As staggering inflation ate away at Venezuelan salaries at the height of the Christmas season, Venezuela's president-for-life Nicholas Maduro enforced a government-mandated Black Friday, where store owners were ordered to reduce prices by up to 50% under the threat of being sent to jail if they didn’t.
This sort of December crackdown on businesses has become customary since a few years ago when the Venezuelan dictator ordered appliance chain stores to lower their prices so Venezuelans could shop at discounts-- which forced many businesses into bankruptcy.
But Maduro's Scrooge patrol really grabbed headlines on December 10, when Willia Contreras (head of Maduro's price control authority) and a band of National Guards seized 3.8 million toys from the Kreisel toy distributing company. A family-run business that has been selling toys in Venezuela for well over 20 years. Contreras’s toy police confiscated dolls, board games, robots and the like, now to be distributed and sold at “fair prices” by the government distribution network.
Following the crackdown on toys, Maduro turned his attention EPK, one of the country's leading purveyor of children’s clothing. That firm was forced to subject its inventory to discounts of up to 70 percent.
The state media network came up with a clever way to wish Venezuelans a happy holiday, and replace Christmas with something else-- proclaiming, “¡Feliz Chavidad!”
Friday, December 23, 2016
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Friday, September 30, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Candidates Coming Clean on Health
Hillary Clinton, 68, was recently diagnosed with pneumonia, and the public didn't know about it until two days later, when she abruptly left a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony feeling unwell and needing to be helped into a vehicle.
If Donald Trump, 70, were elected, he would be older than any previous president at the start of his first term — and, like Clinton, he hasn't released detailed records about his health beyond a doctor's letter. Both candidates promised Monday to release more detailed medical records soon.
But the idea of presidential candidates, or sitting presidents, disclosing their health history is relatively new. And though recent presidents have released detailed updates about their health, there is no law mandating disclosure.
America has a rich history of presidents and presidential candidates hiding their health problems from the public, sometimes successfully and sometimes with serious consequences. The first well-documented instance of a presidential campaign affected by health disclosures was the 1960 campaign between Kennedy and Nixon.
There has been lingering questions whether full disclosure of Kennedy's Addison's disease, which was kept under control by replacement hormones, would have thrown the election to Nixon.
Kennedy suffered from adrenal insufficiency since he was 30 years old.
Journalists who covered Kennedy said years later that the news of Kennedy's medical condition would have swung the election to Nixon. "A statement like that would have been fatal to his campaign," Russell Baker, a columnist for The New York Times, said.
During the 1960 presidential campaign, burglars ransacked the office of Eugene J. Cohen, a New York endocrinologist who had been treating Kennedy for Addison’s disease. When they failed to find Kennedy’s records, which were filed under a code name, they tried unsuccessfully to break into the office of Janet Travell, an internist and pharmacologist who had been relieving Kennedy’s back pain with injections of painkillers.
During the 1960 campaign, aides to Lyndon B. Johnson told reporters that Kennedy had Addison's. The Kennedy campaign flatly denied the story, saying later that their candidate was "the healthiest candidate for President in the country" 5 in obvious comparison to Lyndon Johnson, who had suffered an almost fatal heart attack five years earlier in 1955.
Kennedy's brother Robert denied that he had the ailment, issuing a statement saying his brother "does not now nor has he ever had an ailment described classically as Addison's disease." This semantic dodge relied on Thomas Addison's original 1885 description of the disease as being the result of adrenal glands destroyed by tuberculosis. John Kennedy, whose Addison's disease was caused by unknown factors, did not have tuberculosis. At a news conference on November 10, 1960, Kennedy again denied that he had Addison's disease.
Of course, Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy's successor, flouted that type of discretion. After Johnson had gall bladder surgery in 1965, he lifted up his shirt to show reporters his scar.
Former White House physician Lawrence Mohr has said, "Just because a president has an illness doesn't mean that's a disqualifying factor if that illness can be effectively treated," pointing to Roosevelt's long years in office. The things that are really important, according to Mohr, are not the name of the illness or the specific diagnosis, but whether the president can think clearly, act appropriately and communicate effectively.
If Donald Trump, 70, were elected, he would be older than any previous president at the start of his first term — and, like Clinton, he hasn't released detailed records about his health beyond a doctor's letter. Both candidates promised Monday to release more detailed medical records soon.
But the idea of presidential candidates, or sitting presidents, disclosing their health history is relatively new. And though recent presidents have released detailed updates about their health, there is no law mandating disclosure.
America has a rich history of presidents and presidential candidates hiding their health problems from the public, sometimes successfully and sometimes with serious consequences. The first well-documented instance of a presidential campaign affected by health disclosures was the 1960 campaign between Kennedy and Nixon.
There has been lingering questions whether full disclosure of Kennedy's Addison's disease, which was kept under control by replacement hormones, would have thrown the election to Nixon.
Kennedy suffered from adrenal insufficiency since he was 30 years old.
Journalists who covered Kennedy said years later that the news of Kennedy's medical condition would have swung the election to Nixon. "A statement like that would have been fatal to his campaign," Russell Baker, a columnist for The New York Times, said.
During the 1960 presidential campaign, burglars ransacked the office of Eugene J. Cohen, a New York endocrinologist who had been treating Kennedy for Addison’s disease. When they failed to find Kennedy’s records, which were filed under a code name, they tried unsuccessfully to break into the office of Janet Travell, an internist and pharmacologist who had been relieving Kennedy’s back pain with injections of painkillers.
During the 1960 campaign, aides to Lyndon B. Johnson told reporters that Kennedy had Addison's. The Kennedy campaign flatly denied the story, saying later that their candidate was "the healthiest candidate for President in the country" 5 in obvious comparison to Lyndon Johnson, who had suffered an almost fatal heart attack five years earlier in 1955.
Kennedy's brother Robert denied that he had the ailment, issuing a statement saying his brother "does not now nor has he ever had an ailment described classically as Addison's disease." This semantic dodge relied on Thomas Addison's original 1885 description of the disease as being the result of adrenal glands destroyed by tuberculosis. John Kennedy, whose Addison's disease was caused by unknown factors, did not have tuberculosis. At a news conference on November 10, 1960, Kennedy again denied that he had Addison's disease.
Of course, Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy's successor, flouted that type of discretion. After Johnson had gall bladder surgery in 1965, he lifted up his shirt to show reporters his scar.
Former White House physician Lawrence Mohr has said, "Just because a president has an illness doesn't mean that's a disqualifying factor if that illness can be effectively treated," pointing to Roosevelt's long years in office. The things that are really important, according to Mohr, are not the name of the illness or the specific diagnosis, but whether the president can think clearly, act appropriately and communicate effectively.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
New Insight on Mr. Ivanka Trump
Vicky Ward has a very compelling profile of Jared Kushner over at Esquire. Below are a few choice excerpts.
In The Price of Admission, Daniel Golden notes that officials at Jared Kushner's high school were "dismayed" when Kushner was accepted to Harvard, since, as one former school official put it, "his GPA did not warrant it, his SAT scores did not warrant it." Other students in Jared's class, the official said, were far more deserving. But Jared had a weapon that his classmates did not: his father. According to Golden, Charles donated $2.5 million to Harvard the year his son applied. Just to be safe, he also donated to Cornell and Princeton.
All of the influence peddling and lobbying to establish the Kushner family name in the upper echelons of power was expensive. The scandal that eventually sent Jared's father Charles to prison began in 2001, when Murray discovered that his brother had used several of the family partnerships to make political contributions without informing his relatives. Murray sued Charles in court, and not long after Chris Christie became the U. S. Attorney for New Jersey, in 2002, he launched a criminal investigation.
As Christie's case gained traction, Charles attempted to blackmail one of his sisters and her husband to keep them from cooperating as government witnesses. He paid a prostitute $10,000 to have sex with his brother-in-law, and then sent a videotape of the encounter to his sister. The vindictive effort was for naught: In August 2004, in the face of overwhelming evidence that he had evaded taxes, made illegal campaign contributions, and retaliated against a federal witness, Charles pleaded guilty to eighteen felony counts.
As Charles headed off to prison in 2005, Jared was still working on a joint business and law degree at NYU. Since a convicted felon cannot, as a matter of practice, sign a contract as a fiduciary, he felt that he had no choice other than to take over the family business.
In the wake of the scandal, Jared increasingly depended on an expanding network of older male advisors. The demographics of the group—which today includes Rupert Murdoch; Michael Ovitz, the legendary former Hollywood executive; Martin Sorrell, the head of WPP; Marc Holliday, the CEO of SL Green; Joel Cutler, a venture capitalist; Kevin Ryan, an Internet entrepreneur; and Joel Klein, the former New York City schools chancellor—were reflected at Jared's thirty-fifth birthday party earlier this year. As one guest observed, the median age of the guests at the party, which was held at the top of the Gramercy Park hotel in Manhattan, seemed to be somewhere near seventy.
Though Charles is no longer the face of the Kushner Companies, he remains omnipresent in the hallways of the firm. Each Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., everyone at the company who is not a secretary gathers in a conference room on the fifteenth floor to discuss acquisitions, financing, and construction. Charles and Jared sit next to each other at the center of a long table, and other family members fan out from there. No one at the Tuesday meeting, and no one who deals with the company from the outside, is allowed to forget who built the firm. When I called one of the Kushners' underwriters to ask about Jared's business prowess, he seemed startled. "None of it's been him," he said. "It's been his dad."
Many people who have dealt with Jared in the past suspect that his embrace of Trump's political posturings carries a strong whiff of pure ambition. Jared is especially proud of an article he wrote for the Observer in July , after his father-in-law's anti-semitic Star of David tweet. It was a response to an open letter by Dana Schwartz, an entertainment writer for the Observer, that had criticized Jared for standing "silent and smiling in the background" while Trump made "repeated accidental winks" to white supremacists. "You went to Harvard, and hold two graduate degrees," Schwartz wrote. "Please do not condescend to me and pretend you don't understand the imagery of a six-sided star when juxtaposed with money and accusations of financial dishonesty."
In his response, Jared insisted that his father-in-law "is not anti-Semitic and he's not a racist." He defended Trump by detailing his grandparents' harrowing experiences during the Holocaust. "It's important to me that people understand where I'm coming from," he wrote. "I know the difference between actual, dangerous intolerance versus these labels that get tossed around in an effort to score political points."
It's not surprising that many of Jared's relatives did not appreciate his efforts. Two of his cousins complained on Facebook about Jared's willingness to invoke their grandparents' suffering to defend Donald Trump. "Thank you Jared for using something sacred and special to the descendants of Joe and Rae Kushner to validate the sloppy manner in which you've handled this campaign," wrote Jacob Schulder, Jared's cousin. "Please don't invoke our grandparents in vain just so you can sleep better at night. It is self-serving and disgusting."
In The Price of Admission, Daniel Golden notes that officials at Jared Kushner's high school were "dismayed" when Kushner was accepted to Harvard, since, as one former school official put it, "his GPA did not warrant it, his SAT scores did not warrant it." Other students in Jared's class, the official said, were far more deserving. But Jared had a weapon that his classmates did not: his father. According to Golden, Charles donated $2.5 million to Harvard the year his son applied. Just to be safe, he also donated to Cornell and Princeton.
All of the influence peddling and lobbying to establish the Kushner family name in the upper echelons of power was expensive. The scandal that eventually sent Jared's father Charles to prison began in 2001, when Murray discovered that his brother had used several of the family partnerships to make political contributions without informing his relatives. Murray sued Charles in court, and not long after Chris Christie became the U. S. Attorney for New Jersey, in 2002, he launched a criminal investigation.
As Christie's case gained traction, Charles attempted to blackmail one of his sisters and her husband to keep them from cooperating as government witnesses. He paid a prostitute $10,000 to have sex with his brother-in-law, and then sent a videotape of the encounter to his sister. The vindictive effort was for naught: In August 2004, in the face of overwhelming evidence that he had evaded taxes, made illegal campaign contributions, and retaliated against a federal witness, Charles pleaded guilty to eighteen felony counts.
As Charles headed off to prison in 2005, Jared was still working on a joint business and law degree at NYU. Since a convicted felon cannot, as a matter of practice, sign a contract as a fiduciary, he felt that he had no choice other than to take over the family business.
In the wake of the scandal, Jared increasingly depended on an expanding network of older male advisors. The demographics of the group—which today includes Rupert Murdoch; Michael Ovitz, the legendary former Hollywood executive; Martin Sorrell, the head of WPP; Marc Holliday, the CEO of SL Green; Joel Cutler, a venture capitalist; Kevin Ryan, an Internet entrepreneur; and Joel Klein, the former New York City schools chancellor—were reflected at Jared's thirty-fifth birthday party earlier this year. As one guest observed, the median age of the guests at the party, which was held at the top of the Gramercy Park hotel in Manhattan, seemed to be somewhere near seventy.
Though Charles is no longer the face of the Kushner Companies, he remains omnipresent in the hallways of the firm. Each Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., everyone at the company who is not a secretary gathers in a conference room on the fifteenth floor to discuss acquisitions, financing, and construction. Charles and Jared sit next to each other at the center of a long table, and other family members fan out from there. No one at the Tuesday meeting, and no one who deals with the company from the outside, is allowed to forget who built the firm. When I called one of the Kushners' underwriters to ask about Jared's business prowess, he seemed startled. "None of it's been him," he said. "It's been his dad."
Many people who have dealt with Jared in the past suspect that his embrace of Trump's political posturings carries a strong whiff of pure ambition. Jared is especially proud of an article he wrote for the Observer in July , after his father-in-law's anti-semitic Star of David tweet. It was a response to an open letter by Dana Schwartz, an entertainment writer for the Observer, that had criticized Jared for standing "silent and smiling in the background" while Trump made "repeated accidental winks" to white supremacists. "You went to Harvard, and hold two graduate degrees," Schwartz wrote. "Please do not condescend to me and pretend you don't understand the imagery of a six-sided star when juxtaposed with money and accusations of financial dishonesty."
In his response, Jared insisted that his father-in-law "is not anti-Semitic and he's not a racist." He defended Trump by detailing his grandparents' harrowing experiences during the Holocaust. "It's important to me that people understand where I'm coming from," he wrote. "I know the difference between actual, dangerous intolerance versus these labels that get tossed around in an effort to score political points."
It's not surprising that many of Jared's relatives did not appreciate his efforts. Two of his cousins complained on Facebook about Jared's willingness to invoke their grandparents' suffering to defend Donald Trump. "Thank you Jared for using something sacred and special to the descendants of Joe and Rae Kushner to validate the sloppy manner in which you've handled this campaign," wrote Jacob Schulder, Jared's cousin. "Please don't invoke our grandparents in vain just so you can sleep better at night. It is self-serving and disgusting."
Friday, August 5, 2016
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Godzilla on the Loose In the Galapagos
This incredible footage shows a six-foot long iguana feasting underwater in the Pacific Ocean. Nicknamed 'Godzilla' for its rampaging movements and size in comparison to its fellow sea creatures, the majestic lizard was captured in remarkably clear footage hunting for food on the sea bed. It can be seen on the prowl for food before swimming almost human-esque to the surface for air.
Marine iguanas, unique among modern lizards in their ability to forage in the open sea, are vegetarians. A nasal gland filters its blood for excess salt ingested while eating, which is expelled through the nostrils-- often leaving white patches of salt on its face.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Monster Alligator Bites The Dust
Professional hunter Lee Lightsey said the 15-foot beast was one of the biggest he had come across in 18 years and required a tractor to move it. The largest alligator he had previously killed was just over 13 foot long.
"We were on a hunt for hogs and happened to come across the gator," Lightsey told reporters. "Although this animal is huge I was not that surprised it existed. But what really drew our attention to this animal was the fact that it seems to have been feasting on the cattle on my farm, because mutilated body parts were found in the water. It was a monster which needed to be removed." Lightsey says he plans to get the alligator stuffed while the meat will be donated to charity.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Buying Votes By Bumrushing the Pope
Bernie Sanders was caught trying to bullshit his way into some foreign affairs cred by falsely claiming that the Pope had invited him to speak at the Vatican.
Margaret Archer, president of Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, said that Sanders had actually invited himself. “Sanders made the first move, for the obvious reasons,” Archer said. “He may be going for the Catholic vote but this is not the Catholic vote and he should remember that and act accordingly -- not that he will.”
Not long after, Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences contradicted Archer’s statement, saying “ I invited him with her consensus.” However, he later backtracked in a CNN interview, admitting that Sander had indeed reached out to the Vatican first-- not the other way around, as Sanders had tried to claim.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi also confirmed for reporters that it wasn’t the pope who personally invited the politician. “The invitation was made on behalf of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, not by Pope Francis,” he said. “There is no expectation that the pope will meet Mr. Sanders.”
Margaret Archer, president of Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, said that Sanders had actually invited himself. “Sanders made the first move, for the obvious reasons,” Archer said. “He may be going for the Catholic vote but this is not the Catholic vote and he should remember that and act accordingly -- not that he will.”
Not long after, Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences contradicted Archer’s statement, saying “ I invited him with her consensus.” However, he later backtracked in a CNN interview, admitting that Sander had indeed reached out to the Vatican first-- not the other way around, as Sanders had tried to claim.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi also confirmed for reporters that it wasn’t the pope who personally invited the politician. “The invitation was made on behalf of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, not by Pope Francis,” he said. “There is no expectation that the pope will meet Mr. Sanders.”
Friday, April 8, 2016
Ridicule for Law School Named "Ass"
George Mason University has adjusted the moniker of its law school just days after renaming it in honor of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a decision that gave the institution an unfortunate acronym: “Ass.”
The Virginia college had originally announced that the school’s new name would be the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University. The name change kicked off widespread mockery on social media, including a trending hashtag #ASSLaw on Twitter.
The official name remains the Antonin Scalia School of Law, although the school’s website and marketing materials have recently been tweaked to the Antonin Scalia Law School. A spokesperson for the school declined to comment on the name change to the newspaper.
The Virginia college had originally announced that the school’s new name would be the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University. The name change kicked off widespread mockery on social media, including a trending hashtag #ASSLaw on Twitter.
The official name remains the Antonin Scalia School of Law, although the school’s website and marketing materials have recently been tweaked to the Antonin Scalia Law School. A spokesperson for the school declined to comment on the name change to the newspaper.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Court Rules Against Warrantless Tracking Technology
An appeals court in Maryland has ruled that police cannot use cellphones as a “real-time tracking device” without a warrant-- which would call into question hundreds, if not thousands, of convictions in Baltimore – and set a precedent for similar privacy cases across the U.S.
The ruling by Maryland’s second-highest court was the first by an appeals court to hold that using cell site simulator technology known as Stingray without a warrant violates an individual’s fourth amendment protections against illegal search and seizure. The technology, which is produced by the Harris corporation and is widely used by law enforcement and the IRS, imitates a cell tower, forces a phone to send a signal and traps metadata from phones that can reveal their location.
An ACLU report shows that 61 agencies in 23 states and the District of Columbia have purchased Stingray devices, but this is one of the first times that the full scope of this technology has made it into the public record of a courtroom – due in part to non-disclosure agreements between the Harris corporation, the FBI and local jurisdictions. In 2011, Baltimore signed such an agreement that prevents the police department or state’s attorney’s office from even acknowledging use of the technology.
“It’s shocking,” public defender Deborah Levi said. “They engage in a third-party contracts to violate people’s constitutional rights.”
The state has 16 days to appeal against the ruling to the state’s highest court, and legal observers expect it could reach the U.S. supreme court.
The ruling by Maryland’s second-highest court was the first by an appeals court to hold that using cell site simulator technology known as Stingray without a warrant violates an individual’s fourth amendment protections against illegal search and seizure. The technology, which is produced by the Harris corporation and is widely used by law enforcement and the IRS, imitates a cell tower, forces a phone to send a signal and traps metadata from phones that can reveal their location.
An ACLU report shows that 61 agencies in 23 states and the District of Columbia have purchased Stingray devices, but this is one of the first times that the full scope of this technology has made it into the public record of a courtroom – due in part to non-disclosure agreements between the Harris corporation, the FBI and local jurisdictions. In 2011, Baltimore signed such an agreement that prevents the police department or state’s attorney’s office from even acknowledging use of the technology.
“It’s shocking,” public defender Deborah Levi said. “They engage in a third-party contracts to violate people’s constitutional rights.”
The state has 16 days to appeal against the ruling to the state’s highest court, and legal observers expect it could reach the U.S. supreme court.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Supreme Wisdom Without Scalia
The Supreme court has unanimously rejected a conservative challenge to voting rights – ruling that states could count the total population (not just eligible voters) in drawing legislative districts.
The case resulted when conservative activists in Texas challenged the legal principle of “one person, one vote”, which has long established that election districts should be drawn to be equal in population. The two plaintiffs argued the principle diluted the influence of those living in districts where a larger number of individuals were ineligible to vote.
But changing the method would most certainly lend greater power to states with wealthier populations with mostly white voters, and away from urban and more racially diverse areas. The lawsuit was opposed by the Obama administration and civil rights groups across America.
Not a single member of the court sided with the challengers. Ruth Bader Ginsburg authored the opinion for the court, in which the liberal justice wrote that the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate a rationale upon which the court should overturn the longstanding use of total population in drawing districts.
The nation’s founders, she added, intended that “representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote”.
The case resulted when conservative activists in Texas challenged the legal principle of “one person, one vote”, which has long established that election districts should be drawn to be equal in population. The two plaintiffs argued the principle diluted the influence of those living in districts where a larger number of individuals were ineligible to vote.
But changing the method would most certainly lend greater power to states with wealthier populations with mostly white voters, and away from urban and more racially diverse areas. The lawsuit was opposed by the Obama administration and civil rights groups across America.
Not a single member of the court sided with the challengers. Ruth Bader Ginsburg authored the opinion for the court, in which the liberal justice wrote that the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate a rationale upon which the court should overturn the longstanding use of total population in drawing districts.
The nation’s founders, she added, intended that “representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote”.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Dreadful Bieber in the News Again
The 22-year-old singer appeared on stage at the IHeartRadio Awards with his new hair style and posted several photos of the dreadlocks on his Instagram.
Misguided fans vented their frustrations, arguing that black hair styles are more than a fashion vogue, and cannot simply be culturally appropriated:
“People are annoyed cause when black people wear this style they are stereotyped as druggies and are “unkempt” look at Zendaya for example. She had fake dreads and she was stereotyped, But when people such as JB [...] wears them its suddenly 'the latest trend’.”
Note from the Dude: So it's JB's fault that people with dreads are stereotyped? Don't you see the irony in the fact that JB wearing dreads will actually help to eliminate those stereotypes? So quit your bitchin' already!
Other twitter users ranted like this:
“Dreadlocks are cultural appropriation. we've taught u this before. Your hair is fine as it was.”
Note from the Dude: Enough with the "cultural appropriation" crap. JB is not making fun of another culture or pretending he is African/Jamaican/whatever-- he just thinks the hairstyle is cool. You folks would be the first to howl about freedom of expression if others starting making rules about what clothes or hairstyles you could or couldn't wear. Chill!
The question of white dreadlocks has been at the forefront of social media traffic for the past week, since a video displaying a black student accosting a white student over his dreadlocks amassed more than three million views in three days:
Corey Goldstein (the white student harassed in the video above) responds to the issue here. Hopefully those individuals misinformed over the "cultural appropriation" issue will get over their cultural selfishness and do something that actually benefits other cultures instead of acting like uptight hall monitors.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Yankees Suck By Screwing Over Its Fans
The Yankees would have you believe that eliminating print-at-home
tickets is entirely motivated by a desire to prevent fraud, but the
reality is that it has everything to do with the team’s partnership with Ticketmaster and ongoing war against StubHub.
When ticket resellers use StubHub, they can sell the ticket for whatever price the market will bear, but Ticketmaster sets artificial price floors that prevent sellers from listing tickets below face value. This anti-competitive practice has recently been called out by the New York Attorney General, as it deprives fans the opportunity to buy tickets on a fair market.
The Yankees would like to avoid dealing with the reality of supply and demand (and perhaps try to figure out why fans would rather dump their tickets at a loss instead of going to games) as well as use the new anti-PDF policy in a blatant attempt to further undercut
StubHub.
The Yankees can’t force anyone to use Ticketmaster instead of StubHub, but it can make using the latter a much bigger pain in the ass by eliminating printable tickets. Ticketmaster doesn't rely on pdf-printed tickets, but instead delivers tickets directly to smartphones via a proprietary technology that is (surprise!) the only mobile ticket method accepted by the Yankees. StubHub can't use Ticketmaster's proprietary smartphone delivery method, so it relies on pdf-printable tickets in order to help sellers avoid the need to arrange physical delivery of pre-printed tickets.
StubHub is still the official ticket re-seller of Major League Baseball, but NFL is also engaged in the ongoing battle against StubHub and deprive its fans the ability to sell its ticket in a truly competitive market.
When ticket resellers use StubHub, they can sell the ticket for whatever price the market will bear, but Ticketmaster sets artificial price floors that prevent sellers from listing tickets below face value. This anti-competitive practice has recently been called out by the New York Attorney General, as it deprives fans the opportunity to buy tickets on a fair market.
The Yankees can’t force anyone to use Ticketmaster instead of StubHub, but it can make using the latter a much bigger pain in the ass by eliminating printable tickets. Ticketmaster doesn't rely on pdf-printed tickets, but instead delivers tickets directly to smartphones via a proprietary technology that is (surprise!) the only mobile ticket method accepted by the Yankees. StubHub can't use Ticketmaster's proprietary smartphone delivery method, so it relies on pdf-printable tickets in order to help sellers avoid the need to arrange physical delivery of pre-printed tickets.
StubHub is still the official ticket re-seller of Major League Baseball, but NFL is also engaged in the ongoing battle against StubHub and deprive its fans the ability to sell its ticket in a truly competitive market.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Getting "Berned" On The Campaign Trail
Bernie Sanders has been grabbing headlines by claiming that Hillary Clinton has taken “significant” contributions from the oil and gas industry. The Washington Post is calling that a blatant lie:
Using Sanders' logic, one might come to the conclusion that Bernie has sold out to the military-industrial complex. American Blog looked at Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s top contributors via the Open Secrets Web site-- Clinton’s top contributors are unions, foundations, and progressive organizations. While Sanders’ top contributors are huge corporations, the insurance industry, and the U.S. military.
The Sanders campaign is exaggerating the contributions that Clinton has received from the oil and gas industry. In the context of her overall campaign, the contributions are hardly significant. It’s especially misleading to count all of the funds raised by lobbyists with multiple clients as money “given” by the fossil-fuel industry.
Using Sanders' logic, one might come to the conclusion that Bernie has sold out to the military-industrial complex. American Blog looked at Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s top contributors via the Open Secrets Web site-- Clinton’s top contributors are unions, foundations, and progressive organizations. While Sanders’ top contributors are huge corporations, the insurance industry, and the U.S. military.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Friday, April 1, 2016
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Collapse Of Kolkata Overpass Kills/Injures Dozens
At least 21 people have been killed and some 150 are feared trapped after a flyover collapsed onto moving traffic in the Indian city of Kolkata. Dozens of pedestrians and drivers may be crushed underneath the under-construction overpass, which came down during rush hour in a teeming commercial district near Girish Park.
Firefighters and residents rushed to rescue victims from the wreckage with their bare hands. Bloodied bodies were seen trapped under concrete slabs, while hands and legs were sticking out from under twisted debris. But ambulances were struggling to reach the scene amid the traffic.
The accident comes just days before Kolkata is due to host the T20 Cricket World Cup. It is the latest in a string of deadly construction collapses in India, some of which have highlighted shoddy building standards. The concrete for this bridge was laid on Wednesday night - 12 hours before it collapsed.
Many locals said they were fleeing their houses for fear that more of the damaged structure could collapse. 'We heard a massive bang sound and our house shook violently. We thought it was an earthquake,' 45-year-old resident Sunita Agarwal told reporters. 'We're leaving - who knows what will happen next.'
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the scene, said those responsible for the crash will not be spared - though she too will face questioning about what went wrong.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
SeaWorld Still Lying About Its Orcas
 |
| Another SeaWorld Orca With Drilled-out teeth |
SeaWorld also recently announced that its most famous orca, Tilikum, was ailing due to a supposed bacterial infection (the sad story of Tilikum was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary "Blackfish"). SeaWorld is now blaming the marine park from which it purchased Tilikum for his famously damaged teeth, which have broken off into tiny stubs. But several former orca trainers say that SeaWorld is lying and is solely responsible for Tilikum's chronic teeth issues.
"It's preposterous that SeaWorld would say that Tilikum's teeth were in much the same condition when he arrived in Orlando," said former orca trainer Steve Huxter, who worked with Tilikum at Sealand of the Pacific before the park closed down in the early 1990s. "Tilikum's teeth were in perfect condition when he was transferred [to SeaWorld] in 1992." Huxter also said that SeaWorld's trainers should know this, as they spent four to six weeks working with Huxter at Sealand prior to the transfer.
Former SeaWorld trainers have also spoken out against the park's claim. Dean Gommersall, a marine mammal trainer who worked at SeaWorld Orlando when Tilikum arrived at the park in 1992, shared two photos on Facebook purportedly showing Tilikum after his arrival at SeaWorld, and then in recent years. Tilikum, who can be identified in the earlier image (taken at SeaWorld) by the unique markings over his eye, appears to have had healthy, pointed teeth when he arrived at SeaWorld.
It's long been known that SeaWorld's captive program can wreak havoc on orcas' teeth. Stressed from captivity and boredom, the orcas will often gnaw on the edges of their tanks, fracturing their long, sharp teeth.
The damage isn't just cosmetic. The fractures expose the tooth pulp, which can become a portal for bacteria to enter the bloodstream and lead to heart problems and infections in other parts of the body (such as the lungs) and even death. SeaWorld workers now routinely perform a "root canal" of sorts to clean out the tissue exposed by the broken-off teeth. For the rest of their lives, the injured orcas, (like Tilikum) must undergo daily cleanings to flush out the exposed tooth stubs.
This isn't the first time SeaWorld has lied about its orcas' teeth. The park has tried to deflect blame for the poor health of its animals by saying that poor dentition is normal in wild orcas-- but the vast majority of wild orcas are rarely found with teeth like Tilikum's. The one exception is a small subpopulation of wild orcas that feeds on hard-skinned rays and skates-- and even then the damage after a lifetime of feeding isn't nearly as severe as what is seen on SeaWorld orcas.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Bottom Of The Economic Ladder and Not Moving Up Anytime Soon
The Teamsters (and a group of more intelligent Lyft drivers) are contesting a settlement agreed to by a group of dim-witted Lyft drivers. The class action lawsuit originally sought to define Lyft drivers as “employees”-- but the proposed settlement of $12.25 million (which would apply to all 100,000 California Lyft drivers) falls much short of that. Strangely, the settlement would leave Lyft drivers classified as “independent contractors” and continue to shut them out of most worker protections and financial benefits they would have enjoyed as employees.
Even the judge expressed skepticism at the proposed agreement. The court questioned why it should approve a settlement that resulted in drivers ending up “closer to independent contractor status” than before, a result that is “contrary to the original goal of the lawsuit”.
You would think benefits and job security would be worth something to a Lyft driver. But going by the terms of the settlement, getting benefits and job security are valued at next to nothing-- with the drivers instead receiving a one time pay out of $53 to $679 dollars each.
Even the judge expressed skepticism at the proposed agreement. The court questioned why it should approve a settlement that resulted in drivers ending up “closer to independent contractor status” than before, a result that is “contrary to the original goal of the lawsuit”.
You would think benefits and job security would be worth something to a Lyft driver. But going by the terms of the settlement, getting benefits and job security are valued at next to nothing-- with the drivers instead receiving a one time pay out of $53 to $679 dollars each.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
A Tale of Torn Testicles
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| Benea, the ball-buster |
39-year-old Ionel Popa of Vaslui county, Romania, was rushed to hospital with his scrotum torn open after his 40-year-old wife Marinela Benea launched a vicious attack. He had failed to giver her flowers on and then refused to help with the housework.
The mother-of-one grabbed hold of her husband's testicles during a fight and pulled violently. Popa's left testicle was left hanging out of his scrotum after the skin was ripped apart. He was forced to undergo emergency surgery to repair the damage and remains in a stable condition.
Following the incident, Benea said she did not know her own strength, adding that her husband deserved what had happened to him. "Ionel had been given a bottle of wine for that day's work instead of getting paid, and had arrived home drunk," she told reporters.
'In the morning I opened the curtains and told him to go out and do some work, or at least to help with the household chores but he shouted that I’m not entitled to give him orders," she continued. "I told him he was not any kind of man and I grabbed his testicles. It was not my fault that he pulled away, and that’s when it happened."
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Publishers Postpone Purported Puzzle Plagiarizer Parker
A group of eagle-eyed puzzlers, using digital tools, has uncovered a pattern of copying in the professional crossword-puzzle world that has led to accusations of plagiarism and false identity.
Since 1999, Timothy Parker, editor of one of the nation’s most widely syndicated crosswords, has edited more than 60 individual puzzles that copy elements from New York Times (NYT) puzzles, often with pseudonyms for bylines, a new database has helped reveal. The puzzles in question repeated themes, answers, grids and clues from Times puzzles published years earlier. Hundreds more of the puzzles edited by Parker are nearly verbatim copies of previous puzzles that Parker also edited. Most of those have been republished under fake author names.
Parker hasn't denied that many of his puzzles exactly replicated themes and theme answers from NYT puzzles. “To me, it’s just mere coincidence,” he said. Despite Parker’s denial, many in the crossword world see willful plagiarism in Parker’s puzzles, and they see the database that revealed the repetition as a tool of justice.
Will Shortz, the NYT puzzle editor and the premier crossword expert in the country, was taken aback by the charges. “I have never heard of something like this happening before. This would never have come to light except in the electronic age, where you can track these things.” He added: “To me, it’s an obvious case of plagiarism. It’s unethical, and I would never publish a person who plagiarizes another person’s work.”
Since the publication of this article, Universal Uclick and USA Today have each said that Timothy Parker will be stepping back from his role creating puzzles for the two publishers while an investigation is conducted.
Since 1999, Timothy Parker, editor of one of the nation’s most widely syndicated crosswords, has edited more than 60 individual puzzles that copy elements from New York Times (NYT) puzzles, often with pseudonyms for bylines, a new database has helped reveal. The puzzles in question repeated themes, answers, grids and clues from Times puzzles published years earlier. Hundreds more of the puzzles edited by Parker are nearly verbatim copies of previous puzzles that Parker also edited. Most of those have been republished under fake author names.
Parker hasn't denied that many of his puzzles exactly replicated themes and theme answers from NYT puzzles. “To me, it’s just mere coincidence,” he said. Despite Parker’s denial, many in the crossword world see willful plagiarism in Parker’s puzzles, and they see the database that revealed the repetition as a tool of justice.
Will Shortz, the NYT puzzle editor and the premier crossword expert in the country, was taken aback by the charges. “I have never heard of something like this happening before. This would never have come to light except in the electronic age, where you can track these things.” He added: “To me, it’s an obvious case of plagiarism. It’s unethical, and I would never publish a person who plagiarizes another person’s work.”
Since the publication of this article, Universal Uclick and USA Today have each said that Timothy Parker will be stepping back from his role creating puzzles for the two publishers while an investigation is conducted.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Censorship Takes Wing In Turkey
The ever-growing attack against freedom of speech worldwide has taken a turn for the worse in Turkey. There, authorities recently seized control of a newspaper linked to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, in a widening crackdown against foes of thin-skinned President Tayyip Erdogan.
State administrators have been appointed to run the Zaman newspaper (one of Turkey's largest) at the request of an Istanbul prosecutor, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The move against the newspaper came hours after many prominent businessmen were detained over allegations of financing Gulen’s organization. Erdogan has long claimed that Gulen is conspiring to overthrow the government by building a network of supporters in the judiciary, police and media.
“This means the practical end of media freedom in Turkey. The media has always been under pressure, but it has never been so blatant,” said Editor-in-Chief Sevgi Akarcesme. “Taking over a newspaper is against the constitution, especially since there are no grounds for it. This amounts to the suspension of the constitution.”
State administrators have been appointed to run the Zaman newspaper (one of Turkey's largest) at the request of an Istanbul prosecutor, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The move against the newspaper came hours after many prominent businessmen were detained over allegations of financing Gulen’s organization. Erdogan has long claimed that Gulen is conspiring to overthrow the government by building a network of supporters in the judiciary, police and media.
“This means the practical end of media freedom in Turkey. The media has always been under pressure, but it has never been so blatant,” said Editor-in-Chief Sevgi Akarcesme. “Taking over a newspaper is against the constitution, especially since there are no grounds for it. This amounts to the suspension of the constitution.”
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Mariners Meet Missing Mummy Man
Fishermen in the Philippines recently discovered a yacht containing the mummified body of a missing German adventurer.
The fishermen said they approached the ship because they saw it drifting with a destroyed sail. 23-year-old Christopher Rivas y Escarten told police that after they saw the decomposing man inside, he and his friends decided to drag the yacht back to shore in Barobo, Surigao del Sur.
Barobo authorities used documents aboard the boat to identify the body as that of 59-year-old Manfred Fritz Bajorat, who had last been seen over seven years ago. He had broken up with his wife (who typically traveled with him) the year before he set sail. She has since died from cancer; it is not clear how long the German has been dead.
A photograph shows his body hunched over a desk with what appears to be a radio near his hand. A forensic criminologist has told reporters that the way Bajorat was sitting suggested he may have died from a heart attack.
A fellow sailor explained, “He was very experienced. I don’t believe he would have sailed into a storm. I believe the mast broke after Manfred was already dead.” Unfortunately, as the old saying goes-- dead men tell no tales.
The fishermen said they approached the ship because they saw it drifting with a destroyed sail. 23-year-old Christopher Rivas y Escarten told police that after they saw the decomposing man inside, he and his friends decided to drag the yacht back to shore in Barobo, Surigao del Sur.
Barobo authorities used documents aboard the boat to identify the body as that of 59-year-old Manfred Fritz Bajorat, who had last been seen over seven years ago. He had broken up with his wife (who typically traveled with him) the year before he set sail. She has since died from cancer; it is not clear how long the German has been dead.
A photograph shows his body hunched over a desk with what appears to be a radio near his hand. A forensic criminologist has told reporters that the way Bajorat was sitting suggested he may have died from a heart attack.
A fellow sailor explained, “He was very experienced. I don’t believe he would have sailed into a storm. I believe the mast broke after Manfred was already dead.” Unfortunately, as the old saying goes-- dead men tell no tales.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Freedom Of Expression Next On China's Hit List
China has shut down the microblogging accounts of outspoken former property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang after he criticized President Xi Jinping.
The Cyberspace Administration of China accused Ren (who has more than 30 million online followers) of publishing "illegal messages that had a bad impact". In reality, Ren had merely written that state media were funded by taxpayers and should serve them, not the Communist Party.
China has long been criticized for its strict internet regulations, including blocking major sites and censoring posts. In the past, Chinese state media had referred to his blog as having "anti-Communist Party" thoughts. Almost 40 journalists are currently in prison in China for work posted online, the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders says.
China has also unveiled new rules banning foreign media companies from distributing content online without prior approval by Beijing officials. On its surface, this rule would prohibit any sites such as CNN, BBC, MSNBC or FOX from posting content on its news sites without getting prior permission from the Chinese state. Access to the BBC's english-language site has already been blocked on several occasions-- as recently as October of last year.
The Cyberspace Administration of China accused Ren (who has more than 30 million online followers) of publishing "illegal messages that had a bad impact". In reality, Ren had merely written that state media were funded by taxpayers and should serve them, not the Communist Party.
China has long been criticized for its strict internet regulations, including blocking major sites and censoring posts. In the past, Chinese state media had referred to his blog as having "anti-Communist Party" thoughts. Almost 40 journalists are currently in prison in China for work posted online, the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders says.
China has also unveiled new rules banning foreign media companies from distributing content online without prior approval by Beijing officials. On its surface, this rule would prohibit any sites such as CNN, BBC, MSNBC or FOX from posting content on its news sites without getting prior permission from the Chinese state. Access to the BBC's english-language site has already been blocked on several occasions-- as recently as October of last year.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Threat Of Violence Affecting Campus Life in Texas
A dean at the University of Texas is stepping down over a new state law which will allow concealed handguns to be carried on university campuses.
Long-time dean Frederick Steiner said the policy was not "appropriate" for higher education and "did not make logical sense". "I thought I would be responsible for enforcing a law I don't believe in," said Steiner, who has been at the school since 2001. He says he plans to return to the University of Pennsylvania when the law goes into effect in August.
Many higher education officials and students have objected to the law, with concerns it may discourage students from attending universities in Texas.
Greg Fenves, president of the University of Texas said that the law would make it more difficult to keep faculty and students at the university. Steiner agreed, saying it was "already part of the conversation when I was trying to recruit and retain graduate students."
Staff at the University of Houston have warned professors there to avoid discussing sensitive topics and drop them from the curriculum if they "sense anger" from students who may be armed. According to the Houston Chronicle, professors and teaching staff have also been instructed to limit student access during non-teaching hours, eliminate walk-up office hours and meet students only under "controlled circumstances".
Rich kids can still feel safe and have access to unfettered upper education, however-- according to the newlaw, private universities are allowed to ban guns on their campuses.
Long-time dean Frederick Steiner said the policy was not "appropriate" for higher education and "did not make logical sense". "I thought I would be responsible for enforcing a law I don't believe in," said Steiner, who has been at the school since 2001. He says he plans to return to the University of Pennsylvania when the law goes into effect in August.
Many higher education officials and students have objected to the law, with concerns it may discourage students from attending universities in Texas.
Greg Fenves, president of the University of Texas said that the law would make it more difficult to keep faculty and students at the university. Steiner agreed, saying it was "already part of the conversation when I was trying to recruit and retain graduate students."
Staff at the University of Houston have warned professors there to avoid discussing sensitive topics and drop them from the curriculum if they "sense anger" from students who may be armed. According to the Houston Chronicle, professors and teaching staff have also been instructed to limit student access during non-teaching hours, eliminate walk-up office hours and meet students only under "controlled circumstances".
Rich kids can still feel safe and have access to unfettered upper education, however-- according to the newlaw, private universities are allowed to ban guns on their campuses.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Pot Is Power Hungry
Marijuana might look and smell natural, but its ecological footprint is anything but green. The $3.5 billion cannabis industry is one of the nation’s most energy intensive, often demanding 24-hour indoor lighting rigs, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems at multiplying grow sites.
As many as ten states could legalize recreational marijuana this year, which means the resultant electricity consumption could cause problems for public utilities and city officials. The Guardian reports that last summer in Portland, Oregon, Pacific Power reported seven outages from cannabis production. Portland General Electric (PGE) experienced similar blows.
Although "rewards" programs are sprouting up to encourage energy-efficient and environment-friendly technologies, lighting companies are expected to profit handsomely, as lighting continues to account for 80% of any indoor grower’s electricity use.
As many as ten states could legalize recreational marijuana this year, which means the resultant electricity consumption could cause problems for public utilities and city officials. The Guardian reports that last summer in Portland, Oregon, Pacific Power reported seven outages from cannabis production. Portland General Electric (PGE) experienced similar blows.
Although "rewards" programs are sprouting up to encourage energy-efficient and environment-friendly technologies, lighting companies are expected to profit handsomely, as lighting continues to account for 80% of any indoor grower’s electricity use.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Legacy Of A Flawed Jurist
The first chapter of Scalia's legal legacy had been written by CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, and it isn't a flattering depiction.
According to Toobin, Scalia devoted his professional life to making the United States a less fair, less tolerant, and less admirable democracy. Toobin concluded, "Fortunately, he mostly failed."
Some excerpts from his excellent piece in the New Yorker:
"Belligerent with his colleagues, dismissive of his critics, nostalgic for a world where outsiders knew their place and stayed there, Scalia represents a perfect model for everything that President Obama should avoid in a successor. The great Justices of the Supreme Court have always looked forward . . . Chief Justice John Marshall read the new Constitution to allow for a vibrant and progressive federal government. Louis Brandeis understood the need for that government to regulate an industrializing economy. Earl Warren saw that segregation was poison in the modern world. Scalia, in contrast, looked backward.
"His revulsion toward homosexuality, a touchstone of his world view, appeared straight out of his sheltered, nineteen-forties boyhood. When, in 2003, the Court ruled that gay people could no longer be thrown in prison for having consensual sex, Scalia dissented, and wrote, “Today’s opinion is the product of a Court . . .that has largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda."
"But it was in his jurisprudence that Scalia most self-consciously looked to the past. He pioneered “originalism,” a theory holding that the Constitution should be interpreted in line with the beliefs of the white men, many of them slave owners, who ratified it in the late eighteenth century. During Scalia’s first two decades as a Justice, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist rarely gave him important constitutional cases to write for the Court; the Chief feared that Scalia’s extreme views would repel Sandra Day O’Connor, the Court’s swing vote, who had a toxic relationship with him during their early days as colleagues."
"Scalia described himself as an advocate of judicial restraint, who believed that the courts should defer to the democratically elected branches of government. In reality, he lunged at opportunities to overrule the work of Presidents and of legislators, especially Democrats. Scalia helped gut the Voting Rights Act, overturn McCain-Feingold and other campaign-finance rules, and, in his last official act, block President Obama’s climate-change regulations. Scalia’s reputation, like the Supreme Court’s, is also stained by his role in the majority in Bush v. Gore. His oft-repeated advice to critics of the decision was “Get over it.”
"Like Nick Carraway [of the "Great Gatsby"], Scalia “wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever.” The world didn’t cooperate. Affirmative action survives. Obamacare lives. Gay rights are ascendant; the death penalty is not . . . On the social issues where the Court has the final word, the real problem for Scalia’s heirs is that they are out of step with the rest of the nation. The public wants diversity, not intolerance; more marriages and fewer executions; less money in politics, not more. Justice Scalia’s views—passionately felt and pungently expressed though they were—now seem like so many boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
According to Toobin, Scalia devoted his professional life to making the United States a less fair, less tolerant, and less admirable democracy. Toobin concluded, "Fortunately, he mostly failed."
Some excerpts from his excellent piece in the New Yorker:
"Belligerent with his colleagues, dismissive of his critics, nostalgic for a world where outsiders knew their place and stayed there, Scalia represents a perfect model for everything that President Obama should avoid in a successor. The great Justices of the Supreme Court have always looked forward . . . Chief Justice John Marshall read the new Constitution to allow for a vibrant and progressive federal government. Louis Brandeis understood the need for that government to regulate an industrializing economy. Earl Warren saw that segregation was poison in the modern world. Scalia, in contrast, looked backward.
"His revulsion toward homosexuality, a touchstone of his world view, appeared straight out of his sheltered, nineteen-forties boyhood. When, in 2003, the Court ruled that gay people could no longer be thrown in prison for having consensual sex, Scalia dissented, and wrote, “Today’s opinion is the product of a Court . . .that has largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda."
"But it was in his jurisprudence that Scalia most self-consciously looked to the past. He pioneered “originalism,” a theory holding that the Constitution should be interpreted in line with the beliefs of the white men, many of them slave owners, who ratified it in the late eighteenth century. During Scalia’s first two decades as a Justice, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist rarely gave him important constitutional cases to write for the Court; the Chief feared that Scalia’s extreme views would repel Sandra Day O’Connor, the Court’s swing vote, who had a toxic relationship with him during their early days as colleagues."
"Scalia described himself as an advocate of judicial restraint, who believed that the courts should defer to the democratically elected branches of government. In reality, he lunged at opportunities to overrule the work of Presidents and of legislators, especially Democrats. Scalia helped gut the Voting Rights Act, overturn McCain-Feingold and other campaign-finance rules, and, in his last official act, block President Obama’s climate-change regulations. Scalia’s reputation, like the Supreme Court’s, is also stained by his role in the majority in Bush v. Gore. His oft-repeated advice to critics of the decision was “Get over it.”
"Like Nick Carraway [of the "Great Gatsby"], Scalia “wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever.” The world didn’t cooperate. Affirmative action survives. Obamacare lives. Gay rights are ascendant; the death penalty is not . . . On the social issues where the Court has the final word, the real problem for Scalia’s heirs is that they are out of step with the rest of the nation. The public wants diversity, not intolerance; more marriages and fewer executions; less money in politics, not more. Justice Scalia’s views—passionately felt and pungently expressed though they were—now seem like so many boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Freaky Fish Down Under
A bizarre ocean creature with protruding eyes and dozens of needle-like teeth has been captured in Australian-- the second sea monster in less than a week.
The bizarre creature was caught off the Victoria state coast by a fishing trawler. Local experts said the animal may be an Endo's Goosefish-- more commonly known as "Monkfish" or the "Sea Devil". Not typically found in Australian waters, the species can grow up to five feet long.
Angler fishes possess some of the most impressive teeth and ensure that once prey enters their mouths, there is no chance of escape. The pectoral and ventral fins are so articulated as to perform the functions of feet, and the its body has the ability to change its color to match its surroundings, allowing the fish to conceal itself on the ocean floor as it waits for its prey. Monkfish also possess an enormously distensible stomach, with which they can swallow victims as large as themselves
In the previous week, another peculiar deep sea creature which looks like a cross between a crocodile and a dolphin washed ashore on the banks of Lake Macquarie in southeast Australia.
There has been great disagreement on social media regarding the identification of the animal-- some saying it is a large hairtail and others suggesting the picture has either been photoshopped or taken somewhere else
Local experts believe it is a pike eel, native to deep waters on the east coast of Australia. The creatures are commonly caught and discarded by fishermen when hauling in a large catch. The pike eel is known to thrash around violently once hooked, damaging fishing equipment and forcing fishermen to cut their lines.
The sighting at Lake Macquarie comes after a group of fishermen pulled a terrifying frilled shark (named for its six pairs of frill-like gills along with its dorsal fins) from the ocean in southeastern Australia. The shark's origin dates back 80 million years and it is only one of two species still alive from this period. Growing up to six feet in length, the creature is believed to be the source of reports of mythological "sea serpents."
Angler fishes possess some of the most impressive teeth and ensure that once prey enters their mouths, there is no chance of escape. The pectoral and ventral fins are so articulated as to perform the functions of feet, and the its body has the ability to change its color to match its surroundings, allowing the fish to conceal itself on the ocean floor as it waits for its prey. Monkfish also possess an enormously distensible stomach, with which they can swallow victims as large as themselves
In the previous week, another peculiar deep sea creature which looks like a cross between a crocodile and a dolphin washed ashore on the banks of Lake Macquarie in southeast Australia.
Local experts believe it is a pike eel, native to deep waters on the east coast of Australia. The creatures are commonly caught and discarded by fishermen when hauling in a large catch. The pike eel is known to thrash around violently once hooked, damaging fishing equipment and forcing fishermen to cut their lines.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Details of Scalia Death Generating Buzz
Although the death of Antonin Scalia was initially clouded in some degree of secrecy, some details have now emerged. Scalia was vacationing at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a luxury resort offering “a true West Texas experience.” Guests enjoy trail rides via horse, ATV or Humvee around the massive 30,000 acre property.
The ranch is also home to John B. Poindexter, owner of J.B. Poindexter & Company. Scalia was an invited guest at the resort and it was Poindexter himself who discovered Scalia’s body.
Scalia's stay at the resort was a gift from the ranch's wealthy owner, who benefited from a decision handed down by the Supreme Court last year. In that case, the Supreme Court decided to let stand a lower court ruling dismissing an age discrimination lawsuit filed against one of Poindexter's companies.
The ranch is not served by any commercial flights, and it is not known whether Scalia had paid for his flight on the private charter or if someone else picked up the tab. It is also still not known who else was at the Texas ranch for the weekend-- so questions continue to swirl regarding potential conflicts of interest or influence peddling.
Poindexter did confirm to Wapo that he did not pay for the flight that Scalia took to the ranch. So, if he didn’t pay for the charter flight—who did? Salaries for Supreme Court justices are just over $200K-- not nearly enough to cover charter flights to secluded luxury resorts.
The ranch is also home to John B. Poindexter, owner of J.B. Poindexter & Company. Scalia was an invited guest at the resort and it was Poindexter himself who discovered Scalia’s body.
Scalia's stay at the resort was a gift from the ranch's wealthy owner, who benefited from a decision handed down by the Supreme Court last year. In that case, the Supreme Court decided to let stand a lower court ruling dismissing an age discrimination lawsuit filed against one of Poindexter's companies.
The ranch is not served by any commercial flights, and it is not known whether Scalia had paid for his flight on the private charter or if someone else picked up the tab. It is also still not known who else was at the Texas ranch for the weekend-- so questions continue to swirl regarding potential conflicts of interest or influence peddling.
Poindexter did confirm to Wapo that he did not pay for the flight that Scalia took to the ranch. So, if he didn’t pay for the charter flight—who did? Salaries for Supreme Court justices are just over $200K-- not nearly enough to cover charter flights to secluded luxury resorts.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Oregon Militia Can't Deal With Its Own Shit
The armed militia in Oregon left behind “significant amounts of human feces” and dug trenches filled with waste on wildlife refuge grounds that contained sensitive Native American artifacts, according to the FBI.
One week after the last four anti-government protesters surrendered at the Malheur national wildlife refuge, federal investigators have begun the long task of processing the crime scene and have uncovered firearms, explosives, potential booby traps and large piles of human excrement.
Bundy and 24 other people are now facing federal conspiracy charges for their role in the occupation of the wildlife sanctuary, which began as a protest of government land-use regulations and ended after 41 days of a tense standoff with the FBI.
Although the rightwing protesters argued that the federal government should transfer control of the public lands to local people, leaders of the Paiute Indian tribe in the nearby town of Burns have noted that their ancestors first occupied the land, which they say is home to sacred burial grounds and important cultural artifacts.
Tribal leaders were outraged last month when militia leaders posted a video of themselves rifling through Palute Indian artifacts stored at the site. The protesters also paved a new road at the wildlife sanctuary.
“It is pretty disrespectful, but what can you expect from people like that?” a tribal leader said. “They’re out there trampling on our burial grounds, making roads and digging bunkers … It is pretty well trashed.”
One week after the last four anti-government protesters surrendered at the Malheur national wildlife refuge, federal investigators have begun the long task of processing the crime scene and have uncovered firearms, explosives, potential booby traps and large piles of human excrement.
Bundy and 24 other people are now facing federal conspiracy charges for their role in the occupation of the wildlife sanctuary, which began as a protest of government land-use regulations and ended after 41 days of a tense standoff with the FBI.
Although the rightwing protesters argued that the federal government should transfer control of the public lands to local people, leaders of the Paiute Indian tribe in the nearby town of Burns have noted that their ancestors first occupied the land, which they say is home to sacred burial grounds and important cultural artifacts.
Tribal leaders were outraged last month when militia leaders posted a video of themselves rifling through Palute Indian artifacts stored at the site. The protesters also paved a new road at the wildlife sanctuary.
“It is pretty disrespectful, but what can you expect from people like that?” a tribal leader said. “They’re out there trampling on our burial grounds, making roads and digging bunkers … It is pretty well trashed.”
Monday, February 29, 2016
Death By Selfie
A young dolphin has died of dehydration after being paraded around like a trophy and stroked by a crowd of Argentinian sunbathers who then abandoned it on the sand.
The group of people huddled around the mammal taking selfies after it was found on the beach resort of Santa Teresita in a province northeast of Buenos Aires. Dozens of people crowded round to look at the squirming calf as they strained to touch it, and have their photos taken with it.
The La Plata dolphin (also known as the Franciscana dolphin) can live to be twenty years old. The species is listed as vulnerable and is of particular conservation concern because of its restricted distribution and vulnerability to incidental capture in fishing gear. There are only around 30,000 animals of its kind thought to be left in the world.
The last tragic images of the individual exploited in this incident show the body, abandoned on the sand, as people continue to take pictures.
The episode has caused the Wildlife Foundation in Argentina to issue a reminder to the public regarding the vulnerable species, which is only present off the coast of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
The group of people huddled around the mammal taking selfies after it was found on the beach resort of Santa Teresita in a province northeast of Buenos Aires. Dozens of people crowded round to look at the squirming calf as they strained to touch it, and have their photos taken with it.
The last tragic images of the individual exploited in this incident show the body, abandoned on the sand, as people continue to take pictures.
The episode has caused the Wildlife Foundation in Argentina to issue a reminder to the public regarding the vulnerable species, which is only present off the coast of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
New Details of Sexual Harrassment Allegations Against Peyton Manning
It is a testament to the power of the Manning family that only upon Peyton Manning's retirement did reports begin to surface regarding his harassment of Dr. Jamie Naughright while at the University of Tennesse and the extent to which he and his father would ruin her professional career in the years afterward. This blog entry has been assembled from reporting at Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, Washington Post and Bleacher Report.
Dr. Jamie Naughright was not "a girl" sexually assaulted by Peyton Manning-- she was an esteemed professional widely admired by students and peers alike at the University of Tennessee, where she was the Director of Health & Wellness for the Men's Athletic Program.
Jamie Naughright had been a staple across all sports programs at the University of Tennessee and had more tenure than most of the football staff, including the head coach at the time, Phillip Fulmer.
Starting as a student in 1988, Naughright devoted her entire life to the University of Tennessee athletic program. She was a student trainer for the women's athletic programs and a supervisor for intramural sports on campus. From 1989-91, she was the student trainer for the men's athletic department. After earning her bachelor's degree and entering grad school, she became the graduate assistant trainer for the men's athletic program for two years. Gifted and respected throughout the campus, she was hired as the assistant trainer for the entire men's athletic program in 1993, following a year as a full-time intern.
After two years in that role, she was hired as the Director of Health and Wellness for the Men's Athletic Program. In that position she developed widely acclaimed educational and medical programs for students and oversaw the drug testing of all of the male athletes. She presented academic papers, served as an instructor and lecturer for college courses, and traveled frequently with students and staff to conferences all over the country. She started successful community projects and raised funds for local charities.
While serving as the Director of Health and Wellness, Naughright also was the head trainer for Tennessee's track and field program, which includes cross country, indoor, and outdoor athletics. In that position she hired and trained 25 staff members, oversaw all medical care for every track and field athlete, served as the medical director for large events, coordinated annual physicals and supervised weekly drug testing. So many athletes — which would eventually include medal-winning Olympians — developed such a deep respect for Dr. Naughright that she would be requested to travel with them to international events and world championships.
In addition to all of her other responsibilities, Naughright served as the associate athletic trainer for the men's football program. The years Naughright was employed as the associate trainer by the men's football program, from 1996-98, were arguably the three best years in the modern history of the program, as the team won back-to-back SEC championships and the national title. Dr. Jamie Naughright was as an absolute force of nature in the University of Tennessee's sports program.
At that time, Naughright's education, training and ascension through the ranks of the University of Tennessee's athletic program should have culminated, after more than 10 years of service to the institution, with her being able to land any job she wanted. When football teams win SEC championships and national titles, key employees can pretty much dictate where in the sports world they want to work next. If Dr. Jamie Naughright was a man that likely would've been the case for her as well.
But Naughright was a woman-- and the harassment she suffered at the hands of her male peers began as far back as when she initially was transferred to the UT men's athletic programs in 1989. According to court documents and affidavits, her boss, associate trainer Mike Rollo, perceived Naughright to be a lesbian. Rollo, who had just left working with a group of young women he also thought to be lesbians, allegedly began calling Naughright "cunt bumper." This wasn't a rare occurrence or something he said to her only in private; he allegedly called her that in front of others. For three years, until 1992, when Naughright built up enough courage to complain, she said she was almost exclusively called "cunt bumper," or "bumper" for short, by a variety of staff members in the program.
According to the allegations in the documents, Rollo regularly referred to the women's teams, known as the Lady Volunteers, as the Lady Lickers. Naughright, who is not a lesbian, said she was told by Rollo that she would just have to get used to hearing such vulgarities. Since she was one of the first women to work in the men's program, the 20-year-old Naughright decided to endure the abuse if it meant she could serve as a pioneer of sorts for women in sports. After Naughright issued a formal complaint, Rollo and other staff members allegedly were ordered by administrators to cease the practice. While the name "c--t bumper" ceased, Rollo and the staff continued to call her "bumper" and would frequently add other sexual adjectives to it.
Determined to persevere without jeopardizing her career, Naughright began writing policies for the program prohibiting foul or abusive language. First she instituted the policies for athletic training rooms, then later the male cheerleading program. Eventually she would train a variety of student athletes on the proper and professional use of appropriate language.
It was in the fall of 1994 when Peyton Manning entered the University of Tennessee football program as the already-famous son of legendary college and pro football star Archie Manning. That semester, his first on campus, some type of incident involving Manning and Naughright occurred. By request of the counsel of Peyton Manning, the details of that incident have been sealed and three-and-a-half pages concerning it have been redacted from the permanent record.
Whatever happened, Naughright claims it colored and informed the professional interactions between Naughright and Manning from that time on and caused Manning to consistently harbor anger toward her. Yet in spite of the drama, Naughright served as the medical director for the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 1995 and was a member of the training staff prepping for the Olympics trials for the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
On February 29, 1996, Naughright (at that point the university's director of health and wellness) was in a training room, examining what she thought might be a possible stress fracture in Manning's foot. At 6 feet, 5 inches, his feet dangled off the edge of the table. Manning allegedly then proceeded to scoot down the training table while Naughright examined his foot. At that point, she said, he forcefully maneuvered his naked testicles and rectum directly on her face with his penis on top of her head. Shocked, disgusted, and offended, Naughright pushed Manning away, removing her head out from under him. Within hours, she reported the incident to the Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Knoxville.
According to the court records, Manning initially denied the incident ever took place. It was a calculated risk. He was the star quarterback, a Heisman trophy hopeful, and a likely No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. While Naughright was now a respected member of the staff, Manning was the star, the savior of Tennessee football. It was his word against hers.
When Rollo learned of the complaint, he allegedly concocted a story that Manning actually pulled down his pants to moon another student-athlete, Malcolm Saxon, who was nearby. According to Rollo, after mooning the student, Naughright just happened to move her head right into Manning's pelvic region. Rollo acknowledged under oath that he was the first person to use the word “mooning.”
One person, though, could settle all of this-- Malcolm Saxon.
And, in fact, he did settle it. In an affidavit, Saxon refuted Manning's story and made it clear that Manning never mooned him. In a letter to Manning, Saxon, who stated that he lost his eligibility as a student-athlete over it, practically begged him to come forward and tell the truth. Here's an excerpt from the letter:
When Rollo was asked, under oath, if the woman he had known for more than seven years would respond in such a way to being mooned, he repeatedly said no. Yet he allegedly concocted the mooning narrative, nonetheless.
Instead, the school asked Naughright to leave. Having poured her heart and soul out to the University of Tennessee for nearly 10 years, she agreed, as a part of a settlement agreement, to part ways.
Before she left, though, two staff members of the school asked Naughright if she would consider blaming the entire incident not on Manning, but on another athlete — a black one. According to Naughright, the staff members (named as Mr. Wyant and Mr. Rollo), went so far as to actually name a specific black athlete she could blame it on. Of course, she refused.
In her remaining time at the university, Naughright testified that Manning, in her presence, on two separate occasions, deliberately reenacted the sexual assault on other student athletes to terrorize her. On another occasion he allegedly called her a "bitch" in front of other athletes after snatching a marker used to label drug-test specimens from her hand and throwing it across the room (see page 22).
When Naughright finally left the University of Tennessee it was both heartbreaking and a great relief. She was hired to be an assistant professor and the program director of the Athletic Education Training Program at Florida Southern College. For more than three years she served Florida Southern with great distinction. She received regular raises, outstanding reviews, and was credited for helping grow the program in measurable ways.
In 1998, she served as the head athletic trainer for the U.S. women's track and field program in Beijing. Two years later, she was hired to be the head athletic trainer for the both the men's and women's USA track and field teams in their competition versus Canada. Her professional life had clearly turned a corner. Beloved both by athletes and her colleagues, Naughright had decided she'd never discuss the sexual assault by Manning publicly. In fact, both she and Manning signed a confidentiality agreement when she left the University of Tennessee that they would not discuss it.
Yet, in 2001, after moving on and revitalizing her career, everything came crashing down again. Now a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, and more famous than ever, Manning violated the confidentiality agreement in a way that could not be undone. It has marked Naughright like a scarlet letter to this very day.
On May 16th, 2001, Naughright returned to Florida after accompanying her students on an educational and medical trip to South Africa. When she arrived at her office, she found a large manilla envelope in a receptacle on her door with the words "Dr. Vulgar Mouth Whited" printed on it (see page 1). Whited was Naughright's married name for most of her time at the University of Tennessee. She was immediately disturbed. Other employees testified that the envelope had been there for a few days before she arrived home from South Africa.
In it, were Xerox copies from some type of publication. It appeared to be written by Peyton Manning and it was about her. Colleagues who saw her after opening it testified that she was shaken up by what she read. Manning and his father, Archie, had written a book called "The Mannings" and perhaps wanting to put their stamp on the incident in Knoxville before it ever reached the public, they threw Naughright under bus.
Her supervisor at Florida Southern had already opened the envelope and read what was in it. What Manning said about her ruined her career at Florida Southern and in college athletics once and for all. After years of amazing reviews and great work at the university, the controversy from the book and the stress it created eventually caused Dr. Jamie Naughright to be let go, once again, for doing nothing wrong.
It appears that Peyton and Archie Manning thought Naughright would accept what they did to her quietly. They were wrong. This time, she did file suit against Peyton Manning, Archie Manning, the ghostwriter John Underwood, and the publisher Harper Collins. Manning and his lawyers asked for the case to be dismissed, but Polk County Circuit Judge Harvey A. Kornstein not only denied the motion but put Peyton Manning, his father, and the others on blast. In his statement, he said:
Under deposition, it was learned from their ghostwriter, John Underwood, that Archie Manning, speaking of Dr. Jamie Naughright said, "He didn't really like this girl."
Playing a bit of good cop, bad cop, Peyton said, "I certainly didn't dislike her. I thought she had a vulgar mouth, but I always tried to be nice." Peyton went on to describe a few favors that he did for Dr. Naughright, including one on a trip to Virginia, where, at Naughright's request, he gave some younger students a ride somewhere.
When forced to testify about this incident in a deposition, attorneys asked Peyton to describe a specific incident when Dr. Naughright had a "vulgar mouth." He could only think of one — it was during the Virginia trip. According to Manning, Dr. Naughright said to him, "These motherfuckers are yours. Get these motherfuckers off my hands for a little while."
It appears that Manning, who was under oath, completely concocted this story out of thin air. Again, just as he expected the student athlete, Malcolm Saxon, to go along with the story of his mooning Naughright, he assumed that the plethora of witnesses in Virginia would also go along with his new lie. Unfortunately for him, they didn't.
On the trip to Charlottesville, Va., five University of Tennessee students were selected to go to the NCAA's annual APPLE Conference, a training symposium on substance-abuse prevention and health promotion for student athletes and athletic department administrators. One was Manning. Three were teammates from the football team: Eric Lane, Scott Pfeiffer and Tyrone Hines. The last, Geno Devane, was a track and field athlete.
The other four students, all juniors and seniors, were all older than Manning, who was a sophomore. Under oath, they each testified that Manning never gave them a ride anywhere that night and never would have. It was a peculiar story. But the strangest — and most damning — part of their testimony, though, was that they each made it abundantly clear that they never heard Naughright say one vulgar word that night or on any other occasion. Devane, a medical student at the time of his testimony, said, "I can assure you that I would remember. I would have been very upset if that had occurred. That type of language would have been completely out of character because she was always very professional around me and other student-athletes."
Furthermore, Devane recalls very clearly who drove the athletes that night and it wasn't Manning; it was Eric Lane. Devane's testimony gets even more damning. Line by line, and statement by statement, he repeatedly testifies, "I unequivocally state that this did not occur," regarding virtually every aspect of the story Manning concocted.
For some, the testimony of Eric Lane can be considered even worse than that of Devane. Lane was not only Manning's teammate, but also his fullback on offense. At the time of his testimony he was an employee of the University of Tennessee and in the final year of law school. He also testified that he could not recall any such thing ever being said or done by Naughright.
Jill Griffin, the head of the Metropolitan Drug Commission in Knoxville, who was also on the trip, roomed with Naughright and spent a great deal of time with her, testified that she never heard Naughright say a vulgar word over the entire history of them knowing each other and, furthermore, that she never heard her calling students by vulgar names. In fact, Griffin testified that Naughright was exceedingly professional at all times with the students.
While not personal friends, Griffin and Naughright worked together on the drug commission for over three years. She testified that she was an "excellent board member," and that she "had a good reputation in the Knoxville community and on the Metropolitan Drug Commission."
But it gets worse. Much worse. Soon after the alleged sexual assault, records show that Manning told the school, "I have never approved of Jamie's vulgar language. It has always been my opinion, along with the majority of the team, that Jamie wants to be one of the guys."
To his father, he concocted far worse lies that were torn apart, one by one, when he and others were forced to testify under oath. He told his father, Archie, "she's kind of trashy," and "had the most vulgar mouth of any girl he'd ever seen" and "was unattractive but had big breasts" and had "been out with a bunch of black guys" and "had a toilet mouth."
Under oath, the ghostwriter, John Underwood revealed that Archie Manning suggested to him that Naughright was going into the dorms and having sex with large numbers of black student athletes. After saying that she was up in the dorms with black students, Archie, states:
"And, she'd, she'd, been up in the dorm before, I mean hey, you know, they could have, you know, could have pulled off stuff on her too. Ah, she, toilet mouth, ah Peyton told me he never did like her, but he always did, cause what I'd told him to do, ah, I instructed him to be nice to the tr- … don't ever look down on a trainer or an equipment person you know."
According to the records, attorneys for Naughright drilled person after person, staff member after staff member, asking them to identify an instance where they heard Naughright use vulgar language. Not a single person could do so. One after another, those who claimed she was promiscuous admitted under oath that they didn't have any evidence to support such claims. No one with firsthand knowledge testified to her ever being vulgar or having sexual relationships with student athletes.
Lawrence Johnson, an Olympic silver medalist and gold medalist at the World Indoor Games, testified at great length to the character, compassion, professionalism, and overall amazing nature of Dr. Jamie Naughright. He testified that he believed he had attended at least 80 different local, national, and international events with her and that he had not heard her a single vulgar word in the 10 years he had known and worked with her. He testified that she was "professional and proper" in her conduct, appearance, and demeanor. He went on testify how she came to check on him at his bedside after surgeries and traveled with him to meets all over the world to ensure his peak performance.
Another student athlete, Antonio Brewer, who has known Naughright since 1995, testified that he personally knew her to have high moral character and that her reputation for being a moral person was actually well-known at the university. He testified that he had never heard her use vulgar language of any kind and that he was deeply offended by the racist suggestion made by Archie Manning that she was sleeping around with black athletes.
According to all reports Dr. Naughright has not worked in college athletics since being let go from Florida Southern. The defamation suit was settled in 2003 but terms were not disclosed. Naughright settled her suit againt the University of Tennessee for a reported $300,000.
Dr. Jamie Naughright was not "a girl" sexually assaulted by Peyton Manning-- she was an esteemed professional widely admired by students and peers alike at the University of Tennessee, where she was the Director of Health & Wellness for the Men's Athletic Program.
Jamie Naughright had been a staple across all sports programs at the University of Tennessee and had more tenure than most of the football staff, including the head coach at the time, Phillip Fulmer.
Starting as a student in 1988, Naughright devoted her entire life to the University of Tennessee athletic program. She was a student trainer for the women's athletic programs and a supervisor for intramural sports on campus. From 1989-91, she was the student trainer for the men's athletic department. After earning her bachelor's degree and entering grad school, she became the graduate assistant trainer for the men's athletic program for two years. Gifted and respected throughout the campus, she was hired as the assistant trainer for the entire men's athletic program in 1993, following a year as a full-time intern.
After two years in that role, she was hired as the Director of Health and Wellness for the Men's Athletic Program. In that position she developed widely acclaimed educational and medical programs for students and oversaw the drug testing of all of the male athletes. She presented academic papers, served as an instructor and lecturer for college courses, and traveled frequently with students and staff to conferences all over the country. She started successful community projects and raised funds for local charities.
While serving as the Director of Health and Wellness, Naughright also was the head trainer for Tennessee's track and field program, which includes cross country, indoor, and outdoor athletics. In that position she hired and trained 25 staff members, oversaw all medical care for every track and field athlete, served as the medical director for large events, coordinated annual physicals and supervised weekly drug testing. So many athletes — which would eventually include medal-winning Olympians — developed such a deep respect for Dr. Naughright that she would be requested to travel with them to international events and world championships.
In addition to all of her other responsibilities, Naughright served as the associate athletic trainer for the men's football program. The years Naughright was employed as the associate trainer by the men's football program, from 1996-98, were arguably the three best years in the modern history of the program, as the team won back-to-back SEC championships and the national title. Dr. Jamie Naughright was as an absolute force of nature in the University of Tennessee's sports program.
At that time, Naughright's education, training and ascension through the ranks of the University of Tennessee's athletic program should have culminated, after more than 10 years of service to the institution, with her being able to land any job she wanted. When football teams win SEC championships and national titles, key employees can pretty much dictate where in the sports world they want to work next. If Dr. Jamie Naughright was a man that likely would've been the case for her as well.
But Naughright was a woman-- and the harassment she suffered at the hands of her male peers began as far back as when she initially was transferred to the UT men's athletic programs in 1989. According to court documents and affidavits, her boss, associate trainer Mike Rollo, perceived Naughright to be a lesbian. Rollo, who had just left working with a group of young women he also thought to be lesbians, allegedly began calling Naughright "cunt bumper." This wasn't a rare occurrence or something he said to her only in private; he allegedly called her that in front of others. For three years, until 1992, when Naughright built up enough courage to complain, she said she was almost exclusively called "cunt bumper," or "bumper" for short, by a variety of staff members in the program.
According to the allegations in the documents, Rollo regularly referred to the women's teams, known as the Lady Volunteers, as the Lady Lickers. Naughright, who is not a lesbian, said she was told by Rollo that she would just have to get used to hearing such vulgarities. Since she was one of the first women to work in the men's program, the 20-year-old Naughright decided to endure the abuse if it meant she could serve as a pioneer of sorts for women in sports. After Naughright issued a formal complaint, Rollo and other staff members allegedly were ordered by administrators to cease the practice. While the name "c--t bumper" ceased, Rollo and the staff continued to call her "bumper" and would frequently add other sexual adjectives to it.
Determined to persevere without jeopardizing her career, Naughright began writing policies for the program prohibiting foul or abusive language. First she instituted the policies for athletic training rooms, then later the male cheerleading program. Eventually she would train a variety of student athletes on the proper and professional use of appropriate language.
It was in the fall of 1994 when Peyton Manning entered the University of Tennessee football program as the already-famous son of legendary college and pro football star Archie Manning. That semester, his first on campus, some type of incident involving Manning and Naughright occurred. By request of the counsel of Peyton Manning, the details of that incident have been sealed and three-and-a-half pages concerning it have been redacted from the permanent record.
Whatever happened, Naughright claims it colored and informed the professional interactions between Naughright and Manning from that time on and caused Manning to consistently harbor anger toward her. Yet in spite of the drama, Naughright served as the medical director for the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 1995 and was a member of the training staff prepping for the Olympics trials for the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
On February 29, 1996, Naughright (at that point the university's director of health and wellness) was in a training room, examining what she thought might be a possible stress fracture in Manning's foot. At 6 feet, 5 inches, his feet dangled off the edge of the table. Manning allegedly then proceeded to scoot down the training table while Naughright examined his foot. At that point, she said, he forcefully maneuvered his naked testicles and rectum directly on her face with his penis on top of her head. Shocked, disgusted, and offended, Naughright pushed Manning away, removing her head out from under him. Within hours, she reported the incident to the Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Knoxville.
According to the court records, Manning initially denied the incident ever took place. It was a calculated risk. He was the star quarterback, a Heisman trophy hopeful, and a likely No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. While Naughright was now a respected member of the staff, Manning was the star, the savior of Tennessee football. It was his word against hers.
When Rollo learned of the complaint, he allegedly concocted a story that Manning actually pulled down his pants to moon another student-athlete, Malcolm Saxon, who was nearby. According to Rollo, after mooning the student, Naughright just happened to move her head right into Manning's pelvic region. Rollo acknowledged under oath that he was the first person to use the word “mooning.”
One person, though, could settle all of this-- Malcolm Saxon.
And, in fact, he did settle it. In an affidavit, Saxon refuted Manning's story and made it clear that Manning never mooned him. In a letter to Manning, Saxon, who stated that he lost his eligibility as a student-athlete over it, practically begged him to come forward and tell the truth. Here's an excerpt from the letter:
"First, I have stuck to my same story throughout this drama. I told Mike Rollo the next day and Coach Fulmer a week or two afterwards. I had nothing to hide at that point and I have nothing to hide today. I have never been on Jamie's side or on your side (contrary to what the athletic department was telling you and telling her). I stuck to the truth and I lost my eligibility for it. My redshirt request sat on Mike Rollo's desk for months as the process was going forward. I'm not angry about it anymore, just getting a little tired of it!!Saxon goes on to tell Peyton things like:
"Peyton, you messed up. I still don't know why you dropped your drawers. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe not. But it was definitely inappropriate. Please take some personal responsibility here and own up to what you did. I never understood why you didn't admit to it...."
"Coming clean is the right thing to do.For anybody other than Peyton Manning, such damning statements from a fellow student who had no dog in the fight would have been the nail in their coffin. As a general rule, it's not just gross to smash your testicles on a woman's face, it's a crime.
You have shown no mercy or grace to this lady who was on her knees seeing if you had a stress fracture.
You might as well maintain some dignity and admit to what happened.
Your celebrity doesn't mean that you can treat folks this way."
When Rollo was asked, under oath, if the woman he had known for more than seven years would respond in such a way to being mooned, he repeatedly said no. Yet he allegedly concocted the mooning narrative, nonetheless.
Instead, the school asked Naughright to leave. Having poured her heart and soul out to the University of Tennessee for nearly 10 years, she agreed, as a part of a settlement agreement, to part ways.
Before she left, though, two staff members of the school asked Naughright if she would consider blaming the entire incident not on Manning, but on another athlete — a black one. According to Naughright, the staff members (named as Mr. Wyant and Mr. Rollo), went so far as to actually name a specific black athlete she could blame it on. Of course, she refused.
In her remaining time at the university, Naughright testified that Manning, in her presence, on two separate occasions, deliberately reenacted the sexual assault on other student athletes to terrorize her. On another occasion he allegedly called her a "bitch" in front of other athletes after snatching a marker used to label drug-test specimens from her hand and throwing it across the room (see page 22).
When Naughright finally left the University of Tennessee it was both heartbreaking and a great relief. She was hired to be an assistant professor and the program director of the Athletic Education Training Program at Florida Southern College. For more than three years she served Florida Southern with great distinction. She received regular raises, outstanding reviews, and was credited for helping grow the program in measurable ways.
In 1998, she served as the head athletic trainer for the U.S. women's track and field program in Beijing. Two years later, she was hired to be the head athletic trainer for the both the men's and women's USA track and field teams in their competition versus Canada. Her professional life had clearly turned a corner. Beloved both by athletes and her colleagues, Naughright had decided she'd never discuss the sexual assault by Manning publicly. In fact, both she and Manning signed a confidentiality agreement when she left the University of Tennessee that they would not discuss it.
Yet, in 2001, after moving on and revitalizing her career, everything came crashing down again. Now a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, and more famous than ever, Manning violated the confidentiality agreement in a way that could not be undone. It has marked Naughright like a scarlet letter to this very day.
On May 16th, 2001, Naughright returned to Florida after accompanying her students on an educational and medical trip to South Africa. When she arrived at her office, she found a large manilla envelope in a receptacle on her door with the words "Dr. Vulgar Mouth Whited" printed on it (see page 1). Whited was Naughright's married name for most of her time at the University of Tennessee. She was immediately disturbed. Other employees testified that the envelope had been there for a few days before she arrived home from South Africa.
In it, were Xerox copies from some type of publication. It appeared to be written by Peyton Manning and it was about her. Colleagues who saw her after opening it testified that she was shaken up by what she read. Manning and his father, Archie, had written a book called "The Mannings" and perhaps wanting to put their stamp on the incident in Knoxville before it ever reached the public, they threw Naughright under bus.
Her supervisor at Florida Southern had already opened the envelope and read what was in it. What Manning said about her ruined her career at Florida Southern and in college athletics once and for all. After years of amazing reviews and great work at the university, the controversy from the book and the stress it created eventually caused Dr. Jamie Naughright to be let go, once again, for doing nothing wrong.
It appears that Peyton and Archie Manning thought Naughright would accept what they did to her quietly. They were wrong. This time, she did file suit against Peyton Manning, Archie Manning, the ghostwriter John Underwood, and the publisher Harper Collins. Manning and his lawyers asked for the case to be dismissed, but Polk County Circuit Judge Harvey A. Kornstein not only denied the motion but put Peyton Manning, his father, and the others on blast. In his statement, he said:
"Even if the plaintiff is a public figure, the evidence of record contains sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that a genuine issue of material fact exists that would allow a jury to find, by clear and convincing evidence, the existence of actual malice of the part of the defendants.In other words, Judge Kornstein said that there is evidence to support the conclusion that Peyton Manning lied in his book about the incidents and knew that he was lying about the incidents.
"Specifically, there is evidence of record, substantial enough to suggest that the defendants knew that the passages in question were false, or acted in reckless disregard of their falsity. There is evidence of record to suggest that there were obvious reasons to doubt the veracity of Peyton Manning's account of the incident in question. The court further finds that there is sufficient evidence to permit the conclusion that the defendants entertained serious doubts as to the truth of the passages in this case."
Under deposition, it was learned from their ghostwriter, John Underwood, that Archie Manning, speaking of Dr. Jamie Naughright said, "He didn't really like this girl."
Playing a bit of good cop, bad cop, Peyton said, "I certainly didn't dislike her. I thought she had a vulgar mouth, but I always tried to be nice." Peyton went on to describe a few favors that he did for Dr. Naughright, including one on a trip to Virginia, where, at Naughright's request, he gave some younger students a ride somewhere.
When forced to testify about this incident in a deposition, attorneys asked Peyton to describe a specific incident when Dr. Naughright had a "vulgar mouth." He could only think of one — it was during the Virginia trip. According to Manning, Dr. Naughright said to him, "These motherfuckers are yours. Get these motherfuckers off my hands for a little while."
It appears that Manning, who was under oath, completely concocted this story out of thin air. Again, just as he expected the student athlete, Malcolm Saxon, to go along with the story of his mooning Naughright, he assumed that the plethora of witnesses in Virginia would also go along with his new lie. Unfortunately for him, they didn't.
On the trip to Charlottesville, Va., five University of Tennessee students were selected to go to the NCAA's annual APPLE Conference, a training symposium on substance-abuse prevention and health promotion for student athletes and athletic department administrators. One was Manning. Three were teammates from the football team: Eric Lane, Scott Pfeiffer and Tyrone Hines. The last, Geno Devane, was a track and field athlete.
The other four students, all juniors and seniors, were all older than Manning, who was a sophomore. Under oath, they each testified that Manning never gave them a ride anywhere that night and never would have. It was a peculiar story. But the strangest — and most damning — part of their testimony, though, was that they each made it abundantly clear that they never heard Naughright say one vulgar word that night or on any other occasion. Devane, a medical student at the time of his testimony, said, "I can assure you that I would remember. I would have been very upset if that had occurred. That type of language would have been completely out of character because she was always very professional around me and other student-athletes."
Furthermore, Devane recalls very clearly who drove the athletes that night and it wasn't Manning; it was Eric Lane. Devane's testimony gets even more damning. Line by line, and statement by statement, he repeatedly testifies, "I unequivocally state that this did not occur," regarding virtually every aspect of the story Manning concocted.
For some, the testimony of Eric Lane can be considered even worse than that of Devane. Lane was not only Manning's teammate, but also his fullback on offense. At the time of his testimony he was an employee of the University of Tennessee and in the final year of law school. He also testified that he could not recall any such thing ever being said or done by Naughright.
Jill Griffin, the head of the Metropolitan Drug Commission in Knoxville, who was also on the trip, roomed with Naughright and spent a great deal of time with her, testified that she never heard Naughright say a vulgar word over the entire history of them knowing each other and, furthermore, that she never heard her calling students by vulgar names. In fact, Griffin testified that Naughright was exceedingly professional at all times with the students.
While not personal friends, Griffin and Naughright worked together on the drug commission for over three years. She testified that she was an "excellent board member," and that she "had a good reputation in the Knoxville community and on the Metropolitan Drug Commission."
But it gets worse. Much worse. Soon after the alleged sexual assault, records show that Manning told the school, "I have never approved of Jamie's vulgar language. It has always been my opinion, along with the majority of the team, that Jamie wants to be one of the guys."
To his father, he concocted far worse lies that were torn apart, one by one, when he and others were forced to testify under oath. He told his father, Archie, "she's kind of trashy," and "had the most vulgar mouth of any girl he'd ever seen" and "was unattractive but had big breasts" and had "been out with a bunch of black guys" and "had a toilet mouth."
Under oath, the ghostwriter, John Underwood revealed that Archie Manning suggested to him that Naughright was going into the dorms and having sex with large numbers of black student athletes. After saying that she was up in the dorms with black students, Archie, states:
"And, she'd, she'd, been up in the dorm before, I mean hey, you know, they could have, you know, could have pulled off stuff on her too. Ah, she, toilet mouth, ah Peyton told me he never did like her, but he always did, cause what I'd told him to do, ah, I instructed him to be nice to the tr- … don't ever look down on a trainer or an equipment person you know."
According to the records, attorneys for Naughright drilled person after person, staff member after staff member, asking them to identify an instance where they heard Naughright use vulgar language. Not a single person could do so. One after another, those who claimed she was promiscuous admitted under oath that they didn't have any evidence to support such claims. No one with firsthand knowledge testified to her ever being vulgar or having sexual relationships with student athletes.
Lawrence Johnson, an Olympic silver medalist and gold medalist at the World Indoor Games, testified at great length to the character, compassion, professionalism, and overall amazing nature of Dr. Jamie Naughright. He testified that he believed he had attended at least 80 different local, national, and international events with her and that he had not heard her a single vulgar word in the 10 years he had known and worked with her. He testified that she was "professional and proper" in her conduct, appearance, and demeanor. He went on testify how she came to check on him at his bedside after surgeries and traveled with him to meets all over the world to ensure his peak performance.
Another student athlete, Antonio Brewer, who has known Naughright since 1995, testified that he personally knew her to have high moral character and that her reputation for being a moral person was actually well-known at the university. He testified that he had never heard her use vulgar language of any kind and that he was deeply offended by the racist suggestion made by Archie Manning that she was sleeping around with black athletes.
According to all reports Dr. Naughright has not worked in college athletics since being let go from Florida Southern. The defamation suit was settled in 2003 but terms were not disclosed. Naughright settled her suit againt the University of Tennessee for a reported $300,000.
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