Monthly Archives: November 2010

Dear Readers:

http://www.lifenews.com/2010/11/23/state-5691

Court: Nurse Can’t Sue Hospital That Forced Her to Do Abortion
by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 11/23/10 2:36 PM

Here’s further evidence of the “Secular Progressive” state and how people can expect their “conscience objections” to be treated. Doesn’t bode well for how things will work out under Obamacare. I’m no saint, no paragon of virtue, nor even a “real catholic”. More like a “fellow traveler”; trying to find my way to the exit without hurting others along the way. But when should have the Jews objected in Nazi Germany? When they were being loaded on the railcars. Oh, that can’t happen here! Might want to think about that when you have your Thanksgiving.

Happy t-day,
fjohn68

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Dear John,

   Today’s NY Daily News has a short piece that reads as follows:

“College on ‘value’ list

Manhattan College has been named as one of the top 100 private universities in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Best Value in Private Colleges Survey.

Among 600 private institutions surveyed, measuring academic quality and affordability, it came in 87th out of 100 private universities recognized for offering the best value in the United States.

   The findings are in the December issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.”

   Best,
    Mike

McEneney, Mike (MC1953)

[JR: Thanks, Mike. Much appreciated.]

# # # # # posted 2010-11-23 15:34

Dear Jasper John:

Sometimes I wonder which planet you are living on!!

You actually believe people were freer and better off without “big government”?

My grandfather was “free” to die of gangrene after being forced to walk home after his leg was injured at work. No OSHA or other “gooferment” agencies were around to save him in your “good old days”. He died in 1939, one year before my birth, so I never got to know him. Corporations without the balancing power of government looking out for the common man are “free” to loot our economy and reduce the rest of us to beggars.   

I recently came across some data that undermines the libertarian case that government is responsible for all the mass killings of recent centuries. In his recent book, “The Moral Landscape” (Free Press, 2010) Sam Harris quotes J. Diamond (New Yorker, April 21, 2008) as saying “It’s true, of course, that twentieth-century societies, having developed potent technologies for mass killing, have broken all historical records for violent deaths. But this is because they enjoy the advantage of having by far the largest populations of potential victims in human history; the actual percentage of the population that died violently was on the average higher in traditional pre-state societies than it was even in Poland during the Second World War or Cambodia under Pol Pot”. Harris also cites S. Pinker (New Republic, March 19, 2007) as stating that “If the wars of the twentieth century had killed the same proportion of the population that die in the wars of a typical tribal society there would have been two billion deaths, not 100 million”.

Again the “good old days” appear not to have been so good.

Sincerely Yours,
Donald M Stebbins
BS 1961

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[JR: <1> Just planet earth. Didn't know there were other choices? lol. <2> Absolutely, "free-er". "Better off" implies that I can measure something called "better-ness". But, I take the bait. Yes! I'll just present one data point as "evidence". The Black Community. Prior to the "(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs" and the "War on Poverty", their lives were "better" (i.e., two parent households; low illegitimacy rate; working schools). After, their lives are "worse" (i.e., fatherless families; skyrocketing illegitimacy; dysfunctional schools) <3> I am truly sorry that you never got to know your grandfather. But, you can't seriously not recognize "regulatory capture"? OSH "regulates" safety; please don't make me laugh. Corporations are the creation of Gooferment and are used to loot the Sheeple. And, then the Gooferment, through its corporations, bribes the politicians, who reward the corporations and bureaucrats. It's incestuous. Yeah, we'd be much "better" off without such "help". Maybe if "business" didn't translate to Limited Liability Corporation, then someone could be held accountable for your grandfather. In a "libertarian" world, there's accountability. It goes with liberty. <4> So, you're arguing that Gooferments could have killed more to be in the same proportion? So we should have them because they could have killed more? I find that no very persuasive. I've always asserted that "Gooferment is the meme that kills people". Breaking it down further, the monopoly on the use of force to enforce its decisions is really the defective principle that it operates on. Maybe it's "the lion will lay down with the lamb" thinking, but that's why I adhere to the Zero Aggression Principle as a better meme. <5> As always, we will just have to agree to disagree agreeably.]

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John,

Great to see Roger Freda ’67 going into Hall of Fame. I was fortunate to have been at both games cited. That first game was on a beautiful, picture perfect Fall day in Gaelic Park. Roger’s play made it a tremendously exciting game!

I was accompanied by my then girlfriend, Jeanne, now my wife of 43+ years!

Ed Orgon ’67

[JR: Ahhh, to be young again. So many things to celebrate. Life, love, and the immortality of yute! I think of Rodney Dangerfield and the Dying of the Light. Best rendition of "rage" not in traditional venue; good comedy too! Thanks for the mental vay kay. And, congrats to Frau O for putting up with you. LOL!]

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P.S.: Should have added, and this is important to know: The College did not “reintroduce” football. This was a club team, and the money was raised from the student body. A true grass roots effort. You probably remember that too John !

[JR: Yup. It was true "amateur". Looking back on it, it was poorly funded. It's hard to imagine the optimism that made us students think that it could be done. The ignorance of youth. We didn't know it was all about money. It's always about money. Somethings never change.]

# # # # # posted 2010-11-22 11:10

http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/5818473

Possible fake injuries irk Oregon fans
Associated Press
Wednesday, November 17, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Coaches across the country spent the offseason trying to figure out a way to stop top-ranked Oregon’s bullet-train offense. No matter what they’ve tried, no one’s been able to do it. A new tactic may be emerging: faking injuries. Outlandish as it may seem, speculation over fake injuries has been rising over the past few weeks as seemingly healthy players fall to the ground, howling in pain, their season apparently over, only to be back on the field the next play.

*** end quote ***

Following up on my mild disgust at corruption in athletics:

If it supposed to be about protecting the player, then we should protect “injured player”.

I’d suggest the rule be the player can not reenter the game until the next quarter. Anytime the game’s delayed due to ANY injury. Injuries in the last 2 minutes of the quarter, then the subsequent quarter is lost as well. That should just about take care of that problem.

And, lest the cheaters think they can get away with something, then injuries in the fourth quarter carry over to the following game.

Sports, athletics, is supposed to be about developing character; not characters.

Cheating is cheating. And, it always comes back to bite you in the A double Q.

Rules are for lawyers. But if we have to have rules, let’s have rules that mean something.

P.S.: I notice the NCAA still hasn’t addressed the “student athletes” who don’t graduate or do, but can’t read. Sorry, but a “leaver” should cost the school double his remaining scholarship. Leave without graduating as a senior; charge the school one four year scholarship. Bet that problem ends in a year or two. Re-administer the SAT to all scholarship athletes upon graduation; same penalty. If you get that I think the NCAA is part of the problem, you’re right.

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