PETE ROSE SEEKS REDEMPTION

 

                           

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU

                                     It was just about 35 years ago that the baseball world got ripped with the news that Pete Rose, who was then a player-manager for the Cincinnati Reds, had been betting on major league baseball games in violation of an unbendable written rule. 

                         Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti called him onto the carpet.  He drilled the the cocky Rose about his betting with bookies on MLB games, even on games when the "Big Red Machine" (as the Reds were called by sportswriters) was playing. "Betting by me," said Rose, "never happened. All lies by competitors out to get me and bring the team down."  

                         But the evidence against the rough-talking baseball icon who had become an American hero, was overwhelming and irrefutable.  Regularly in the spotlight and often quoted by sportswriters, Rose had  become the game's hit king.   But Rose's celebrity and sensational diamond achievements were not changing the hard-nosed Giamatti's determination to make the lying Rose pay for his malicious disregard for the nobility and rules of the game. 

                         Betting and breaking the game rules did not merit legal prosecution since no criminal laws were broken. But  Commissioner  Giamatti brought the hammer down in a way which was reminiscent of the punishment spooned out to the notorious "Black Sox" players who took a fall  in the 1919 World Series.  

                          Giamatti ordered that Rose be banned from baseball for the rest of his life.  He had him "branded" like a piece of cattle as "permanently ineligible" for induction into the prestigious Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  Giamatti died in 1989 and his successors, Fay Vincent, Bud Selig and then Rob Manfred, refused formal and informal requests from Rose to back off  or reduce the the Giamatti sanction which provided that he would never be a member of the sacred Hall.  

                          Rose persisted in talks and in interviews in denying that he had ever bet on baseball games.  However, in 2004, he authored an autobiography, and "came clean" acknowledging that he had bet on games due to his gambling addiction--and always bet on the Reds to win. He said that he regretted his misconduct and his lying, and hoped that some day he could be forgiven for his wrongdoings, indiscretions, foibles and mistakes, and be given a second chance.  

                          In 2015 and then again in November of 2022, Rose beseeched Commissioner Manfred in letters to show mercy and to forgive him for his rule breaking as his conduct was wrong, but not such as deserving of the horrendous punishment given him. Rose importuned the new commissioner Manfred, elected in 2015,  to forgive his betting on games, and give him a second chance----and permit him to be a candidate for induction into the Hall of Fame. 

                          In 2015, Manfred issued a quick no to Rose's request for some mercy and understanding, noting that Rose lacks a "mature understanding of his wrongful conduct.... and has not yet accepted full responsibility for it."  

                            No doubt but that Rose was wrong in breaking baseball rules and for his mendacity which made matters worse. But then what about his accomplishments as a ballplayer?  Should not performance be the standard for admission to the Hall of Fame?  After all, some players enshrined, like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and a bunch of others,  are not worthy of canonization. It is the Hall of Fame and not the Hall of Saints. 

                            So how about Rose on the ballfield? He batted from both sides of the plate, ran like a deer, played five different positions and finished his career with more hits (4,256) and more games played (3,215)  than any other player in the history of the  Grand Old Game. Until Rose, Ty Cobb had been the all-time Hit King. 

                            He won three batting titles, an MVP award, and was Rookie of the Year in his first year in the majors.  Affectionately called "Charlie Hustle" by sports writers,  he was named to 17 all- star teams and is the recipient of a number of gold glove awards. He had a 303 lifetime batting average. 

                             He became an illustrious national figure with millions of fans of all ages.  In Cincinnati during Rose's 24 years,  he led the "Big Red Machine" to four national league pennants and victories in three world series. He has been enshrined in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and in the mind and hearts of baseball fans the world over who have forgiven him and believe that he should be a member of the Hall of Fame 

                             The Ohio state legislature  has passed a bill calling for his induction into the Cooperstown Hall. 

                              In his letter to Manfred in November of last year,  Rose poured his heart out importuning Manfred for mercy,  forgiveness and a chance at his being inducted into the Hall of Fame. In response to reporters, Manfred said that he  himself believed that the ban was for life---period. Nevertheless, he seemed to leave the door open a crack for a possible change.    

                               The question of "eligibility," said  Manfred, when questioned a few weeks ago by Cincinnati newsmen,  belongs in a "conversation" among members on the board of the Hall of Fame. Manfred, noting that he has a seat on that board, said "its just not appropriate for me to get in front of those talks." The positions of MLB leaders and of the board of the Hall of Fame are not necessarily the same, he said.  

                               So the door for Rose is again closed ---at least for now.  But there is always a possibility that the board of the Hall of Fame  may withdraw its sword.  Rose's extraordinary record on the baseball diamond cannot be denied. America has always been a kind and generous nation, and maybe its long arm of forgiveness will extend to the 82-year-old Pete Rose. 

                                               xxx

                                                  

NASHVILLE SHOOTING MANIFESTO

                           

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU

                         Like past school shootings,  the assault on the Covenant elementary school in Nashville, Tenn., was tragic, sad and ugly, and it is now a part of this nation's history.   Three small children and three adult faculty members were gunned down by a troubled 28-year-old woman in the process of changing her gender. 

                         The shooter, Audrey Hale, packing a rifle, a 9mm carbine pistol and a handgun, entered the school through a glass door which she blasted open with gunfire.  Inside, and as officers were speeding to the school, Hale fired 126 bullets from her rifle and another 26 rounds from the handguns. as she killed three nine-year-old children, two girls and a boy;  and the head teacher, a substitute teacher; and the school custodian.  Responding Nashville officers shot and killed Hale as she held to her guns.   

                          Police Chief John Drake spoke with reporters, but he did so with visible reluctance, and declined to offer details on the woman assassin who years ago had been a pupil at the Christian school and now was transgendering to become  man.  Drake said that Hale harbored "some resentment" toward the Christian school and that she had left records that she now wished to be referred to with the pronouns, "he" and "him."

                          A Nashville officer since 1988, and chief since 2020, Drake said that papers and journals kept by Hale have been recovered from her Honda Fit auto which she drove to the targeted school; and from her Nashville home which she shared with her parents.  Also confiscated by police, were a map highlighting the  Covenant school and a "Manifesto" which reportedly spelled out in detail, Hale's motivation for her attack on the  Christian school she attended for her third and fourth grades some 20 years ago. 

                            Drake said that Hale papers, info from interviews by detectives and the "Manifesto" are being carefully examined. He said he would have more details as the investigation moves forward and indicated that the Manifesto would be made available for the public to see.   

                           As the weeks have passed since the March 27 carnage at the private school, demands have continued for release of the important manifesto, but it appears that it is being kept under wraps as urged by the LGBTQ lobby,  liberal Democrats and the far left media.  

                            In the aftermath of past school shootings, news of the incident and stories of the shooter and his motives dominated national headlines and television for  weeks and sometimes months. But with the Nashville school murders of three nine-year-old children, and dedicated adults supervising them, stories are infrequent and rarely contain details about the shooter and her background and her commitment to become a man. News about the Nashville assassin has been intentionally trimmed out of exaggerated respect for the LBGTQ movement and the misbegotten belief that Hale must not be condemned for her moral breakdown.

                        In the minds of the LGBTQ community, Hale was transitioning in the face of violent anti-"trans" sentiment expressed by Christians and others who view changing genders as a biological impossibility, and an abomination of the laws of nature. 

                        A  prominent U.K. teacher and journalist, Debbi Hayton, 78.  who transitioned to female in 2012, has been critical of the "trans" movement when transgendered persons are treated as a "priestly class that can do no wrong." Some "trans" applauders, she has said, regard changing genders as "something to aspire to."

                              While decrying the tragic deaths of the six shooting victims at Covenant school, the liberal media and woke Democratic  politicians pay allegiance to the LGBTQ by withholding condemnation of Hale because of the stress she was dealing with in changing her gender.  Their focus is not the malicious murders by Hale. Rather, it is a call and a catalyst for new gun control legislation as the only real way to stop school shootings.  

                                Conservative TV anchors and Republican politicians are continuing to request that the full story of Hale's assault and murder of six persons be revealed in its entirety.  Transparency in government demands that the "manifesto" be made public. If the process of transitioning inspired Hale to shoot up a school, the public and "trans" aspirants should be so informed.  

                                Hale's parents have told newsmen that their daughter suffered from an "emotional disorder" and was being counseled by a doctor. The specifics of her mental problems have not been released, but it is assumed that her problems are interwoven with her commitment to become a man.  Some believe that she may have become stressed over contemplated "bottom surgery." .

                                Hale, unbeknownst to her parents, owned seven various type guns, all of which she purchased legally.  He father said that it was their belief that Audrey had owned one gun some time ago, but had sold it. All of Hale's weapons have been seized by police and are  being examined by ballistic experts.  

                                In the minutes before Hale entered the school and began firing, she had sent an Instagram to an old friend, Paige Patton, a Nashville radio host who uses the name "Averianna." 

                               Said Hale:  "I'm planning to die today. This is not a joke. You will probably hear about me on the news after I die.... This is my last goodbye...... "I love you-- see you again in another life."                            

                                Laura Ingraham, Fox News host of the popular  "Ingraham Angle." has delivered many demands that the "Manifesto" prepared by Hale be released for public perusal. Liberal Democrats, she said,  fear that the manifesto and other Hale writings contain plans for the shooting and will reveal Hale's fear and concern of transitioning and becoming a man, and that the public is entitled to hear of those concerns.  

                                                     

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reporters. 

                          

MTG STANDS HER GROUND

 

                           By Florida Bill

                                      The recent "Sixty Minutes" Sunday night show was   well-hyped with predictions that Lesley Stahl would be interviewing Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, the hard line supporter of Donald Trump.  There was anticipation that the veteran journalist would have Greene "crying uncle" under her bulldog cross examination.   

                      Respect and admiration for the fiery U.S. Representative is continuing to increase as she lambasts the Biden administration for corruption and gross incompetence; calls for President Biden's impeachment,  and has characterized democrats as the "Party of Pedophiles." Democrats are concerned that Greene has moved to the front line in GOP ranks, and her appearance on "60 Minutes" would be a step toward undercutting her.

                       The long-time CBS Television show may have been disappointing to woke-minded fans as Green stood with poise and and self--assurance, responding to questions from the silver-haired Stahl who has been with CBS around a half century.  My guess is that the needle moved in Greene's favor, and based upon some comments posted, Stahl didn't do her job as the axe lady for Democrats which she was pitched to be.                         

                           Last November, Greene, 48, a mother of three,  was reelected by a 66 percent majority to her second term from the 14th congressional district in deep south Georgia, where she is known with affection as "MTG."  Voters in that district like the way she talks and acts and stands proudly when confronted by the liberal media and looney Democrats in the House of Representatives.  

                          The new speaker in the lower house of Congress, Republican Kevin McCarthy, has assigned Rep. Greene to seats on the House Oversight committee and the powerful Homeland Security committee.  Prognosticators are saying that the Homeland committee will be zeroing in on its loose-thinking director Alejandro Mayorkas who, with President Biden's approval, has opened the southern border to millions of illegal immigrants and allowed the free flow of fentanyl and other drugs  into this country.

                           Greene and 13 other Republicans in the House have filed more than a dozen impeachment resolutions against President Biden. In one statement, Greene has said that Biden's pattern of abuse of power is lengthy and disturbing. "He will do whatever it takes to bail out his son, Hunter, and line his family's pockets with cash" from his corrupt activities, she wrote.

                           The 81-year-old Stahl who now earns some $8 million annually for her "Sixty Minutes" as an inquisitor,  opened the Greene segment wanting to know MTG's reaction about being called "crazy,  a clown, looney, unhinged, and a moron. Pretty ugly stuff," said Stahl.  

                             "Looks like the average troll in my Twitter feed, so I don't really care," replied Greene.  "I don't let name calling bother me or offend me. I just don't."  Some people just don't like to hear the truth, she said.                  

                         Stahl noted that in the past, her guest had labeled  Democrats as the "Party of Pedophiles." Greene readily acknowledged that she had said that and that she stands by the description.  "Wow" exclaimed the grandmotherly Stahl and she  shook her white hair as old Father William had done in "Alice in Wonderland."  "They are not pedophiles," she asserted. "Why would you say that?”

                          "They are pedophiles," asserted Greene.  "They support children being sexualized, having transgender surgeries...sexualizing is what pedophiles do to children. Joe Biden believes in grooming and sexualizing children, and in transgender surgery. Why would I say it is the party of the pedophiles?"  Because it is," she explained.   “I will always fight to protect kids"

                          It was nothing new from Greene whose opposition and denigration of the 'Trans" movement is well known. In her first year in Congress in 2019, and after Illinois Democratic Representative Marie Newman posted a transgender pride flag outside her office door, Greene, whose office is across from Newman's, hung up a mocking note about the flag, and later retweeted to the legislator, "There are two genders: male and female....Trust the science."

                            Stahl had another "gotcha" question, in her crib notes, and she wanted to know why her guest had called the Parkland school shooting staged and a false flag. That too was easy for Rep. Greene who quickly replied, "I never said that. School shootings are horrible."  

                               "We fact-checked before I got to this interview," said the smirking Stahl in an attempt to embarrass the congresswoman, and earn high marks from her bosses and other Democrats.   "Have you fact-checked all my statements from kindergarten through 12th grade," shot back Greene.   "And in college?  And as I've paid my taxes, and never broken a law.  I got a few speeding tickets. Do we need to talk about those too"

                              And then Stahl got to former President Trump whom she had interviewed for "60 Minutes" in 2020 when Trump accused her of dishonesty and of being a creator of "fake" news, and walked off the show.  People say that you attack government and are a "Trump in Heels," said Stahl.  Is it your intention to imitate the former President? 

                            Greene said that she didn't intentionally style herself after President Trump, but I can see how people draw those similarities. Government as it is (under Biden) doesn't really deserve much respect. Stahl observed that Trump has urged Greene to run for the U.S. Senate with his backing, but Greene said she hadn't thought about it.                              

                         Asked why she ran for congress, Greene said she ran after seeing how Republicans in the House, and Senate failed to deliver the agenda of Donald Trump.... She named Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham  and Mitt Romney as ringleaders for the failure. 

                         Stahl's treatment of Greene and its reaction was not what she contemplated or what her bosses wanted.  The station and Stahl were "insane" to put her on, said a former GOP congressman who has become a waterboy for democrats.   

                         Congresswoman Greene said she appreciated the opportunity to appear on the show and make her positions known.   

                                                     xxx