuesday night by nominating a fellow ultra leftist two years hence in the person of Mrs. Clinton. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker last week called Mrs. Clinton's ultra far left ideas "old and tired." You think?
Here is what this observer predicts for these intervening two years:
(1) Obama will, indeed, sign a self-styled 'executive order' purporting to provide amnesty for most illegal aliens.
(2) A Citizen's Group will file a suit to block the action and obtain an injunction from a Federal District Judge. The Justice Department will appeal and a Federal Circuit Court will overturn the District Court decision. But the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, and, in time, rule that Obama - as appears obvious from the Constitution - wholly overstepped his bounds when he granted amnesty in a field where Congress has legislated since the beginning of the Republic.
(3) Congress will, in fact, pass legislation overturning Obamacare. The bill will have bipartisan support. Obama, of course, will veto. Congress will then stun the Washington Elite set by over-riding the veto.
(4) Obama will finally approve the Keystone Pipeline, but he will attach so many so-called environmental stipulations to this approval that the project will again face lengthy delays, and may, in fact, never be built. At best, construction will not start until the next President takes office.
(5) With the GOP now in charge of both Houses of Congress, a Senate Committee begins a very public investigation of the IRS Scandal. At least two Senators will face indictment after revelations uncovered by the Senate Probe show they were urging former IRS Boss Lois Lerner to use the power of the agency to harass opponents: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Al Franken of Minnesota. While Obama himself will not be indicted, it will be clear as the investigation continues that Obama was aware of the corruption very early on and elected to 'stay above the fray' rather than clean house at the IRS. And the cleaning house part is critical, because somebody in Obama's inner circle was, in fact, one of the movers and shakers in the corruption scheme which turned the IRS and other federal agencies loose on perceived enemies of the Obama Administration.
(6) It is the Benghazzi Committee and its final report which most sullies both Obama and Mrs. Clinton. The Committee's final report will crystalize for the nation the sordid scene at Andrews Air Force Base when the bodies of the four massacred Americans are returned home, and are met on the tarmac by the grieving families and a few national officials, including Obama and Mrs. Clinton. Both will be shown to have known that the so-called video played no role whatsoever in the massacre. Both Obama and Clinton will be shown to have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only reason the four men died was their abject failure to increase security at Benghazi - despite frantic requests that they do so by Ambassador Stevenson - for fear it would undermine Obama's re-election in 2012, when he was campaigning on a platform that included, prominently, his boast that he had gutted Al Qaeda by killing Osama Bin Laden. And so on that day at Andrews, Obama and Mrs. Clinton knew they were telling bald-faced lies when they 'comforted' survivors with promises of bringing the video-maker to justice, because he was the person who caused the deaths of their loved ones. Despite the damage to the Clinton Presidential bid, she trudges on, but loses to the GOP nominee in the 2016 Presidential Election.
(7) This is the prediction that scares me the most. Iran will have a nuclear bomb within 12 to 18 months from today. They will immediately provoke a conflict with Israel with an eye toward using the bomb on Israel because of some manufactured provocation. Israel, of course, will immediately launch a full-scale military strike. How this plays out will determine what kind of world order exists 24 months from today. Obama will still be President when Iran gets the bomb ready to go and Israel is compelled to attack. This nation's citizens will be seething that Obama allowed this to happen because he thought he could 'talk' to Iran. He talked to them, alright. Right up to the eve of Armageddon.
It seems to me and to others that Obama is just itching to exercise the executive order pen with regard to immigration. He either doesn't get the country's message or is oblivious to it. On national television Wednesday night the scholarly Charles Krauthamer said Obama is "oblivious" and reckless, a truly dangerous combination. Obama literally promised to use it with regard to immigration and amnesty. He has strongly hinted he would act himself with regard to Iran. That should make everyone feel better. The thought that of Obama barricaded in the Whitehouse firing off executive orders on immigration, the environment and Iran's nuclear program are frightening but, I believe, highly possible because I just do not think he can get along with a GOP-controlled Congress that he has to share power with. He was infatuated with Chavez and Castro, and the nation might get to see that infatuation play out over the next two years.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Terps Defeat Rutgers, Win Big Ten Regular Season Soccer Title, Top Seed and Home Field Advantage in Imminent Big Ten Tournament
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 5, 2014 - If there is another Division I Soccer Team that is able to accomplish what the University of Maryland Men's Soccer Team has just accomplished, I am not aware of them. It seems likely that they do not exist. The Terps and their genius of a coach, Sascho Cirovski, stumbled out of the gate in August and before they could right their ship in early October, their record stood at 3 wins, 5 losses, and 2 ties. In the Big Ten, they were 1 win, 2 losses and 2 ties. Ranked No. 2 at the start of the season and coming off of a season that saw them, for all intents and purposes, win the national championship (We will not, again, rehash the NCAA Championship Game, in which a game official missed a significant part of the game and literally stole the game from Maryland) the Terps looked entirely human for the first six weeks of the season, unable, as it was, to adjust adequately to the graduation of Patrick Mullins, the two-time National Player of the Year. And then they did, thanks to Cirovski's leadership. And now they have won 8 straight games, more consecutive wins than any other team in the nation at the current time. Tonight, they received scores from Junior Mael Corboz, Freshman George Campbell and David Kabelik and beat Rutgers, 3-2, on the Scarlet Knights' home field in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Maryland wins the Big Ten regular season title on the last day of the season. They entered the day two points behind Penn State. The Nittany Lions had 15 points and were playing a non-conference opponent, Akron, in University Park after concluding their Big Ten Regular Season Schedule Sunday by losing at Northwestern. The Wildcats, winners of the last two Big Ten Regular Season Titles, have also surged at season's end and had a chance, themselves, to grab the conference title if Maryland either lost or tied Rutgers and if they beat Wisconsin tonight in Evanston. With just over 12 minutes left, the Wildcats led the Badgers, 2-0, Assuming that score holds, Maryland win win the Big Ten with 16 points and Northwestern and Penn State will finish tied for second with 15 points each. The Wildcats should get the number two seed by virtue of their victory over the Nittany Lions in double overtime last Sunday. The Wildcats' Mike Rogers scored the winning goal in that game with less than one minute left in the second and final overtime.
Maryland will open play in the Big Ten Tournament Sunday at College Park against the winner of a Saturday game between Rutgers and Wisconsin. That game will also be played in College Park according to the Big Ten Schedule.
Maryland wins the Big Ten regular season title on the last day of the season. They entered the day two points behind Penn State. The Nittany Lions had 15 points and were playing a non-conference opponent, Akron, in University Park after concluding their Big Ten Regular Season Schedule Sunday by losing at Northwestern. The Wildcats, winners of the last two Big Ten Regular Season Titles, have also surged at season's end and had a chance, themselves, to grab the conference title if Maryland either lost or tied Rutgers and if they beat Wisconsin tonight in Evanston. With just over 12 minutes left, the Wildcats led the Badgers, 2-0, Assuming that score holds, Maryland win win the Big Ten with 16 points and Northwestern and Penn State will finish tied for second with 15 points each. The Wildcats should get the number two seed by virtue of their victory over the Nittany Lions in double overtime last Sunday. The Wildcats' Mike Rogers scored the winning goal in that game with less than one minute left in the second and final overtime.
Maryland will open play in the Big Ten Tournament Sunday at College Park against the winner of a Saturday game between Rutgers and Wisconsin. That game will also be played in College Park according to the Big Ten Schedule.
In Game Update: Maryland Leads Rutgers, 2-1, at halftime of match in New Brunswick, New Jersey
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 5, 2014 - Goals by Mael Corboz and George Campbell have Maryland ahead of homestanding Rutgers, 2-1, at Yurcak Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Corboz, a junior, scored in the fourth minute. After Rutgers tied it in the 22nd minute, Campbell struck for the Terps at the very end of the half to send Maryland into the break with the lead.
A Maryland victory gives the Terps the Big Ten Regular Season Title, the number one seed in the imminent conference tournament, and home field advantage so long as they survive in that tournament. The Terps will open play in the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday at Ludwig Field in College Park regardless of whether they win the conferene regular season crown.
A Maryland victory gives the Terps the Big Ten Regular Season Title, the number one seed in the imminent conference tournament, and home field advantage so long as they survive in that tournament. The Terps will open play in the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday at Ludwig Field in College Park regardless of whether they win the conferene regular season crown.
Updated: Obama v. GOP Congress; How the Nation Will Fare in the Wake of Historic 2014 Elections
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 5, 2014 - Now we learn what impact, if any, the historic drubbing sustained by the ultra far left Obama Administration will have on Obsms's policy initiatives over his final two years in office. It is a given that Obama will publicly misinterpret the strong and clear message of the voters, the message that said 'we have had it with Obama's policies.' Obama and his folk will not publicly admit that the voters rejected - with pure unadulterated gusto - the Obama Administration's ultra far left politics. Instead, Obama and his supporters will mouth the nonsense about the voters letting Washington know that they want to end gridlock. Had that been the message, the election would've ousted incumbents of both parties, not just candidates from one.
It is true that the voters want to end Washington's nonsense. But the nonsense that has angered voters is the far left policy initiatives of Obama and company, In particular, the voters let it be known with absolute clarity that they want the following to occur immediately:
(1) An immediate end to Obamamess; i.e. Obamacare. All of it. If Obama vetoes such legislation ending Obamacare and the Congress cannot over-ride such a veto, then piecemeal repeal becomes an acceptable alternative;
(2) While voters will tolerate some kind of immigration reform, they want it to start with an absolute and certain closing of the southern border. Obama's idea of starting reform with blanket amnesty for millions of illegal aliens is the last thing voters want;
(3) an immediate end to all tax hikes, new taxes, new fees, and anything else that takes a bigger gouge out of voters' paychecks;
(4) Programs that will stimulate job growth, and not just the lousy part-time jobs that are the hallmark of Obama's economy;
(5) An end to negotiations with Iran over the building of nuclear weapons. Anybody who has paid half an ounce of attention to the Iranians and the way they go about terrorizing the rest of the world, knows that they are moving as rapidly as possible to build a nuclear weapon. They also know that the minute Iran has a nuclear weapon it is going to launch it at Israel. The Mullahs have publicly promised this. Any agreement that curtails our ability to closely monitor all of Iran's nuclear activities is a very bad idea. Prudence demands an attack now on Iran's nuclear facilities. Yet we understand that the Obama Administration is doing everything it can to prevent Israel from attacking Iran. And we read that Obama believes he can get a deal with Iran which will entail the Iranians promising not to build a nuclear weapon in return for a very large sum of money paid by us to Iran. And have no doubt, Iran will take our money and continue to build their bomb. And, as said, when it is done, they will launch it at Israel. Obama needs to stop negotiating with people who are hell bent on acquiring the bomb at all cost, and destroying Israel as soon as possible. If Obama thinks he can talk Iran out of its intentions, he is believing in pure fantasy.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon Obama said that he would sign an executive order giving some kind of amnesty to up to four million illegal aliens unless Congress passes legislation in the next six weeks that accomplishes a similar goal. He said that he heard the voters, but he also said, curiously, that he also heard the two-thirds of the electorate that chose not to vote. So the folk who didn't care eough to go to the polls carry a message that Obama thinks carries more weight than the millions who did vote, almost in unison, thereby sending a certain and clear message to Washington to get away from the ultra far left policies and, well, 'get American.' It is ideas precisely like Obama's planned amnesty for millions of lawbreakers that laid the groundwork for the compelling voter statement on Tuesday. And Obama, while claiming he heard, also apparently doesn't give a hoot about it. And, by the way, the Democrats will react to Tuesday night by nominating a fellow ultra leftist two years hence in the person of Mrs. Clinton.
Here is what this observer predicts for these intervening two years:
(1) Obama will, indeed, sign a self-styled 'executive order' purporting to provide amnesty for most illegal aliens.
(2) A Citizen's Group will file a suit to block the action and obtain an injunction from a Federal District Judge. The Justice Department will appeal and a Federal Circuit Court will overturn the District Court decision. But the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, and, in time, rule that Obama - as appears obvious from the Constitution - wholly overstepped his bounds when he granted amnesty in a field where Congress has legislated since the beginning of the Republic.
(3) Congress will, in fact, pass legislation overturning Obamacare. The bill will have bipartisan support. Obama, of course, will veto. Congress will then stun the Washington Elite set by over-riding the veto.
(4) Obama will finally approve the Keystone Pipeline, but he will attach so many so-called environmental stipulations to this approval that the project will again face lengthy delays, and may, in fact, never be built. At best, construction will not start until the next President takes office.
(5) With the GOP now in charge of both Houses of Congress, a Senate Committee begins a very public investigation of the IRS Scandal. At least two Senators will face indictment after revelations uncovered by the Senate Probe show they were urging former IRS Boss Lois Lerner to use the power of the agency to harass opponents: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Al Franken of Minnesota. While Obama himself will not be indicted, it will be clear as the investigation continues that Obama was aware of the corruption very early on and elected to 'stay above the fray' rather than clean house at the IRS. And the cleaning house part is critical, because somebody in Obama's inner circle was, in fact, one of the movers and shakers in the corruption scheme which turned the IRS and other federal agencies loose on perceived enemies of the Obama Administration.
(6) It is the Benghazzi Committee and its final report which most sullies both Obama and Mrs. Clinton. The Committee's final report will crystalize for the nation the sordid scene at Andrews Air Force Base when the bodies of the four massacred Americans are returned home, and are met on the tarmac by the grieving families and a few national officials, including Obama and Mrs. Clinton. Both will be shown to have known that the so-called video played no role whatsoever in the massacre. Both Obama and Clinton will be shown to have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only reason the four men died was their abject failure to increase security at Benghazi - despite frantic requests that they do so by Ambassador Stevenson - for fear it would undermine Obama's re-election in 2012, when he was campaigning on a platform that included, prominently, his boast that he had gutted Al Qaeda by killing Osama Bin Laden. And so on that day at Andrews, Obama and Mrs. Clinton knew they were telling bald-faced lies when they 'comforted' survivors with promises of bringing the video-maker to justice, because he was the person who caused the deaths of their loved ones. Despite the damage to the Clinton Presidential bid, she trudges on, but loses to the GOP nominee in the 2016 Presidential Election.
(7) This is the prediction that scares me the most. Iran will have a nuclear bomb within 12 to 18 months from today. They will immediately provoke a conflict with Israel with an eye toward using the bomb on Israel because of some manufactured provocation. Israel, of course, will immediately launch a full-scale military strike. How this plays out will determine what kind of world order exists 24 months from today. Obama will still be President when Iran gets the bomb ready to go and Israel is compelled to attack. This nation's citizens will be seething that Obama allowed this to happen because he thought he could 'talk' to Iran. He talked to them, alright. Right up to the eve of Armageddon.
It seems to me and to others that Obama is just itching to exercise the executive order pen with regard to immigration. He either doesn't get the country's message or is oblivious to it. On national television Wednesday night the scholarly Charles Krauthamer said Obama is "oblivious" and reckless, a truly dangerous combination. Obama literally promised to use it with regard to immigration and amnesty. He has strongly hinted he would act himself with regard to Iran. That should make everyone feel better. The thought that of Obama barricaded in the Whitehouse firing off executive orders on immigration, the environment and Iran's nuclear program are frightening but, I believe, highly possible because I just do not think he can get along with a GOP-controlled Congress that he has to share power with. He was infatuated with Chavez and Castro, and the nation might get to see that infatuation play out over the next two years.
It is true that the voters want to end Washington's nonsense. But the nonsense that has angered voters is the far left policy initiatives of Obama and company, In particular, the voters let it be known with absolute clarity that they want the following to occur immediately:
(1) An immediate end to Obamamess; i.e. Obamacare. All of it. If Obama vetoes such legislation ending Obamacare and the Congress cannot over-ride such a veto, then piecemeal repeal becomes an acceptable alternative;
(2) While voters will tolerate some kind of immigration reform, they want it to start with an absolute and certain closing of the southern border. Obama's idea of starting reform with blanket amnesty for millions of illegal aliens is the last thing voters want;
(3) an immediate end to all tax hikes, new taxes, new fees, and anything else that takes a bigger gouge out of voters' paychecks;
(4) Programs that will stimulate job growth, and not just the lousy part-time jobs that are the hallmark of Obama's economy;
(5) An end to negotiations with Iran over the building of nuclear weapons. Anybody who has paid half an ounce of attention to the Iranians and the way they go about terrorizing the rest of the world, knows that they are moving as rapidly as possible to build a nuclear weapon. They also know that the minute Iran has a nuclear weapon it is going to launch it at Israel. The Mullahs have publicly promised this. Any agreement that curtails our ability to closely monitor all of Iran's nuclear activities is a very bad idea. Prudence demands an attack now on Iran's nuclear facilities. Yet we understand that the Obama Administration is doing everything it can to prevent Israel from attacking Iran. And we read that Obama believes he can get a deal with Iran which will entail the Iranians promising not to build a nuclear weapon in return for a very large sum of money paid by us to Iran. And have no doubt, Iran will take our money and continue to build their bomb. And, as said, when it is done, they will launch it at Israel. Obama needs to stop negotiating with people who are hell bent on acquiring the bomb at all cost, and destroying Israel as soon as possible. If Obama thinks he can talk Iran out of its intentions, he is believing in pure fantasy.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon Obama said that he would sign an executive order giving some kind of amnesty to up to four million illegal aliens unless Congress passes legislation in the next six weeks that accomplishes a similar goal. He said that he heard the voters, but he also said, curiously, that he also heard the two-thirds of the electorate that chose not to vote. So the folk who didn't care eough to go to the polls carry a message that Obama thinks carries more weight than the millions who did vote, almost in unison, thereby sending a certain and clear message to Washington to get away from the ultra far left policies and, well, 'get American.' It is ideas precisely like Obama's planned amnesty for millions of lawbreakers that laid the groundwork for the compelling voter statement on Tuesday. And Obama, while claiming he heard, also apparently doesn't give a hoot about it. And, by the way, the Democrats will react to Tuesday night by nominating a fellow ultra leftist two years hence in the person of Mrs. Clinton.
Here is what this observer predicts for these intervening two years:
(1) Obama will, indeed, sign a self-styled 'executive order' purporting to provide amnesty for most illegal aliens.
(2) A Citizen's Group will file a suit to block the action and obtain an injunction from a Federal District Judge. The Justice Department will appeal and a Federal Circuit Court will overturn the District Court decision. But the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, and, in time, rule that Obama - as appears obvious from the Constitution - wholly overstepped his bounds when he granted amnesty in a field where Congress has legislated since the beginning of the Republic.
(3) Congress will, in fact, pass legislation overturning Obamacare. The bill will have bipartisan support. Obama, of course, will veto. Congress will then stun the Washington Elite set by over-riding the veto.
(4) Obama will finally approve the Keystone Pipeline, but he will attach so many so-called environmental stipulations to this approval that the project will again face lengthy delays, and may, in fact, never be built. At best, construction will not start until the next President takes office.
(5) With the GOP now in charge of both Houses of Congress, a Senate Committee begins a very public investigation of the IRS Scandal. At least two Senators will face indictment after revelations uncovered by the Senate Probe show they were urging former IRS Boss Lois Lerner to use the power of the agency to harass opponents: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Al Franken of Minnesota. While Obama himself will not be indicted, it will be clear as the investigation continues that Obama was aware of the corruption very early on and elected to 'stay above the fray' rather than clean house at the IRS. And the cleaning house part is critical, because somebody in Obama's inner circle was, in fact, one of the movers and shakers in the corruption scheme which turned the IRS and other federal agencies loose on perceived enemies of the Obama Administration.
(6) It is the Benghazzi Committee and its final report which most sullies both Obama and Mrs. Clinton. The Committee's final report will crystalize for the nation the sordid scene at Andrews Air Force Base when the bodies of the four massacred Americans are returned home, and are met on the tarmac by the grieving families and a few national officials, including Obama and Mrs. Clinton. Both will be shown to have known that the so-called video played no role whatsoever in the massacre. Both Obama and Clinton will be shown to have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only reason the four men died was their abject failure to increase security at Benghazi - despite frantic requests that they do so by Ambassador Stevenson - for fear it would undermine Obama's re-election in 2012, when he was campaigning on a platform that included, prominently, his boast that he had gutted Al Qaeda by killing Osama Bin Laden. And so on that day at Andrews, Obama and Mrs. Clinton knew they were telling bald-faced lies when they 'comforted' survivors with promises of bringing the video-maker to justice, because he was the person who caused the deaths of their loved ones. Despite the damage to the Clinton Presidential bid, she trudges on, but loses to the GOP nominee in the 2016 Presidential Election.
(7) This is the prediction that scares me the most. Iran will have a nuclear bomb within 12 to 18 months from today. They will immediately provoke a conflict with Israel with an eye toward using the bomb on Israel because of some manufactured provocation. Israel, of course, will immediately launch a full-scale military strike. How this plays out will determine what kind of world order exists 24 months from today. Obama will still be President when Iran gets the bomb ready to go and Israel is compelled to attack. This nation's citizens will be seething that Obama allowed this to happen because he thought he could 'talk' to Iran. He talked to them, alright. Right up to the eve of Armageddon.
It seems to me and to others that Obama is just itching to exercise the executive order pen with regard to immigration. He either doesn't get the country's message or is oblivious to it. On national television Wednesday night the scholarly Charles Krauthamer said Obama is "oblivious" and reckless, a truly dangerous combination. Obama literally promised to use it with regard to immigration and amnesty. He has strongly hinted he would act himself with regard to Iran. That should make everyone feel better. The thought that of Obama barricaded in the Whitehouse firing off executive orders on immigration, the environment and Iran's nuclear program are frightening but, I believe, highly possible because I just do not think he can get along with a GOP-controlled Congress that he has to share power with. He was infatuated with Chavez and Castro, and the nation might get to see that infatuation play out over the next two years.
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