NFL:Hoopla and the "Knee"

  By Florida Bill 

                                            The NFL of 2017-18 is off and running, and there is good news and bad news for players and fans. There is also presidential annoyance at the conduct of players who turn their back on the flag and decline to stand when the national anthem is played.  

                                             President Trump and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are exchanging some observations and harsh words about respecting the U.S. flag; but aside from the commotion over the patriotism of players, football aficionados also will be seeing more "hotdogging" and emotional venting in the end zone than ever before, thanks to a recent relaxation in the rules against such boisterous displays. 
                                            There will be more celebrating over touchdowns, and those thunderous, bone-crushing hits.  So the referees will join in the fun and smile as a player does the "Lambeau Leap" into the stands or cradles or kisses the football as a show of affection. Okay, too, for the "funky chicken" or other "squirrel" dances so long as the merriment does not delay the game.                                    
                                           But hold on, says Goodell.  Even though it seems that way, the NFL is not a place where just anything goes. 
 A few days ago,  Odell Beckham of the Giants learned his lesson. He was fined $12,154 for mimicking the urination of a dog on a goal post, and his team mate, Evan Ingram was fined the previous week for a "crotch grab." 
                                           Commissioner Goodell emphasized also that Von Miller's humping, and "twerking" by wide receiver Antonio Brown, continue to be forbidden and violations will trigger stiff fines and penalties. Both players have been fined in past seasons for this form of jubilation.  

                                             The commissioner explained that the hump and the twerk are too "sexual" and have no place on a football field being watched by millions.   Basically, humps and twerks involve a lot of thrusting back and forth of lower body parts in those emotional moments after an important play.  Von Miller, a Denver Bronco linebacker, is credited with instituting the 'hump," and Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh's wide receiver, gets the award for bringing Miley Cyrus's infamous twerk move onto the football field.  

                                              While the touchdown celebrations are the fun part, a real controversy is swirling about as NFL players, mostly African Americans, have declined to stand in pre-game ceremonies during the playing of the national anthem. That behavior has riled the 45th President, who says he will never look the other way when someone disrespects the American flag and its veterans and its traditions.  

                                               On television and in a series of tweets, President Trump vociferously  castigated players who declined to honor their country.  Aiming his arrow at both the NFL players and team owners, and using language familiar to players, he didn't hold back:               

                                              "Wouldn't you love to see one of those NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired.'" In following days he doubled down on his rhetoric and added that respecting the flag and its traditions have "absolutely nothing to do with race." It is about paying homage to the USA which has been a beacon for freedom in the world.   

                                               Trump's bashing of the players and the owners brought out Commissioner Goodell with a luke warm defense of the players' conduct.  In fact, it was more of a criticism of the President for sticking his nose into the controversy.

                                               In a prepared statement, Goodell said  
 that the President's comments are "divisive and demonstrate a lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good which the players and clubs represent in our communities."
                                               Players lashed out at the president.  African Americans called him a racist and a white supremacist. Media Trump haters called for impeachment. Basketball great LeBron James said he was a "bum." In the Sunday games following Trump's comments, an estimated  200 NFL players demonstrated their preference for "taking the knee" as a way, according to them, of protesting the mistreatment of black citizens, often by the police, and of their dislike of the President.  The 200 represented far more than the handful of players who had demonstrated that same behavior the previous week. 
                                   The tactic of turning a blind eye to the flag as a form of of protest began in 2016  when the Forty Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick "took a knee," in what he said was a protest against the USA for its oppression of Black citizens.  The conduct generated a good deal of dialogue, but only a few players followed his lead and eventually Kaepernick was blacklisted and currently is not a player in the NFL.
                                    So for the time being,  "taking the knee" during patriotic pre-game ceremonies will continue, but it is pretty certain that Trump will never back off.  Based upon surveys, most Americans back the President and reject individuals and highly paid athletes who have forgotten the privilege of being an American.  They may have the right to thumb their nose at the flag, but it is not the right thing to do.                           
                                   On the lighter side, the games and the end zone celebrations will go on with approval of league officials. But care must be taken when the spiking and dancing and kissing of the football accelerates.  There could be unnecessary accidents. A few years ago, Redskin Quarterback Gus Frerotte became so exuberant after plunging one yard for a touchdown, that he rammed his head into a wall, and teammates had to carry him from the field.  He was out for the remainder of the game.                                    
                                     As to the "knee taking, " I hope that owners will talk to the coaches and players urging that they look at their big paychecks and remember that they live in the USA, an exceptional nation. Football fans have made the NFL a happy, powerful and financially well-off organization, but look out if fans like the flag more than all those multi-million dollar players. 
                                    In America, unlike some other countries, the Constitution allows for protests and free speech, but disparaging the flag and the national anthem on a football field is over the top. We may have to allow it, but we don't have to like it.
                                  
                                                 xxx

                 

Mueller Must Go

  By Florida Bill 

                                                 On the one hand we have President Trump under investigation, and on the other, we have a special investigator who clearly lacks the credentials to make that investigation. 
                            The case against President Trump is that he "colluded" with Russians who were helping him in his campaign and that he fired FBI Chief James Comey as a way of ending the Russian inquiry, and in so doing, obstructed justice.
                             Supported by the out-of-control left wing media and a Democratic party drum beat, Robert Mueller, a former FBI chief, was appointed "special counsel" to investigate, identify and and clear the deck of any wrongdoing. 
                              Aside from the fact that the "collusion" charges are nonsense, and were already investigated for 18 months by the FBI which found no evidence of wrongdoing,  Mueller is way too close to Comey, Trump's principal adversary accusing him of obstruction.
                              Mueller and Comey are like soldiers in a fox hole, watching each others' back. They worked together and hung together socially, and each has publicly praised the other for their competence and skill.  And when you have that relationship between the gumshoe specialist (Mueller) and his friend Comey, who is an adverse witness against the President, you have an unworkable conflict of interest and the investigator must recuse himself and resign immediately. 
                               Enhancing his own clear conflict-of- interest impropriety, Mueller has retained as his assistants 17 attorneys with whom he has worked in the past, and many of them also have worked with and under Comey in the Justice Department and in the FBI. Nine of these lawyers were supporters and financial donors to Hillary Clinton in her unsuccessful campaign to become president. 
                            The Mueller  "investigation" will never (as one announcer has said) pass the "smell test." Even  Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard University professor and long time Democrat, has observed that Mueller appears to have stacked the deck against President Trump.
                             Personal integrity should dictate to the 72-year-old Mueller that he should resign, and allow a new prosecutor to be appointed by a bipartisan committee of senators and representatives.  
                             President Trump, himself, has noted that Mueller is "conflicted" in his assignment. Some senators and representatives have demanded his resignation, and there is speculation that a lawsuit could be initiated challenging his fitness to serve because of his sweetheart relationship with his old friend. If Mueller declines to resign, he should be fired by the President whose authority to discharge Mueller appears clear, and is recommended by many legal observers. 
                             The problem is not just a question of alleged "collusion. It goes much deeper, and involves Comey's dishonesty in testimony before congress and in his admitted leaking of privileged documents to the news media. 
                             Also, there is Comey's alleged sham investigation of Hillary Clinton and her mishandling of classified emails. The tentacles of that matter reaches right up to President Obama and his Attorney General, Loretta Lynch.  
                             While the Clinton email investigation was ongoing, FBI Director Comey reportedly told associates that Mrs. Clinton would not be prosecuted. That was his position even before Mrs. Clinton was questioned and in the absence of a grand jury, which would have been the appropriate tool in a criminal investigation.   

                                   Comey has also revealed in sworn testimony before Congress that his boss at the time,  Attorney General Lynch, was supervising an effort to  protect Mrs. Clinton's candidacy from derailment.  He stated that he acquiesced to her order that the criminal investigation into Clinton's email mishandling be referred to in FBI public statements as an unimportant "matter."  The language, he explained, was consistent with the tone being used by the media in describing the Clinton criminal investigation. 
                                    At one point following the election of the new Republican president, Democratic Sen. Al Franken demanded that Comey resign, and he called for a  congressional investigation into his apparent misconduct.  
                                    But before Congress got going in any investigation, Inspector General Michael Horowitz of the Department of Justice announced in a news conference on January 12 that he would investigate the behavior of Comey for possible misconduct. He promised a written report upon its conclusion, adding that he would recommend prosecution of anyone, including Comey, who has broken the law.  
                                 It is expected that Horowitz will be sharing information with the special investigator.  He does not have his finger into a grand jury, but as Inspector General he has a staff of investigators, lawyers and accountants. And based upon acknowledged actions by Comey in fibbing to congress, leaking privileged documents, and acquiescing to the improper and illegal directions of Atty. Gen. Lynch, Horowitz should come down hard on the smug, six-foot-eight inch Comey. 
                             The office of Inspector General of the Department of Justice has been established by Congress.  It is independent and powerful and does not answer to, or report to the special counsel. 

                                            XXX 

                                    . 
                                    
                                            



                                         
    

No, Not Michelle

                               

     By Florida Bill    

                  It is puzzling for me to keep finding pictures of Michelle Obama, and stories heralding her as a potential candidate for President of the United States.  That's far-fetched, at the very least. 

                  No less absurd are reports of surveys which find Mrs. Obama and Hillary Clinton as the two most admired women in America.  That kind of baloney is seen on CNN and is apparently based upon interviews with about 500 persons hanging around Hollywood. 

                 Detractors view Mrs. Obama as ill-equipped, too outspoken and not very likeable. These critics will be categorized by the raging left wing as "racigynists" (a combination of racist and misogynist.) 
                  Mrs. Obama gave a speech in Utah a few days ago in which she said that the Trump administration is built on "fear," unlike the Obama administration which was built on "hope."  She told her fans that she would not be running for President, but I, for one, would not rely on any Obama promise. Remember her husband's "red line" pledge.
                  Her sole credentials are that she is a Harvard law school graduate and has written a couple of books and has been the First Lady of the United States for eight years.  She has never held any office and her main "platform" has been the plight of African Americans whom she contends are held back by racist Caucasians in power.         

                  Personally, I will endorse with enthusiasm women or men for high office so long as they are smart, competent to do the job and endowed with a love of country. Condoleezza Rice, for example, who also is an African American, would be a great candidate.  She has held high level positions in and out of government and has handled them with intelligence and finesse and she has pride and respect for the USA.  Michelle, who since college has blamed racism for all evils, is no Condi Rice. 
                   Following her husband's election in 2008, the new First Lady told the nation that "for the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback."  Apparently, she does not pay much attention to history where the bravery and generosity of America as an exceptional nation has brought hope to countless millions of persons in the world.
                    We are caught up in today's "political correctness" milieu touted by multi millionaire movie stars and dim-witted athletes who promote outrageous anti-American theories and racial controversies.  The PC crowd is forever proposing a whole lot of empty suits to take over the big desk in the Oval Office.  

                    This far left bloc, whose enamor with the disingenuous Hillary Clinton went down the drain, has now selected race crusader Michelle Obama as its heroine and savior.   

                     The 53-year-old Obama failed to make much of a mark in eight years.  She often has been photographed in various outfits and hair styles, and in her prolific world wide travels and on numerous friendly liberal TV shows, she has spoken out in favor of more nutritious school lunch programs and of the travails of obesity.  
                     Her Methodist family on Chicago's south side initially frowned upon her marriage to Barack Hussein Obama who is the son of a teen age Caucasian mother and an African American Muslim father from Africa. The couple were married in 1992 in Trinity United church in Chicago with Rev. Jeremiah Wright officiating.  

                      Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama grew up on Chicago's south side, the daughter of a city water plant worker and democratic precinct captain.  Michelle was a salutatorian in a private high school and later graduated from Princeton university and Harvard law school. Scholastically she did well and she maintained throughout schools a  concern for the plight of African Americans.  Her Princeton thesis was on "Princeton Educated Blacks" and at Harvard she involved herself in activities and demonstrations demanding more Black professors as faculty members. 
                       After graduation from Harvard, she flunked the Illinois bar exam on her first attempt in 1988,  but passed it the following year on the retake, and for a brief time worked as an associate at a Chicago law firm, where she met her husband. Later on, with an assist from Valerie Jarrett, she worked for a period in the office of the Chicago mayor and then at the at the University of Chicago.  In 1995, she  voluntarily surrendered her law license in Illinois, apparently deciding that she preferred public life as the wife of a politician to that of a practicing attorney.                    
                        In one of her final interviews as departing First Lady, she was a guest on the Oprah show, but rather than wish the new president well and the best for the nation, she lamented that with Trump as President, Americans could no longer "hope" for a better life.

                        When Michelle and Sen. Barack entered the White House, they had a combined net worth of about $2 million.  When they left eight years later, the ex-president's worth was about $12 million, and Michelle's holdings were estimated at near $11.5 million.   I know that President and Mrs. Obama wrote several books, but that kind of financial wizardry has to make you wonder.                               
                         The President needs to be a patriot who will guard his or her country against extremists and lawbreakers who seek to destroy the country and its democratic way. Nothing like that ever came from Mrs. Obama. who like her husband declined to denounce "radical Islamic terrorists," for fear of offending peaceful Muslims.  Who cares if the President is Black or White so long as he or she believes in America and supports its traditions.  Michelle Obama does not fill that bill, and neither did her husband. Mrs Obama belongs in full and perpetual retirement.                                                                        

                                                                               XXX 

                    

Sheriff Joe

                                                        

  By Florida Bill       

                                                         Sheriff Joe---love him or hate him.  

                                       The 85-year-old Joseph Michael Arpaio served for 24 years as the tough, no-nonsense, no-illegal aliens sheriff of Maricopa county in Arizona. To some, he is the symbol of all that is good and strong and sensible about America.  To others, just the reverse.  He was defeated in his bid for a seventh consecutive four-year term last November.  

                                         Last July 31, a federal judge declared that the former law-and-order sheriff was in criminal contempt of his order to stop profiling citizens, and that he would sentence him on October 5.  The maximum penalty for contempt is six months in jail.  Arpaio's conviction was cheered by millions, but at the same time millions more scorned the judge who made the finding, and who had declined to allow the issue to be tried before a jury as had been requested by Arpaio and his attorneys.  In late August when it became clear that the judge intended to send Sheriff Joe to jail for six months, President Trump announced that he was pardoning the former sheriff, whom he described as a patriot, in accord with his presidential authority.  By doing so, the President upended an-Obama inspired plan to send the sheriff to jail.    

                                         Much pro and con might be said about the tactics of Arpaio, widely known as "America's Toughest Sheriff." Some of his jailhouse regulations and rules for inmates to follow certainly are questionable as to their propriety.   Arpaio was never rankled by his nicknames, or accusations concerning his bullish tactics,  and in fact he thrived upon the notoriety, and was always available to the media with announcements and for colorful comments.  

                                         After President Obama's election in 2008, Sheriff Joe became a political target of the Obama White House which advocated political correctness and viewed open borders as a plus rather than a minus.  In addition, it was Arpaio and his followers and associates who promoted the belief that Obama had not been born in the USA, and was holding office illegally.  Sheriff Joe worked hand-in-glove with then citizen Trump in advancing the "birther" agenda which, according to researchers, is still held by twenty per cent of Americans        

.                                        With Obama at the helm, scores of lawsuits and complaints were filed by governments against Arpaio for profiling and arresting Latino immigrants.   The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) repeatedly zeroed in on him for mistreatment of Latinos,  but Sheriff  Joe basked to some degree in his notoriety and reputation for law and order, and in recent years was a strong supporter of President Trump and his promise to build a wall along the nation's southern border. 

                                           Love him or despise him, that is the call for others to make.  But with all of the political cannons aimed at Sheriff Joe, there is a legitimate question as to why defendant Arpaio was denied a jury trial which he requested, and in view of the fact that he was accused of a crime (criminal contempt) and faced potential jail time of up to six months. Analysts believe that jurors selected in Maricopa county would have never entered a conviction against Sheriff Joe. 

                                           A person can be accused of direct or indirect criminal contempt.  In direct contempt the judge witnesses the actions of the defendant and declares him in contempt and subject to his punishment. In indirect contempt, the facts must be established through a trial with testimony, and after a finding of guilty, the judge can then impose the appropriate sentence.  
                                         With Arpaio, the judge did not witness the contemptuous conduct and the evidence to support it would need to be brought before him, under oath.  Arpaio and his attorneys requested that the trier of the fact be a jury of his peers, and not a judge whom the defendant and his attorneys believed would not be fair.   In  support of  a jury, some scholars point to the sixth amendment to the constitution, which reads                                                                "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense." 

                                         In pardoning Sheriff Joe, President Trump said that "throughout his time as sheriff, Arpaio continued his life's work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration.  He is now 85-years-old and after more than 50 years of admirable service to his country is a worthy candidate for a presidential pardon." 
                                          Sen John McCain of Arizona has criticized the President for pardoning the sheriff, who has shown no remorse for his alleged misdeeds.  The president, he explained in a statement, is demonstrating his "lack of respect for the rule of law."  McCain, however, did acknowledge that the President has a constitutional right to grant the pardon.  Arpaio responded by saying that McCain is using me to attack the President. "No matter what the president does, he criticizes it." 
                                           Calling Sheriff Arpaio a friend, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said Trump's pardon has brought finality to this chapter in Arizona's history; and that Arpaio can now move on and enjoy his retirement with his wife and family.  
                                            Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs defended the sheriff, saying that he "applauds Trump for pardoning Arpaio, adding that "America owes Sheriff Arpaio a debt of gratitude and not the injustice of a political witch hunt."  
                                           Sheriff Joe was a soldier for four years in the 1950s, and went on to work for 25 years as an agent in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).   In 1992, he was elected to his first four year term as county sheriff, and subsequently reelected five more times.  He has been featured in many films.  He and his wife recently celebrated 58 years of marriage,  and have 2 children and four grandchildren. 
                                            
                                                                             XXX
                                                          

                                        

                                               

Lieutenant Deserves Justice

  By Florida Bill       

                                        Inside the dingy, barred cells at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, are two American soldiers taken down and stripped of all honor. One embodies the evil persona of an Islamic terrorist who has earned his death sentence.  The other is a patriot deserving of loyalty, understanding and respect, not punishment.   
                                        In one cell at the military prison is Major Nidal Hasan who shot and killed 13 fellow soldiers and wounded 32 others in an explosion of Islamic gunfire at Fort Hood, Texas in November of 2009.  He awaits execution, fitting justice for his ineffable crimes. 
                                           The other soldier is Lt. Clint Lorance, now 32,  who is serving a 20-year sentence for murder, and it is here that justice has gone haywire.  His alleged crime came during the height of dangerous combat in the mountains of Afghanistan as he ordered solders in his platoon to "engage" a trio of three men on a motor bike whom he had reason to believe were Taliban soldiers on a suicide mission to kill Americans under his command.     
                                            For the young officer, it was  only his third day commanding the platoon on patrol in the Kandahar province, near Panzai in July of 2012.  He had replaced an officer who had been injured in an attack by the Taliban.  He made a split- second decision when he told his soldiers to fire on a trio of suspected miscreants on a motor bike heading toward his platoon. Two of the three Afghans were fatally shot and the third ran into the mountains. Subsequently, it was determined that the men killed were unarmed, though his attorneys have argued that the Afghans had terrorist connections.              
                                         The Taliban enemy cannot be identified by uniform and often are indistinguishable from Afghans who reside peacefully in villages.   To the lieutenant, danger to his platoon, even death, appeared all too imminent. Pondering the situation was for him not an option.
                                          Within 13 months, Lt. Lorance was charged with second degree murder, tried by a military court, found guilty, sentenced to prison, and stripped of all honor and dishonorably discharged.  It was "fast and sweet" and it pleased armchair critics and military pacifists who endorse political correctness on the battlefield.  But it was not justice, and it denigrated the patriotism and traditions of this great nation. 
                                            Lt. Lorance had reacted under difficult conditions as a soldier leading and protecting his platoon with nine men, and in accord with his training as an officer.  Did he act too quickly?   Maybe, but it was the hell of combat, and he had been warned by superior officers to be on guard for "make-believe" villagers whose one and only mindset is to kill Americans.  Lt. Lorance understood the enemy and he did what he believed was right.  
                                          The sad truth is that there has been no justice for Lt. Lorance, who now ponders his life in a military prison and wonders how it all came to be. The idea that he is a "murderer" strains the logic of clear thinking persons. 
                                             Contrast the plight of First Lt. Lorance, a young man who loved his country and was proud to be a soldier and answer the nation's call during a time of war, with the conduct of Major Hasan, a medical doctor and a psychiatrist trained at army expense, who murdered companion soldiers in the "name of Allah."
                                              It took four long years after Hasan acted on November 9, 2009, to bring him to trial for the slaughtering of fellow soldiers.  With his gun blazing in that premeditated attack, he yelled "Allahu Akbar, (God is Great) and then mowed down innocent victims standing alongside him in an assembly hall at the large army base.  It was the worst mass killing in a military installation in United States history. 
                                               Immediately after his rampage, Hasan acknowledged his actions and offered no defense other than he was a "Soldier of Allah."  President Obama and his administration downplayed the incident and called it "workplace violence."  Hasan was shot and captured on the scene.  His wounds were severe and have left him in a wheel chair and in the four years following his arrest and until his conviction, he has received daily medical care as well as his officer's pay which has amounted to $300,000.  His pay was terminated following conviction, but his daily sustenance and medical care continues.  
                                            Hasan declined legal representation at trial, and delayed the court-martialed for unreasonable periods, demanding permission to wear his Islamic beard and to represent himself in the proceedings. He was found guilty of the premeditated murders in August, 2013 and sentenced to death several weeks later. He now awaits his execution pending mandatory appeals. 
                                              Four years have now passed and the wheels of justice inch along slowly.  Hasan requests that there be no appeals and that the order of the court be carried out immediately so as to assure his martyrdom for his acts which have received praise from Muslim extremists and others who endorse him as a hero. 
                                               Army prosecutors were too quick to find fault with Lt. Lorance.  The actual soldiers who shot the Afghans (it wasn't Lorance) could have declined an improper order from their lieutenant, but they did not, and more than one fired their weapons. They were granted immunity from prosecution so long as they laid the blame entirely on Lt. Lorance for acting recklessly and with malice for middle easterners. 
                                                Clint Lorance was 28 years old and had been a soldier for 10 years.  He had enlisted after high school and was making the military his career.  He loved the army, and his country and he sought to make his family proud.  His mother and his friends who knew him praise his character and devotion to duty.  As a soldier, he studied and eventually obtained a commission as a second lieutenant and later was promoted to first lieutenant.  No matter how you wish to examine this case, Clint Lorance is no murderer and does not belong in a military prison. 
                                                To date his appeals have been denied by higher courts.  His petition for clemency and pardon containing the signatures of tens of thousands of persons was submitted to President Obama who ignored it, and choose instead, before leaving office in January, 2017, to pardon some 1,700 drug dealers and users.  Obama also approved the release of Pvt. Bradley Manning who had been convicted of stealing classified documents and distributing them.  For his traitorous behavior, he had been sentenced to 35 years in prison, but pardoned after incarceration for seven years. 
                                                A new petition signed by hundreds of thousands has now been forwarded to the desk of President Trump for consideration for a pardon. The Republican President,  unlike Obama, is respectful of the military and of the men and women who wear the country's uniform.  
                                                   The bottom line is that Lt. Lorance was a dedicated army officer serving during combat in the mountains of Afghanistan, and he did what he believed was right and in the interests of the nine soldiers serving under his command. His attorneys have said that there is evidence that the Afghans who were shot had connections to terrorists, but that that evidence has been overlooked.  President Trump is being asked to examine the whole picture and to provide the justice that he deserves.  Mr. President, Clint Lorance is no murderer.  
                                                  XXX