Just wanted to take a few moments to publicly thank God for some stuff going on in my life...
First, the house is returning to normalcy. The new dry wall and painting are done. The new colors my wife picked look great. And most importantly we have a few days of peace and quiet before we head to the beach Sunday for the next week so the floors can be refinished. Given the hassle this whole water damage thing has been it is great to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Second, I hit 1000 friends on Facebook this week and it put me in mind of how amazing it is to be blessed to have so many talented, dedicated, and truly amazing people in my life. None of them are there by accident and I praise God for it.
Third, we had a great NASCAR weekend at Atlanta. We had some old friends over and made some new ones as well. Two highlights were seeing my old friend Brian Carty for the first time in 15 years and hosting the Motor Racing Outreach ministry staff for dinner at our place on Saturday night. I was really touched by Nationwide Series Chaplain Lonnie Clouse telling me about his plan to move his family to Mexico to work with orphans. Hearing Lonnie share his heart for children was a blessing.
Finally, I'm going fishing tomorrow. It's my first trip of 2010. Folks who know me know how much I enjoy hunting and fishing. Due to my achilles injury I didn't get to make a single trip deer hunting this past fall. (probably for the first time in 30 years) This injury showed me how much I take for granted the physical freedom God has blessed me with to do things that I enjoy. I will savor the time out tomorrow even if I don't get a bite.
So the words from the old doxology are definitely ringing true in my life...Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!!!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The truth about NOW and Tim Tebow
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is showing its true colors with its criticisms of a Super Bowl ad featuring Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother Pam.
First, a little background on the ad. When Pam Tebow was pregnant with Tim while on a Christian missionary assignment in the Philippines she was diagnosed with a health problem that led doctors to recommend she have an abortion for her own protection. She carried the baby to term against the advice of those doctors eventually giving birth to Tim, quite possibly the most decorated college football player since Jim Thorpe. The commercial, which is being financed by Focus on the Family, shares this story and encourages people to “celebrate family and celebrate life.”
The commercial has led to protests and upheaval from the usual cast of left of center groups claiming to be advocates for women. Predictably, the leader of this pack is NOW and its president Terri O’Neill.
In calling on CBS to ditch the ad, O’Neill begins by saying she respects the private choices made by women like Pam Tebow, but continues to say that she finds the commercial to be “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.”
Who exactly is offended or demeaned by this story is unclear. Perhaps Miss O’Neill is offended that Pam Tebow didn’t defer to her doctors. Or maybe she just hates the Florida Gators. O'Neill didn't exactly say.
But her next comments reveal the lie that is really at the heart of her philosophy. “That’s not being respectful of other people’s lives,” says O’Neill. “It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else’s.”
Listen to Miss O’Neill’s words carefully. What she has really said is that there is no such thing as truth. She would sacrifice the very existence of right and wrong to promote her agenda that says anyone (or at least women) should be able to do whatever they please without facing the stigma of having made a moral judgment. The very idea that one choice could be than another choice is offensive.
Consider where her logic takes us. Can we not say that hard work is superior to stealing? If I criticize those who choose to molest children am I being offensive? Are those who rape just making a different but equal choice from those who don’t?
These statements prove conclusively that the leadership of the National Organization for Women is morally bankrupt.
Regardless of how offensive it might be to Miss O’Neill, there is such a thing as right and wrong. Good and evil exist. We cannot divorce ourselves of the moral dimensions of the choices we make no matter how much we may wish those dimensions didn’t exist.
If O’Neill is so offended at the Tebow’s message, then here is what I suggest she do. Let NOW raise the 2.8 million dollars necessary to pay for a Super Bowl ad and put women on television who will tell the story of their decision to have an abortion. If choice is the most sacred of values, let’s give the public a choice between the grief, guilt and heart wrenching agony felt by untold scores of women who have experienced the trauma of abortion and compare that to the heart warming story of Pam Tebow’s unconditional love for her unborn baby who was special to her before he became a football hero.
Perhaps then the world would see the moral bankruptcy of Miss O’Neill’s philosophy and they would choose accordingly.
First, a little background on the ad. When Pam Tebow was pregnant with Tim while on a Christian missionary assignment in the Philippines she was diagnosed with a health problem that led doctors to recommend she have an abortion for her own protection. She carried the baby to term against the advice of those doctors eventually giving birth to Tim, quite possibly the most decorated college football player since Jim Thorpe. The commercial, which is being financed by Focus on the Family, shares this story and encourages people to “celebrate family and celebrate life.”
The commercial has led to protests and upheaval from the usual cast of left of center groups claiming to be advocates for women. Predictably, the leader of this pack is NOW and its president Terri O’Neill.
In calling on CBS to ditch the ad, O’Neill begins by saying she respects the private choices made by women like Pam Tebow, but continues to say that she finds the commercial to be “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.”
Who exactly is offended or demeaned by this story is unclear. Perhaps Miss O’Neill is offended that Pam Tebow didn’t defer to her doctors. Or maybe she just hates the Florida Gators. O'Neill didn't exactly say.
But her next comments reveal the lie that is really at the heart of her philosophy. “That’s not being respectful of other people’s lives,” says O’Neill. “It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else’s.”
Listen to Miss O’Neill’s words carefully. What she has really said is that there is no such thing as truth. She would sacrifice the very existence of right and wrong to promote her agenda that says anyone (or at least women) should be able to do whatever they please without facing the stigma of having made a moral judgment. The very idea that one choice could be than another choice is offensive.
Consider where her logic takes us. Can we not say that hard work is superior to stealing? If I criticize those who choose to molest children am I being offensive? Are those who rape just making a different but equal choice from those who don’t?
These statements prove conclusively that the leadership of the National Organization for Women is morally bankrupt.
Regardless of how offensive it might be to Miss O’Neill, there is such a thing as right and wrong. Good and evil exist. We cannot divorce ourselves of the moral dimensions of the choices we make no matter how much we may wish those dimensions didn’t exist.
If O’Neill is so offended at the Tebow’s message, then here is what I suggest she do. Let NOW raise the 2.8 million dollars necessary to pay for a Super Bowl ad and put women on television who will tell the story of their decision to have an abortion. If choice is the most sacred of values, let’s give the public a choice between the grief, guilt and heart wrenching agony felt by untold scores of women who have experienced the trauma of abortion and compare that to the heart warming story of Pam Tebow’s unconditional love for her unborn baby who was special to her before he became a football hero.
Perhaps then the world would see the moral bankruptcy of Miss O’Neill’s philosophy and they would choose accordingly.
Monday, November 23, 2009
A quick follow up word on college football officiating
If you follow ACC football at all you know that when you look up "terrible officiating" in the encyclopedia you see Ron Cherry's picture front and center. It doesn't matter who your favorite team is, everybody agrees that this guy and his entire crew are unmatched for incompetence.
The Ron Cherry circus took it to a new level on Saturday in Clemson. After scoring Clemson's first touchdown, tight end Dwayne Allen stood at attention and saluted towards the America flag. He then turned and jogged off the field. Allen was promptly cited for a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Did I mention that it was military appreciation day at the stadium?
Saluting the flag on military appreciation day is "unsportsmanlike"? The ACC should apologize to Dwayne Allen, Clemson University, and most importantly to anyone who has ever served in the United States military for their ridiculous definition of sportsmanship.
The Ron Cherry circus took it to a new level on Saturday in Clemson. After scoring Clemson's first touchdown, tight end Dwayne Allen stood at attention and saluted towards the America flag. He then turned and jogged off the field. Allen was promptly cited for a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Did I mention that it was military appreciation day at the stadium?
Saluting the flag on military appreciation day is "unsportsmanlike"? The ACC should apologize to Dwayne Allen, Clemson University, and most importantly to anyone who has ever served in the United States military for their ridiculous definition of sportsmanship.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
My first experience with government run health care
Rather than rehash a synopsis of the myriad of policy and ideological arguments that can be made for and against the current health care reform movement, I’d like to share with you my own ongoing experience with government run health care in South Carolina.
I have two daughters. Claire turned one in October and Lauren will be three in April. My wife, like so many mothers of young children, has been very concerned with the H1N1 virus (swine flu). She has been awaiting the availability of the vaccine in our area.
Trouble is that it’s not here yet in mass supply. After copious amounts of time spent on the phone and internet, my wife discovered the vaccine was being offered at the North Charleston Health Department. She phoned and asked if it was available locally. It was not. All of the vaccine that the state had was in North Charleston. Vaccinations were free, but by appointment only. The earliest available appointment was in about two weeks. The folks at the Health Department weren’t able to say when or where the vaccine would be available next, so my wife took the earliest available appointment and continued to monitor the situation.
The next week, my wife discovered that the vaccinations were being offered at the Health Department in Sumter County. Once again they were taking appointments. Because Sumter is much closer to us than Charleston, my wife made an appointment there for the upcoming Friday and cancelled the appointments in North Charleston. Once again there was no information available on if or when the vaccine may be available in Columbia.
After making the appointment in Sumter County, my wife found out late last week that the vaccine was going to be available at the Health Department in Aiken County. Unlike Charleston and Sumter, there would be no appointments accepted. Instead, shots would be made available free of charge on a first come first served basis beginning at 3pm on Monday, November 2nd.
So yesterday we loaded up the girls and drove to my inlaws in North Augusta (Aiken County). My wife and Grandma took the girls over to the Health Department in North Augusta. They arrived at 3pm and there was already a lengthy line.
Health Department personnel then informed everyone in line that was over 65 years old that they were ineligible to receive the vaccination and sent them home. Then they told the adults 25 to 64 that they could only get the vaccine if they had some sort of underlying medical condition such as asthma. Yet another group went home.
Finally, after standing in line for over 2 hours (much of which was spent outside the building on the sidewalk), my children received the vaccination. They were the 114th and 115th people to receive the vaccination that afternoon.
After getting the shots, my wife was given instructions to call the Health Department the next day to make arrangements to get the second administration of the vaccinations. (The vaccine requires two administrations to be effective in children their age).
So my wife calls to make the follow up appointment this morning and what do you suppose they tell her? First, they only give follow up vaccinations on Tuesdays. Second, due to the helter skelter availability of the vaccine, they do not make appointments for follow ups longer than 24 hours in advance because they could not be certain they would even have it.
So to sum up... After standing in line for hours, my kids got the first half of a vaccine with zero guarantee that they would be able to get the second half of the vaccine required to make it effective. But at least they fared better than old folks. They were summarily told to take a hike before the first shot was given. Information was scarce and the people giving the information and administering the vaccinations weren’t exactly “fired up” about providing good customer service.
Limited availability. Long lines. Rationing. Poor customer service. And no guarantee that any of it will do my children a lick of good.
But at least the shot was “free”.
I can’t wait for the government to bring this efficiency and quality to the rest of my health care. How about you?
I have two daughters. Claire turned one in October and Lauren will be three in April. My wife, like so many mothers of young children, has been very concerned with the H1N1 virus (swine flu). She has been awaiting the availability of the vaccine in our area.
Trouble is that it’s not here yet in mass supply. After copious amounts of time spent on the phone and internet, my wife discovered the vaccine was being offered at the North Charleston Health Department. She phoned and asked if it was available locally. It was not. All of the vaccine that the state had was in North Charleston. Vaccinations were free, but by appointment only. The earliest available appointment was in about two weeks. The folks at the Health Department weren’t able to say when or where the vaccine would be available next, so my wife took the earliest available appointment and continued to monitor the situation.
The next week, my wife discovered that the vaccinations were being offered at the Health Department in Sumter County. Once again they were taking appointments. Because Sumter is much closer to us than Charleston, my wife made an appointment there for the upcoming Friday and cancelled the appointments in North Charleston. Once again there was no information available on if or when the vaccine may be available in Columbia.
After making the appointment in Sumter County, my wife found out late last week that the vaccine was going to be available at the Health Department in Aiken County. Unlike Charleston and Sumter, there would be no appointments accepted. Instead, shots would be made available free of charge on a first come first served basis beginning at 3pm on Monday, November 2nd.
So yesterday we loaded up the girls and drove to my inlaws in North Augusta (Aiken County). My wife and Grandma took the girls over to the Health Department in North Augusta. They arrived at 3pm and there was already a lengthy line.
Health Department personnel then informed everyone in line that was over 65 years old that they were ineligible to receive the vaccination and sent them home. Then they told the adults 25 to 64 that they could only get the vaccine if they had some sort of underlying medical condition such as asthma. Yet another group went home.
Finally, after standing in line for over 2 hours (much of which was spent outside the building on the sidewalk), my children received the vaccination. They were the 114th and 115th people to receive the vaccination that afternoon.
After getting the shots, my wife was given instructions to call the Health Department the next day to make arrangements to get the second administration of the vaccinations. (The vaccine requires two administrations to be effective in children their age).
So my wife calls to make the follow up appointment this morning and what do you suppose they tell her? First, they only give follow up vaccinations on Tuesdays. Second, due to the helter skelter availability of the vaccine, they do not make appointments for follow ups longer than 24 hours in advance because they could not be certain they would even have it.
So to sum up... After standing in line for hours, my kids got the first half of a vaccine with zero guarantee that they would be able to get the second half of the vaccine required to make it effective. But at least they fared better than old folks. They were summarily told to take a hike before the first shot was given. Information was scarce and the people giving the information and administering the vaccinations weren’t exactly “fired up” about providing good customer service.
Limited availability. Long lines. Rationing. Poor customer service. And no guarantee that any of it will do my children a lick of good.
But at least the shot was “free”.
I can’t wait for the government to bring this efficiency and quality to the rest of my health care. How about you?
Friday, October 30, 2009
College Football's Officiating Problem
I read a column in The State Newspaper this morning by Ron Morris basically chastising SEC Football Coaches for their recent criticisms of the conference’s officiating crews. Bobby Petrino of Arkansas, Dan Mullen of Mississippi State, Bobby Johnson of Vanderbilt and Steve Spurrier of South Carolina were singled out in some fashion or another but the bulk of Morris vitriol was reserved for Lane Kiffin of Tennessee.
Following a recent two point loss to top ranked Alabama, Kiffin was publicly critical of the lack of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Alabama after a crucial play in the game. Kiffin went on to generally criticize the crew for their work over the entire game as 8 penalties were called against Tennessee but only one was called against Alabama.
Morris agrues that Kiffin should be suspended for maligning the credibility of the game and helping to spread “conspiracy theories”. If anybody should be suspended, it’s Ron Morris because he is obviously an SEC shill.
Does Morris think that referees are above reproach? If he does, he’s an idiot. Referees are people too and they are subject to bias and moral failings just like anybody else is.
Consider the following. Unlike every other major college sport, individual conferences insist on exercising control over the hiring and assignment of football officials. Why you ask? Well none of the major conferences has offered up a compelling answer. Could it be that the conferences want to control the officiating in select games that involve their marquee programs?
It’s not unreasonable to think so. When you consider the amount of money and commercial involvement in college football it’s almost foolish not to think so. Having marquee teams remain undefeated and participating in championship games is a cash bonanza for the conferences and their broadcast partners.
The officiating in the SEC has been so atrocious this year that one crew has already been suspended for poor performance. And anybody who watched the end of game officiating in the Florida versus Arkansas game who is not a Gator fan would have to admit that there were some very suspect penalties thrown to help the Gator’s in their winning drive. Does that mean that the refs were crooked? No, but it doesn’t help their credibility either.
What of Kiffin’s complaint about Tennessee’s 8 penalties compared to Alabama’s single infraction? Anybody who has ever played football at a high level will tell you that is beyond ridiculous. The truth is that a referee can probably call penalties on holding or illegal contact on most every play in major college or professional football. Offensive lineman are taught to play the game in the gray areas. An 8 to 1 penalty disparity is so unheard of that it merits questioning.
Would either of these cases be such a big deal if Alabama and Florida were not undefeated teams with National Championship aspirations? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean that the refs should get a free pass.
Ron Morris seems to think that referees are immune from bias or bribes or extortion from gamblers. I guess Ron thinks that NBA ref Tim Donaghy got a bad rap. By Morris’ logic Donaghy should still be a referee and any coach who questioned his authority should be suspended.
All of this could be put to rest if the major athletic conferences did in football what they do in every other sport. Set up independent regional officiating pools hire the referees and staff the games. Entities with a financial interest in the outcome of a court case don’t get to pick the judge, and entities (conferences) with a financial interest in the outcome of football games shouldn’t get to either.
If the conferences refuse to make such an easy fix, then they, along with their shills like Ron Morris, need to shut up and let the “conspiracy theories” abound.
Following a recent two point loss to top ranked Alabama, Kiffin was publicly critical of the lack of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Alabama after a crucial play in the game. Kiffin went on to generally criticize the crew for their work over the entire game as 8 penalties were called against Tennessee but only one was called against Alabama.
Morris agrues that Kiffin should be suspended for maligning the credibility of the game and helping to spread “conspiracy theories”. If anybody should be suspended, it’s Ron Morris because he is obviously an SEC shill.
Does Morris think that referees are above reproach? If he does, he’s an idiot. Referees are people too and they are subject to bias and moral failings just like anybody else is.
Consider the following. Unlike every other major college sport, individual conferences insist on exercising control over the hiring and assignment of football officials. Why you ask? Well none of the major conferences has offered up a compelling answer. Could it be that the conferences want to control the officiating in select games that involve their marquee programs?
It’s not unreasonable to think so. When you consider the amount of money and commercial involvement in college football it’s almost foolish not to think so. Having marquee teams remain undefeated and participating in championship games is a cash bonanza for the conferences and their broadcast partners.
The officiating in the SEC has been so atrocious this year that one crew has already been suspended for poor performance. And anybody who watched the end of game officiating in the Florida versus Arkansas game who is not a Gator fan would have to admit that there were some very suspect penalties thrown to help the Gator’s in their winning drive. Does that mean that the refs were crooked? No, but it doesn’t help their credibility either.
What of Kiffin’s complaint about Tennessee’s 8 penalties compared to Alabama’s single infraction? Anybody who has ever played football at a high level will tell you that is beyond ridiculous. The truth is that a referee can probably call penalties on holding or illegal contact on most every play in major college or professional football. Offensive lineman are taught to play the game in the gray areas. An 8 to 1 penalty disparity is so unheard of that it merits questioning.
Would either of these cases be such a big deal if Alabama and Florida were not undefeated teams with National Championship aspirations? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean that the refs should get a free pass.
Ron Morris seems to think that referees are immune from bias or bribes or extortion from gamblers. I guess Ron thinks that NBA ref Tim Donaghy got a bad rap. By Morris’ logic Donaghy should still be a referee and any coach who questioned his authority should be suspended.
All of this could be put to rest if the major athletic conferences did in football what they do in every other sport. Set up independent regional officiating pools hire the referees and staff the games. Entities with a financial interest in the outcome of a court case don’t get to pick the judge, and entities (conferences) with a financial interest in the outcome of football games shouldn’t get to either.
If the conferences refuse to make such an easy fix, then they, along with their shills like Ron Morris, need to shut up and let the “conspiracy theories” abound.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Why people hate lawyers
Why people hate plaintiff’s lawyers
You know I used to be a plaintiff’s lawyer. I used to wonder, why are lawyers the brunt of so many jokes and the object of so much derision?
I mean I’m a nice guy and most of my plaintiff’s lawyer brethren in the small Southern town I practiced in were nice guys too. Sure sometimes I wondered whether or not my client really hurt as bad as he said he did, but lawyers don’t make those judgments, juries do. Even though it was unpopular I felt like it was honorable work.
Since I have left that profession and moved over to the entrepreneurial ranks, I have come to better understand the angst so many feel against lawyers. I’ve seen bogus lawsuit after bogus lawsuit come down the pipe filed by agitators looking to collect millions of dollars without sustaining any real injury or damage. However, what I learned reading the news today has taken the cake for legal malfeasance.
Little League Baseball has settled a 2004 lawsuit brought by the parent of a 12 year old boy in Staten Island, NY who injured his knee sliding into second base during a game for 125,000 bucks! Among the things the lawsuit alleged was that the coaching staff was negligent in not teaching her son how to slide properly and that the local league was using bases that were not safe (although they were on the list of approved equipment).
Evidently the suit went on for 5 years prior to settlement. I shudder to think of the money that Little League had spent in defense of the case over that time. Evidently, given the crazy behavior of juries these days, Little League felt like it was better to write a check and move on than to go through the expense of a multi-day trial.
After reading the report, I just sat still for several minutes wondering what in the world was this mother thinking. Little League is a non-profit organization. Little League coaches are unpaid volunteers. You play baseball with hard balls and metal bats. There is inherent danger in baseball as there is with any sporting activity. You’d think that “Mom” might have figured this out when she noticed that they sent her son up to bat wearing a helmet….
But I don’t blame “Mom” as much as I blame the blood sucking, ambulance chasing, lawyer who brought the case. Moms have a natural instinct to protect their children and to go after anything that they sense is trying to harm them. God made them that way and more often than not, that’s a good thing. The lawyer was only in it for the money.
If that mother had walked into my office and explained her situation, I would have expressed sympathy and wished her son good luck in rehab. And I’d bet you that response would have been exactly the same in 99% of the law offices of this country. However, all you need is one lawyer totally devoid of any scruples whatsoever to ruin the reputation of the whole bunch.
The truth is that if anyone was responsible for this kid’s injury it’s the mother herself. Anybody who registers a 12 year old boy to play baseball that hasn’t already figured out how to slide on his own is patently negligent as a parent. Seriously, if I had asked my Dad how to slide when I was 12, he might literally have died of shame right there on the spot.
But I digress…this misguided lawsuit never would have happened without a slimy lawyer. What kind of snake brings a case like this against an organization like Little League? Baseball is the National Pastime for crying out loud!
He’s a disgrace to the Bar. He’s a disgrace to humanity.
And thanks to this slime ball, I’ll never again wonder why Shakespeare famously wrote in Henry VI, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”
You know I used to be a plaintiff’s lawyer. I used to wonder, why are lawyers the brunt of so many jokes and the object of so much derision?
I mean I’m a nice guy and most of my plaintiff’s lawyer brethren in the small Southern town I practiced in were nice guys too. Sure sometimes I wondered whether or not my client really hurt as bad as he said he did, but lawyers don’t make those judgments, juries do. Even though it was unpopular I felt like it was honorable work.
Since I have left that profession and moved over to the entrepreneurial ranks, I have come to better understand the angst so many feel against lawyers. I’ve seen bogus lawsuit after bogus lawsuit come down the pipe filed by agitators looking to collect millions of dollars without sustaining any real injury or damage. However, what I learned reading the news today has taken the cake for legal malfeasance.
Little League Baseball has settled a 2004 lawsuit brought by the parent of a 12 year old boy in Staten Island, NY who injured his knee sliding into second base during a game for 125,000 bucks! Among the things the lawsuit alleged was that the coaching staff was negligent in not teaching her son how to slide properly and that the local league was using bases that were not safe (although they were on the list of approved equipment).
Evidently the suit went on for 5 years prior to settlement. I shudder to think of the money that Little League had spent in defense of the case over that time. Evidently, given the crazy behavior of juries these days, Little League felt like it was better to write a check and move on than to go through the expense of a multi-day trial.
After reading the report, I just sat still for several minutes wondering what in the world was this mother thinking. Little League is a non-profit organization. Little League coaches are unpaid volunteers. You play baseball with hard balls and metal bats. There is inherent danger in baseball as there is with any sporting activity. You’d think that “Mom” might have figured this out when she noticed that they sent her son up to bat wearing a helmet….
But I don’t blame “Mom” as much as I blame the blood sucking, ambulance chasing, lawyer who brought the case. Moms have a natural instinct to protect their children and to go after anything that they sense is trying to harm them. God made them that way and more often than not, that’s a good thing. The lawyer was only in it for the money.
If that mother had walked into my office and explained her situation, I would have expressed sympathy and wished her son good luck in rehab. And I’d bet you that response would have been exactly the same in 99% of the law offices of this country. However, all you need is one lawyer totally devoid of any scruples whatsoever to ruin the reputation of the whole bunch.
The truth is that if anyone was responsible for this kid’s injury it’s the mother herself. Anybody who registers a 12 year old boy to play baseball that hasn’t already figured out how to slide on his own is patently negligent as a parent. Seriously, if I had asked my Dad how to slide when I was 12, he might literally have died of shame right there on the spot.
But I digress…this misguided lawsuit never would have happened without a slimy lawyer. What kind of snake brings a case like this against an organization like Little League? Baseball is the National Pastime for crying out loud!
He’s a disgrace to the Bar. He’s a disgrace to humanity.
And thanks to this slime ball, I’ll never again wonder why Shakespeare famously wrote in Henry VI, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Lay off Michael Vick
Let me be upfront on two things. First, I don’t like the Eagles. Never have. Second, I am not a Mike Vick fan. Didn’t like him at Virginia Tech. Dang sure didn’t like him with the Atlanta Falcons. And given that he has recently joined the Eagles, I’m sure I’ll go on not liking him for the indefinite future.
That said, I am compelled to comment about the controversy that has been set off by his recent signing and imminent return to the NFL.
I don’t understand the big deal over this. The facts are pretty simple. Vick broke the law. Vick went to jail. Vick lost his job. Vick served his sentence, got out of jail, and promptly went looking for a job. Seems like this is exactly what we’d want an ex-con to do. Why then are so many folks upset that he’s found work?
Could it be that Vick is just that evil and the folks who are upset are just that righteous? I don’t think so. These protests say a whole lot more about the ones doing the protesting than it does about Mike Vick
What if Vick had gone to jail for abusing his girlfriend or failing to pay child support instead of abusing animals? Would the “outrage” be the same? Before you say yes, consider the criminal history of many other athletes who continue to play professional sports. Ever see anybody protesting Ray Lewis or Pac Man Jones? What if Mike Vick had found work flipping burgers instead of as an NFL quarterback? I can guarantee you that you wouldn’t have folks lining up outside McDonald’s to protest Vick making Big Macs.
Do these protesters value animals more than people? Are they jealous because Vick will make a lot of money? You could certainly make that argument.
Make no mistake, what Vick did was wrong, but there it just doesn’t equate to abusing a human being or failing to take care of a child in my mind. Likewise, why shouldn’t Vick go out and get the best job that he can based on his skills, education, experience, etc.? Isn’t that what we all want our kids to do? And why shouldn’t the Eagles hire him if they believe he’s the best player available to back up Donovan McNabb. Isn’t it the job of management to use its best efforts to build the most competitive team possible?
The folks protesting Mike Vick need to shut up about it. If they want to root for whomever Vick and the Eagles are playing each week, that’s fine, but let the man be. He’s admitted his mistake, done his time, and is doing exactly what any of us would do if we had the talent to play quarterback in the NFL.
That said, I am compelled to comment about the controversy that has been set off by his recent signing and imminent return to the NFL.
I don’t understand the big deal over this. The facts are pretty simple. Vick broke the law. Vick went to jail. Vick lost his job. Vick served his sentence, got out of jail, and promptly went looking for a job. Seems like this is exactly what we’d want an ex-con to do. Why then are so many folks upset that he’s found work?
Could it be that Vick is just that evil and the folks who are upset are just that righteous? I don’t think so. These protests say a whole lot more about the ones doing the protesting than it does about Mike Vick
What if Vick had gone to jail for abusing his girlfriend or failing to pay child support instead of abusing animals? Would the “outrage” be the same? Before you say yes, consider the criminal history of many other athletes who continue to play professional sports. Ever see anybody protesting Ray Lewis or Pac Man Jones? What if Mike Vick had found work flipping burgers instead of as an NFL quarterback? I can guarantee you that you wouldn’t have folks lining up outside McDonald’s to protest Vick making Big Macs.
Do these protesters value animals more than people? Are they jealous because Vick will make a lot of money? You could certainly make that argument.
Make no mistake, what Vick did was wrong, but there it just doesn’t equate to abusing a human being or failing to take care of a child in my mind. Likewise, why shouldn’t Vick go out and get the best job that he can based on his skills, education, experience, etc.? Isn’t that what we all want our kids to do? And why shouldn’t the Eagles hire him if they believe he’s the best player available to back up Donovan McNabb. Isn’t it the job of management to use its best efforts to build the most competitive team possible?
The folks protesting Mike Vick need to shut up about it. If they want to root for whomever Vick and the Eagles are playing each week, that’s fine, but let the man be. He’s admitted his mistake, done his time, and is doing exactly what any of us would do if we had the talent to play quarterback in the NFL.
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