Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg: R.I.P Emma Peel (1965-67), Diana Rigg (1938-2020)

Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg: R.I.P Emma Peel (1965-67), Diana Rigg (1938-2020) Diana Rigg, best known to my generation as Emma Peel, died earlier today. Diana Rigg was a consummate actress, one of the greatest in the pantheon of magnificent British actresses. Young men fell in love, or more aptly lust, with Diana Rigg. She was alluring in a catsuit when not showing her legs in short skirts. Young girls idolized Emma Peel, the co-star of The Avengers. They looked up to her for her beauty, brains, and class, the classic BBC’s. There was more to Emma Peel. She was strong, bold, confident, independent, self-assured, a martial arts expert – an equal of any man. Emma Peel was skilled in archery, fencing, and nuclear physics. The widow was not the demure, submissive, stay-at-home housewife. She was an inspiration to young women. They aspired to be Emma Peel. Diana Rigg was a pioneer of equal pay. She was paid £150 pounds, substantially less than not only her fellow actors, but also the cameraman in 1965. She demanded and received £450/week. The Avengers became Must See TV on ABC. She didn’t receive much support in her demand for equal pay, but the show as so popular with ABC they met her demands. Diana Rigg said: “I was painted as this mercenary created by the press … when all I wanted was equality. It’s so depressing that we are still talking about the gender pay gap.” Claire Foy played the young Queen Elizabeth in the first two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown. Matt Smith played Prince Philip. She was paid $40,000/episode, which may seem high, but it was less than Matt Smith was paid. Numerous other example exist of the pay discrepancy in Hollywood, which professes social justice and equality. Emma Peel partnered with John Steed (Patrick Macnee) in the Avengers as two counter espionage agents for an unknown British Ministry. They constantly found themselves in implausible plots and perils, sometimes on the front edge of technology. The third episode, The Cybernauts, featured a solar powered robot programmed to kill. The show also foresaw watching TV on your wrist and used electronic keys. Other times the plots traded on Hollywood motifs. Emma Peel in the second episode was tied to train tracks with an approaching train such as the heroine in classic silent movies. The train and tracks were those of an operating mini train. She was filmed in Epic by a crazed movie mogul in a operating studio portraying her life, adventures, and fear as he and his crew lead her to her death. The mogul, Z. Z. von Schnerk, stuck Emma’s head in a setting like the lion in MGM films. I remember the Honey for the Prince episode when she performed the Dance of Six Veils in a glorified bikini. She uttered a classic phrase which stuck in my memory: “We don’t want to offend the effendi.” The classic was “A Touch of Brimstone” involving the Hellfire Club, based on the historic Hellfire Clubs known for their licentious behavior. Emma Peel appears in her famous “Queen of Sin” costume with a snake around her neck. Diana Rigg was born in Doncaster (Yorkshire), England, but spent her early years in India, where she learnt Hindi as a second language. She was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for six years. She was a stage actress before becoming famous in the Avengers. She often returned to the stage in her career. Stage and TV were her fortes. He predecessor in the Avengers was Honor Blackman, who played Dr. Cathy Gale with Patrick Macnee. Honor left the Avengers for the role of Pussy Galore in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Diana Rigg left the Avengers after two years with 52 incredible episodes. She followed Honor Blackman’s lead in 1969 by playing the Contessa Teresa di Vincenzo Draco in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She had the honor of being the only bond Girl to marry James Bond (George Lazenby), but the honor was short-lived as she was murdered shortly after. Diana Rigg performed in Abelard and Heloise in London and New York. The New York play involved a scene in which she and Keith Mitchell, her male co-star were naked – a pioneering act in those days. John Simon, a New York critic, wrote a scathing review. He described the actress as “built like a brick basilica with insufficient flying buttresses.” She responded by collecting worst reviews going back to the Greeks. She published the reviews in “No Turn Unstoned: The Worst Ever Theatrical Reviews.” She donated the proceeds from the book and speaking tours to a actors’ charity. I have a copy of the book, somewhere – probably buried in my office. She performed with Rachel Stirling, her daughter, in episodes of Doctor Who and the Detectorists. Her acting awards include two BAFTAs, two Evening Standards, an Emmy and a Tony. She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1988 and a Dame Commander in 2006. Recent audiences know her as Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones, but our generation knows Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. She stopped smoking in 2017, having been up to 20 cigarettes daily. To Dame Diana Rigg, I am binge-watching my complete 51 episodes Avengers DVD collection.

President Trump and Vice President Biden Go to Kenosha: Compare and Contrast

President Trump and Vice President Biden Went to Kenosha, Wisconsin: Compare and Contrast 29 year old Jacob Blake was shot 7 times in the back by a Kenosha, Wisconsin Police Officer while entering a car on Sunday, August 23. The optics are bad. Even if the police officer had probable cause to use deadly force, seven shots seem egregious. The police were responding to a domestic violence call. Jacob Blake may or may not have been reaching for a knife. He may or may not have fought with the officers before the video began. He had an outstanding warrant for domestic abuse. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued a statement: “[W]hile we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or country.” The protests, riots, looting, and torching quickly ensued. Governor Evers called for calm on Tuesday, sorta: “We cannot allow the cycle of systemic racism and injustice to continue,” but “We also cannot continue down the path of damages and destruction.” The Governor, at least too his credit, was more willing than the governors in other states to call up the National Guard President Trump announced he would go to Kenosha. Wisconsin Governor Evers and Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian asked President Trump not to come to Wisconsin. Their protestations were echoed by Democrats and the media. MSNBC’s Joy Reid, outspoken even by MSNBC standards, said Trump’s “going to Kenosha to whip up more violence.” President Trump’s presence would inflame the tensions. In other words, President Trump would pour gasoline on the open flames of Kenosha. They also accused President trump of going to Kenosha for political reasons. Of course he did. That’s what politicians do. And then we get to Vice President Biden. His handlers were quarantining him in his basement until after Labor Day as he coasted to victory on his high poll numbers. The coronavirus recession will destroy the Trump Campaign. They also wanted to essentially keep Biden muzzled. Then came the protests, riots, lootings and torchings. Great cities were ablaze and lawless. The Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden, and Kamara Harris may have ignored the civil disorder, but the American public did not. President Trump started rising in the polls. Joe Biden didn’t look so electable. If Biden loses Minnesota and Wisconsin, then President Trump wins reelection. Thus Joe Biden emerged from the basement. He went to Kenosha for political reasons. First he called President Trump on Monday a “toxic presence.” He practiced the new big lie of the Democrats: President Trump is responsible for the riots and violence. President Trump’s visit to Kenosha was peaceful. He met with law enforcement and the victims of the riots and looting. He spoke to law enforcement, the people of Kenosha, and the American public. He told the embattled police “The people of our country love you.” He pointedly said he didn’t believe police violence is a systemic problem, but rather a matter of some officers “choking” under pressure. He called the violence “domestic terrorism,” noting “By and large, this is not peaceful protests.” President Trump brought with him federal funds for Kenosha: 1) $1 million in emergency support for Kenosha law enforcement, 2) $13 million for law enforcement statewide, and 3) $4 million for small business in Kenosha. Vice President Biden met with the Blake family and community leaders at Grace Lutheran Church. He was appealing to the new Democratic base. He said “We’re finally now getting to the point where we’re going to be addressing the original sin of this country, 400 years old …slavery and all the vestiges of it.” We can be sure Joe Biden didn’t think of that. It came from his writers and handlers, who have accepted the alternative history of the 1619 Project and Howard Zin as Gospel. Here’s why they wanted to keep Vice President Biden in the basement reading from a script. Biden started to lay out his tax policy, but then said he couldn’t go in more detail because “they’ll shoot me.” Who? His handlers? Even better on the light bulb: “People fear that which is different. We’ve got to, for example, why in God’s name don’t we teach history in history classes? A black man invented the light bulb, not a white guy named Edison.” The don’t teach in false history because it’s not true. It’s the alternative history of the left. Lewis Howard Lattimer, a black man, son of former slaves, did not invent the light bulb, but he deserves more credit for creating a longer lasting incandescent light bulb a year after Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb. Lewis Lattimer subsequently worked with Edison. Never forget that Joe Biden was a dim bulb as a student, graduating 76th out of 85, having been readmitted after expulsion for plagiarizing.

From $4,000 Ice Cream Freezers to a Closed Hair Salon: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is in a League of Her Own

Speaker Pelosi is the most powerful woman in the United States, indeed the world, not only as Speaker of the House but also third in line for the Presidency, following only he President and Vice President. If the Vice President is only a heartbeat away from the Presidency, then Speaker Pelosi is only two heartbeats away from becoming President. The rules do not apply to the Speaker. Yet she claims to have been set up by a San Francisco hair salon owner. The Speaker set up an appointment at the neighborhood ESalonSF in San Francisco for Monday. Hair salons have been ordered closed since March. She entered around 3:00PM through a door with a simple sign on it: “CLOSED.’ The Speaker is videoed by a security camera without her mask. The security tape was leaked to Fox, which ran with it. Her Deputy Chief of Staff explained “The Speaker always wears a mask and complies with local Covid requirements.” Do you believe what you saw with your eyes or what I tell you. Do you believe your own eyes, or the most powerful woman in the world? He added: “This business offered for the Speaker to come in on Monday and told her they were allowed by the city to have one customer at a time in the business. The Speaker complied with the rules as presented to her by this establishment.” She fell back on the standard Democrat mantra of victimhood. The most powerful woman in the world is the victim of a set up by a hair stylist. Call it what she would. She is saying she was snookered, conned, duped, hoodwinked, bamboozled, tricked, entrapped by a hairdresser. Is the Speaker of the House that gullible? Is the self-described political genius that out of it? Is the Speaker not that smart? She said: “I take responsibility for trusting the word of the neighborhood salon that I have been to many times. When they said they could accommodate people one at a time, and we can set up that time, I trusted that. As it turns out it was a set up. So I take responsibility for falling for a set up.” The question is who set up the appointment? The Speaker is indignant. She demands an apology from the Salon: “The salon owes me an apology for setting me up.” What about an apology by the Speaker to the American people? She knows the media will protect her back. Thus no need to apologize. Speaker Pelosi said in August "Peple do what people do." Yes they do, Speaker Pelosi." She and Joe Biden would be quite a couple running the country should it come to pass? Nancy Pelosi, being Nancy Pelosi, is demanding an apology from Erica Kious for setting her up. Speaker Pelosi has spent too much time in the rarified air of the Capitol. The owner of the salon had not invited the Speaker to the closed salon. Erica Kious may own the salon, but she rents out the individual chairs to stylists, one of whom was involved. She said of the Speaker: “It was a slap in the face that she went in, you know, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work. We’re supposed to look up to this woman, right? It’s just disturbing.” Here’s what else Erica said, typical of the millions of small business owners in the lockdowns: “I have been fighting for six months for a business that took me 12 years to build to reopen. I am a single mom, I have two small children, and I have no income.” No problem for Speaker Pelosi who represents the political party that purports to represent the American people. Speaker Pelosi threw Erica Kalios under the bus. My fear is that the state or city will attempt to yank Erica Kious’ license. Governor Gavin Newsom is Speaker Pelosi’s nephew. Last February 21 I posted a blog on Speaker’s Pelosi prodigious appetite for premium ice cream While American being unemployed because of the virus. I had her imitating Marie Antoinette by saying “Let them eat ice cream.” Speaker Pelosi who exults in premium ice scream in $4,000 freezers and personized treatment in salons, is holding up another coronavirus bill that would help struggling Americans because the President’s proposal does not include a billion dollar bail out for profligate cities and states essentially bankrupted by extravagant pensions. Remember Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some … are more equal than others.”

Two Critical Lessons for Our Young Democratic Socialists, Marxists, Communists, and Woke Social Justice Warriors on their Road to a Socialist Utopia Of Equality for Alll

Two Critical Lessons for Our Young Democratic Socialists, Marxists, Socialists and Woke Social Justice Warriors on the Road to Their “Socialistic Utopia” of Equality for All First, read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Think deeply of the line: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Two sets of rules apply to the privileged versus the rest of the people, regardless of the society. Second, understand the meaning of President Nixon’s Attorney General John N. Mitchell’s statement: “Watch what we do instead of what we say.” The Bolsheviks killed and exiled the Russian Royal Family, aristocrats, capitalists, and kulaks. The Soviet leaders then used for dachas for their own use. They lived well, eat well and drank prodigiously while the people starved. Stalin’s favorite, murderous secret police chief Lavrenty Beria was a serial rapist, pedophile, and sexual predator with all the style of Harvey Weinstein. Stalin knew, but supported Beria because the mass murderer did Stalin’s dirty work. Chairman Mao liked his women young, sometimes very young. Democratic Senate House Majority Leader entered Congress poor but left a multi-millionaire in part due to sweetheart real estate transaction. Hugo Chavez turned the prosperous Venezuela with a large middle class into a destitute “socialist paradise.” His phrase “Being rich is bad; it’s inhumane” resonated with the barrios of Venezuela. Hugo Chavez died in 2013. His oldest daughter, Maria Gabriella, is estimated to be worth between $3-4 billion, dollars – not bolivares. Venezuela became rich with oil, one of the largest fields in the world. Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicholas Maduro have diverted billions of dollars out of the country with no accounting or transparency. The funds went to enrich their families, cronies and international allies – not the people of Venezuela. His successor Nicholas Maduro was taken Venezuela even further into the tank with his cohorts engaging in the international drug trade. Socialism was promised, but Animal Farm quickly took over. Turkey’s President Recip Erdogan never promised socialism to the Turkish people. He has a corrupt son, caught in a tape talking with Recip about hiding the money. Think of Hunter Biden with Ukraine and China. Alejandro Andrade, Venezuela Treasurer for 4 years under Hugo Chavez, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in the United States for receiving $1 billion in bribes for facilitating illicit foreign exchange transactions. Hugo Chavez’s former nurse Claudia Diaz acquired $9.5 million in gold bars. An estimated $300 billion was looted from Venezuela’s treasury in two decades of becoming a socialist paradise. Judge them by what they do – not what they espouse. Senator Bernie Sanders, the socialist icon of the woke youth, is worth an estimated $2.5 million, on the low side for Senators, but $2.5 million with three houses in Burlington, Vermont, Washington D.C., and a summer house in Vermont. He grew up poor and only worked occasionally in the private sector. He’s been an socialist and agitator since his college days. The Sanders 2018 adjusted gross income was $561,293 down from $1,131,925 in 2017. He attributes his income to book royalties and his Senate salary. Not bad for a poor kid from the Bronx who declaims capitalism, but hardly socialistic. The Senator has also never created a job in his adult life. Illinois locked down, including barbers and hairdressers. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot the next day went to her hairdresser. The state of Mayor Lightfoot’s hair has no impact on the rising shooting and homicide rates in Chicago. She explained “As an elected official and the public face of the city, I need to make sure that I am out there and visible through the city.” She also said “I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media, and I’m out in the public eye.” Mayor Lightfoot’s good hair day will not reduce the escalating homicides and shootings in Chicago. Governor Cuomo announced the statewide closure of non-essential businesses, including gyms as of 8:00PM. Mayor De Blasio quickly rushed to his favorite YMCA gym A spokesperson for the Mayor explained he “wanted to visit a place that keeps him grounded one last time.” The Mayor said “I’m very comfortable with what I did.” Mayor De Blasio’s workout routine has not reduced the escalating homicides and shootings in New York City. Indoor dining in currently barred in Philadelphia restaurants. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney therefore spent Sunday dining indoors in a Maryland restaurant. Mayor Kenney justified his “transgression” (my word – not his): “I felt the risk was low because the county I visited has had fewer than 800 Covid-19 cases, compared to over 33,000 cases in Philadelphia.” Spealer Nancy Pelosi went into a hair saloon yesterday eventhough they are closed in San Francisco. The problem with Lightfoot, De Blasio, Kenney, and Pelosi is the poor optics. They are saying they are among the privileged of Animal Farm. Governor Gavin Newsom asked state workers in May to take a 10% pay cut, exempting the 8 statewide elected officials. He added he would voluntarily cut his own salary in solidarity with the state workers. That was May. The Sacramento Bee reported on August 20 that the Governor is still receiving his full pay. His office blamed it on an “administrative error.” Only state controller Betty Yee took the pay cut. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez two years ago campaigned on a populist plank. She declaimed luxury real estate developers who hiked up rent prices and pushing low-income out of their neighborhoods. She said after winning the election that she was worried she not afford and apartment in D.C. The bar maid’s $174,000 Congressional salary solved that problem. She soon found a a unit in a new high rise luxury apartment complex. The developed no affordable units under D.C.’s Affordable Dwelling Units program. The complex includes a rooftop infinity pool and 100,000 square feet of amenities including saunas, massage rooms, a 25 meter indoor lap pool, a Peloton cycling studio, and a foreside lounge with a Steinway piano. A Whole Foods Store and Starbucks are downstairs.. AOC’s Squad partner Ilhan Omar remarried in March 5 months after divorcing he rprevious husband. Her new husband is Tim Mynett, a political consultant. As of July she transferred $878,000 in campaign funds to her husband’s consulting firm. Democrats and the media cheered Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC. They did not comment on her virtual appearance bring from the $17 million house the Obamas bought on Martha Vineyard’s. Finally we get to New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio. The Mayor was born in Manhattan but lives in Park Slope in Brooklyn. The Dutch set up a trading post in 1624 and acquired the land in 1626. The city grew into the world’s financial center and cultural center. It survived wars, occupation, riots, gangs, strikes, blackouts, recessions and the Great Depression, the post-World War II exodus to the suburbs, 9/11, and a rodent infestation. The City has experienced great mayors and mediocre mayors, honest mayors and corrupt mayors, but no one like the incompetent Mayor De Blasio. The City will survive, but he has severely damaged the economy and spirit of the City. He announced a run for the Presidency in May 2019 but dropped out in September 2019. Even New Yorkers gave him a resounding Bronx Cheer. Mental health is a major issue today. He established in 2015 at a budget of $250 million per year, ThriveNYC, placing his wife Chirline McCray in charge. After $750 million the agency could not show what it has done, but it’s in its fourth year. The City does not track the individual programs in ThriveNYC. It lacks data on effectiveness. The City’s Controller noted 29 of the 41 listed programs “appear to have no or very little associated outcome measures.” His wife now has a staff of 14 at a cost to the city of $2 million annually. The Mayor announced that the city will have to lay off as many as 22,000 workers because of the budget crisis. His wife’s staff is apparently to essential to be cut. The belief is that the staff is a pre-campaign nucleolus and booster club for Ms. Who is eyeing the Bronx Borough presidency next year. $2 million compared to $750 million. Which is the greatest waste of taxpayer money? The First Amendment protects the “right of the people peaceably to assemble.” Thus the right to peaceful protests on public property. Protesters would occasionally in the past show up outside public officials residences. That practice is rapidly escalating in recent months, including the homes of governors (California, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Rhode Island), Mayors (Atlanta, Detroit, Lafayette, Lansing, Los Angeles, Louisville, Oak Park, Oakland, Pittsburg, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Ypsilanti), police chiefs (Los Angeles and Seattle), attorneys general (Kentucky), district attorneys (Los Angeles), and council members (Seattle). The protests may be peaceful sit-ins on the lawn. They more often include yelling, often far into the night, fireworks, and Vandalism. Mayor Lightfoot says no public protests by her house. She ordered the Chicago Police to cordon off the block by her house and keep police presence there. She already had police presence in and outside here house, but it clearly was not enough. Finally, the Minneapolis City Council is hell bent on defunding the police. It spent $152,400 on private security for three council members. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Watch what they do – not what they say.

College Football Fumbles the Coronavirus

College Football Fumbles the Ball Sports Illustrated quoted a TV executive saying “It’s athletic directors, coaches and players versus presidents, trustees and lawyers in the most intriguing battle in NCAA history.” College football is passion, fierce rivalries, intense loyalties, Hail Mary’s and defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, broken spirits, mascots, cheerleaders, and marching bands. College football is money. The Big Ten Conference, comprised of 14 – not 10 – universities, announced as expected the end of all fall sports. It was soon followed by the Pac 12, also as expected. The ACC, Big 12, and SEC are continuing to play, or so they profess. The ACC and SEC are quite willing to go it alone, playing each other, ad nauseum, for the national title: LSU, Clemson, Alabama, Clemson, Alabama, OHIO STATE, Florida State, Alabama, Alabama, Auburn, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Florida. 13 of the past 14 winners are from the two conferences. The other three conferences really don’t matter even if TOSU, Penn State, Wisconsin, Oregon, Oklahoma, Washington, and Notre Dame occasionally butt in. Football is the state religion of Alabama. The key to the Big Ten and Pac 12 is that, with no disrespect to the colleges in the other conferences, they view themselves as academic institutions first: Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Northwestern, Michigan, not to mention UW, WSU, CO, UTAH, UA, ASU, OREGON, OSU, Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State, Indiana, MSU, Maryland, Iowa, Nebraska and Rutgers, all academic powerhouses. They believe in academics, first. The problem for these schools is that the student athletes need to become students in the fall. Let us not forget Cardale Jones, freshman QB at Ohio State, asking the question; “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, classes are pointless.” He actually graduated from TOSU. President Mark Schlissel of Michigan is a dual MD-PH.D. Public Health. His specialty is immunology. He made it clear in May that he was willing to cancel football if necessary. If students weren’t back on campus, then there will be no football or other fall sports. The University of North Carolina just opened up for live classes, and then shut down after a week to go virtual. Too many students tested positive for Covid-19. Will UNC continue to play football? North Carolina State followed North Carolina in going virtual. Will N.C State continue to play football? Notre Dame just shut down the campus. Will the Fighting Irish continue to play football? The University of Alabama just announced 538 members of the university’s faculty, staff, and students have tested positive for Covid. Football is the priority 1. I am a passionate Michigan fan, who holds season tickets high up between the 45 and 50 yard lines. My wife and I were in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 1998 when Michigan defeated Washington State to go undefeated and share the national title; it’s first in 50 years. I recognize that it might be another 50 years, past my lifetime, before Michigan wins the big game again. Many Michigan boosters want Jim Harbaugh fired. He just hasn’t won enough of the “big games to satisfy them. Like Notre Dame, Michigan has admissions and ethical standards, especially in recruiting, it will not violate. It was burnt once on basketball. Never again! John Beilein might never have won a basketball game at Michigan, but he returned integrity to the game and school while building a winning program. He built a solid program on integrity. Yes, I bleed when they lose to Ohio State, but it’s only a game. Football is a game; we don’t want it to be a life. The young players want to play. They want to burnish their CV’s for the pros. They want to improve their skills. The military likes young (men) to fight because they tend to be in better shape and don’t yet believe in mortality. They will beats the odds. Brady Feeney, a freshman football lineman at Indiana, survived the virus, but now suffers from myocarditis, recognized as a complication of the virus. Ten players in the Big Ten have been diagnosed with myocarditis. Mikele Colasurdo, an incoming freshman Georgia State quarterback, also has myocarditis. . All five conferences have great medical schools. They all receive the studies on the virus. They understand the risks. They understand the risks of myocarditis and other complications of the virus. The difference is how they weigh the risks. The Director of Sports Cardiology at Ohio State’s study showed 15 of the athletes who experienced the virus, even if they had mild or no symptoms, has myocarditis. University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins is a cardiac surgeon. He understands. Kevin Warren, Big Ten Commissioner, said “The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of our every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward…. It became abundantly clear that there was so much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow out student-athletes to compete this fall.” Larry Scott, Pac 12 Commissioner, said: “Unlike professional sports, college sports cannot operate in a bubble.” He added “The health, safety and wellbeing of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the star of this current crisis.” President Emeritus Mary Sue Coleman of the University of Michigan, an ardent football fan, explained: “I’ve heard people say. ‘Well, we can use the model of [some pro sports]and put them in a bubble. You can’t put them is a bubble, because they’re students and they have to go to class. I mean, if they’re on campus and they’re not going to class, they’re not learning anything, then it isn’t any longer the academic environment. It flies in the face of what the NCAA means.” Football is a contact sport with athletes face to face in combat. The student athletes attend class where they can be exposed to the virus. They will also attend parties with a great risk of spread. Several universities including Berkeley, Kansas, Mississippi, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Purdue, USC and Washington have confronted Covid-19 outbreaks at fraternity parties and other large gatherings. Student athletes are part of the student milieu. I believe the vast majority of the young athletes are in good health and will experience mild symptoms or be asymptomatic. I also believe they can transmit the virus to others, teammates, students faculty, friends and family members. I further believe that some of them have preexisting conditions that will make them vulnerable. Finally, some of the athletes experiencing covid-19 will suffer from myocarditis or other complications. The percentages may not be known today, but the risk is a real fact. All five conferences have great law schools and outside counsel. They all get the same legal advice about potential liability if their athletes contract the disease. They understand the risks. Some are willing to accept the risks, risking the lives of their players and families. The players want to play. The coaches want to coach. The athletic directors want the revenue. Fox and ESPN want to broadcast the Big Ten and Pac 12 games. Fans want to be in the stands and sports bars. The two conferences and their teams will lose billions of dollars in ticket sales, gameday revenues, parking, and TV revenues. Football pays the bills for the other sports except basketball. The Big 10 and Pac 12 universities will incur large monetary losses from the fall cancellations. The Big Ten and its members earned $1.9 billion from football and the Pac 12 $1.3 billion last year. Stanford months ago estimated a $50 million loss and cancelled 11 sports, including 9 Olympic sports. Oregon anticipates a $50-80 million loss. Rutgers is similarly facing a $50 million loss. The parent universities are also facing losses from the pandemic. The University of Michigan is looking at a $400-450 million loss. The impact on the local economies is also great. The impact of football on Ann Arbor economy is estimated to be $122 million for restaurants, sports bars, hotels, and other expenses. It’s $130 million for the State College economy. Here’s my proposal for college football this fall. Schedule two brackets. First is a round robin between Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, and LSU, with the winner crowned national champs. The second bracket is for Michigan to play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2020. No fans at any of these games. All other teams can sit out the season, and go to class.

Reflections on the 2020 Democratic National Convention and the Biden-Harris Ticket

I didn’t watch it so you can take anything I write with a grain of salt, but I read about it and saw excerpts. The themes seem to be 1) Reunite the Obama Coalition: minorities, progressive whites, public employee unions (except law enforcement), professionals and suburban women; Push class warfare and victimization. 2) Crucify Trump; hand Coronavirus around his neck. That’ easy to do with the economy in the tank. Remember Michelle Obama’s classic phrase: “When they go low, we go high.” She and Barack spent about a half hour going low; 3) Form over substance; by no means go onto details of your proposals. 4) Preach moderation; ignore the campaign statements, DNC Platform and the daily workshops, espousing collectivism, Marxism, open borders, defunding the police, banning fracking and fossil fuels, the Green New Deal, Medicare for all, including illegal immigrants, trillion dollar tax I creases, and government control. No Law and Order. Ignore the Democratic cities blowing up: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, New York City, Portland, and Seattle. No denouncing the rioters, looters, and torchers. Finally, forget the electrical blackouts in California. 5) Try a catchable phrase. Senator Obama had two: “Yes, we can!”/”Si, se puede!” and “Hope and Change,” which became Hope for Change four years ago. The Vice President’s phrase is “I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness.” 6) Flood the venue with a sea of Americans flags, but don’t mention standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. 7) Keep Vice President Biden in the basement except for reading prepared speeches on a teleprompter. That will work as long as the Vice President has a large lead in the polls, but the lead is shrinking; 8) Remember Leonid Brezhnev and the fall of the Soviet Union. The USSR was dying from economic stagnation and corruption, including his immediate family, during his 18 year rule. His successors were Yuri Andropov (15 months) and Konstantin Chernenko (13 months). They were dying and in the case of Konstantin “out of it. Their successor was Mikhail Gorbachev, lost it all; 9) Emulate the Hillary Clinton Campaign by trotting out Hollywood celebrities; 10) Celebrities and politicos. Where were the working people of America? 11) The Gender Gap; 12) The Democrat insurance policy. Stuff the ballot boxes on and after November 3 with ballot harvesting.

Who's Not Speaking at the Democratic National Convention? (POST 1500)

Who’s Not Speaking at the Democratic National Convention The 2020 virtual Democratic National Convention is an exercise in Orwellian non-persons. The convention formally nominates the candidates with speeches from a host of others: failed candidates for a show of unity, former Presidents, old stars of the Party, Hollywood celebrities, and Rising Stars. The DNC also showcased defecting Republicans Who’s not speaking at the DNC on national TV? Minneapolis telegenic, empathetic Mayor Jacob Frey. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Portland’s telegenic, empathetic, millionaire Mayor Ted Wheeler. Oregon Governor Kate Brown. Seattle’s soon to be recalled, Summer of Love Mayor Jenny Durkan. Washington Governor Jay Inslee. Chicago’s breathe of life Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Illinois billionaire Governor J. B. Pritzker. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed. New York City Mayor Warren Wilhelm, Jr. Police Chiefs. Also unmentioned are the historic Democratic bastions of Portland and Seattle. Only George Floyd gets mentioned for Minneapolis. The Democrats do not want to publicize the decay in their cities, horrific homicide rates, and homeless problem. God.