The National Labor Relations Board's Regional Director in Chicago, Peter Sung Uhr, issued a decision on March 26th saying that the scholarship players on the football team at Northwestern University are employees. They aren't student-athletes, which is how the NCAA wants them defined. Mr. Uhr's 24 page ruling makes interesting reading. It helps us out by stating the common law definition of an employee, as follows: "The U. S. Supreme Court has held that in applying this broad definition of "employee" it is necessary to consider the common law definition of 'employee.' NRLB v Town & Country Electric, 516 U. S. 85, 94 (1995). Under the common law definition, an employee is a person who performs services for another under a contract of hire, subject to the other's control or right of control, and in return for payment. Brown University, 34s NLRB 483, 490,, fn 27 (2004) (citing NLRB v Town & Country Electric, 516 U. S. at 94)."
So what the NLRB is saying, in simpler form is that the football players are being paid to play, and that pay is their scholarship. Now when a student receives scholarship aid, or need-based financial aid, or merit scholarship assistance, those monies that are for tuition, fees, and required books/supplies, are not taxable income to the recipients.
On the other hand, if the players are being paid to play, and fit the definition of employees, and the scholarships they receive represent their compensation, then that compensation is taxable income to the players. Northwestern needs to pay into Social Security and Medicare for these employees, by treating their scholarships as wages. Given the number of hours the players are required to "work", there may actually be minimum wage concerns, at least for some players.
Then there is the issue of the vast "profits" raised by the football program at Northwestern and other universities. The universities are ostensibly non-profit organizations, but if football is a for profit activity and players employees, then football revenues might become taxable income to the universities.
A player who attends Northwestern for four years on a football scholarship is earning over $300,000; plus room and board during that period under the present system. Tax-free. Not a bad deal, considering most of the players at this particular university graduate. A college education is important since few of this team's players will wind up in the NFL.
There are other problems that require solution. The issue of workers compensation. Loss of scholarship in case of injury. Limits on what these student-athletes are able to do off the field. These are all fixable without unionization.
I offer an alternative solution. Starting with the upcoming NCAA football season, 5% of ticket sales, merchandise sales, television revenue and bowl game revenue will be set aside into a pension fund for the players. A player who plays four full seasons will be fully vested in the pension plan. A player who doesn't play four full seasons will be vested on a pro-rata basis. TIAA/CREF, the largest administrative entity managing the retirement plans of educational institutions will administer the pension fund money. Obviously the goal is to secure the economic future of the players.
The newspapers are filled with stories of professional athletes who blew through their multimillion dollar salaries before their playing days were over, and were left with nothing. This system would prevent this, by providing a good solid annual pension for college football players who will never see a single game of NFL football.
It's just an idea. Do you have a better one?
* * *
Joan Rivers needs to just shut the hell up. Her criticisms of Lena Dunham over Dunham's weight are not only inappropriate, but Rivers isn't truly concerned about the health of Denham. Nor is Rivers concerned about the health of the young women she claims to be protecting in her critique of Denham. Rivers just wants publicity because she's getting ready to put out a new book.
When she tries to laugh this off as just being a joke, we should not give her a pass. "Don't let them laugh at your physically" she said to Denham while appearing on the Howard Stern Show. Need I point out just how many times Rivers has made fat jokes? Most recently when she appeared on "Louie" where Louis C. K.'s weight is regular fodder for cheap laughs.
What is really wrong with Ms Rivers taking these cheap shots over and over at young women is that she has no moral compass. This is a woman who had multiple extramarital affairs while she was married. A woman who didn't have the guts to tell Johnny Carson that she was going to go up against him in late-night, after all he'd done to advance her career.
The suicide of her late husband more than a quarter-century ago was tragic and she had nothing to do with the multiple health issues that drove him to take his own life. The issue is what she has done since then.
Maybe if she had real concern about the young women she criticizes, I would feel differently. At this moment I just wish she'd shut the hell up.
* * *
While we're talking about women who should think before they speak, let's add Gwyneth Paltrow to the list. She told E! News that it is harder for her to be a working mom than it is for moms with "office jobs" and said, "I think it's different when you have an office job, because it's routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening," she continued. "When you're shooting a movie, they're like, 'We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,' and then you work 14 hours a day and that part of it is very difficult. I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it's not like being on set."
No Ms Paltrow, it isn't. Moms with office jobs can't afford multiple nannies and assistants. Many moms with office jobs have to worry about bills and keeping a roof over the heads of themselves and their kids. But no matter how well I say it, I cannot say this better than Mackenzie Dawson did:
http://nypost.com/2014/03/27/a-working-moms-open-letter-to-gwyneth-paltrow/.
Well said, Ms Dawson. Well said!
* * *
There are many iterations of a story about the latest in the Air Force scandal involving missile silo officers cheating on tests. Most contain this little factoid several paragraphs down from the headline. It reads "No generals are being punished. Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, who was fired last October as commander of the 20th Air Force, which is responsible for all three 150-missile wings of the ICBM force, is still on duty as a staff officer at Air Force Space Command but has requested retirement; his request is being reviewed.
It must be amazing to become a full colonel, let alone a brigadier general. To know that you're almost 100% protected against ramifications of doing a piss-poor job because you're among the elite group of military officers. This may be true of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps as well, but I'm much more familiar with the Air Force. I gave it ten years of my life.
Here's another excerpt from the various versions of the story: "Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, the service's top civilian official, told a Pentagon news conference that a thorough review of how testing and training are conducted in the ICBM force has produced numerous avenues for improvements. "We will be changing rather dramatically how we conduct testing and training going forward," while ensuring that performance standards are kept high, James said. James had promised to hold officers at Malmstrom accountable once the cheating investigation was completed and the scope of the scandal was clear. None of the nine fired commanders was directly involved in the cheating, but each was determined to have failed in his or her leadership responsibilities."
Okay, so how is it that these nine commanders failed in their leadership responsibilities and will be held to answer for that, but none of their own commanders failed in their leadership responsibilities?? Remember this sign?
In case you don't know who that gentleman in the photograph is, that's former U. S. President Harry S. Truman and that's his desk in the Oval Office (it wasn't renamed the Oral Office until Bill Clinton moved in).
Every single general officer in the Air Force should be held to the same standard. The Wing Commanders should be relieved. The 20th Air Force commander, Major General Michael Carey, was relieved and is almost certainly going to be allowed to retire without any punishment or consequence.
That's because general officers (and most full colonels) aren't held to answer for their transgressions beyond being relieved and allowed to retire. It is different for the junior officers and the enlisted folk. Like one of my first direct supervisors, who was a major pain in my ass and a jerk as well.
He had put in for retirement. He didn't have a choice. E-6 Technical Sergeants were then only allowed to serve for 26 years and he couldn't make Master Sergeant no matter how hard he tried (he wasn't good at taking tests). One of his duties was responsibility for our offices equipment account with supply. At the time of his retirement I was an E-4 and his replacement decided to give me this responsibility (my new boss was a nicer guy, but he was already RSOAD (Retired, Serving On Active Duty). I, being a diligent, young go-getter took the required training and after learning how to conduct a proper inventory, did one. We were missing a lawn mower. My supervisor gave me what's known as a "hand receipt" that had been signed by someone in the Services Squadron four or five years earlier.
Now hand receipts are not supposed to be used for more than a hear. If the other unit needs it that long, and your unit doesn't, just transfer it to their account. I told my old boss I wasn't signing for the account until he produced the lawn mower. Without my signing for the equipment, he couldn't complete his "processing out" and he was extremely pissed. He ordered me to investigate what had happened to the lawn mower. I discovered that it had been cannibalized for parts long ago. I told the boss he was screwed and I wasn't signing. Miraculously, a lawn mower appeared of the right make/model and I of course feigned ignorance, did not take credit for providing the solution, and signed just so this ass would retire and be gone from my life forever.
I apologize for the length of this story but the point is coming up. Had I not pulled strings and arranged for another mower, my old boss would have had to do what's known as a Report of Survey. He might well have been held financially liable. He could have been fined. He could have been court-martialed. Knowing our squadron commander at the time (he didn't like my supervisor either), he'd have probably insisted on at least an Article 15, if not a court-martial.
A general would never be forced to do a Report of Survey. Not only would he (she) not fill one out himself, but none of his or her aides would do it either. Someone lower in the chain of command would be held accountable. The smaller fish can be fried, but the big fish that wear the stars go nowhere near the fryer.
The integrity in the Air Force is found in the exceptional young officers and NCOs who are the real leaders. The ones who get their hands dirty and get the job done. They should be lauded. The generals, well, if they can just stay out of the way, that's better than nothing.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Shame on Tina Fey for not protecting her employees with workers compensation.
Make note. When someone takes out a reverse mortgage, the lender is required by law to offer the heirs of that person an opportunity to settle the outstanding balance of the reverse mortgage for 95% of the home's present value. And if the home has to be sold, any shortfall is made up by a federal insurance fund.
May we please be spared any future updates from the mother of brain-dead Jahi McMath...unless of course she actually does wake up.
Jeremiah Denton has died at 89. One of the most courageous men who ever lived. RIP sir.
You watch this video and decide who is the bigger jerk:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/road-rage-incident-caught-on-video-goes-viral-151924238.html?vp=1
Some of us aren't fans of sports. But do people really think Magic Johnson played in the NFL?
Good news. A 14 year old has come up with a way for the federal government to save $134 million in printer ink by changing to the use of one specific font. Bad news. Government isn't really interested, as it is focusing its cost reduction plans on putting forms online. Worse news. Even if the feds followed the teen's directions, the 535 spendthrifts in Congress would just waste the money on something else.
The Eagles need to fess up and admit the reason they released DeSean Jackson was because of his alleged ties to L. A. gangs. Then they owe him an apology.
As if NFL teams needed to make more money, they will now be using an app to allow spectators at the games to obtain seat upgrades and have a cheerleader visit them at their seat...for a price. Why would you pay money to watch a football game and then pay to be distracted by a cheerleader?
Bruno being reunited with his handler is terrific.
I hope the veterinarian who had to dig through tons of garbage at the city dump to find the wedding ring that had fallen into the trash during a surgery has learned his lesson. Lock it up while operating.
Good news. The 22 year old woman who was convicted of DUI and placed on probation was able to pass a required breathalyzer test, even though she'd had drinks the day before. Bad news. She posted about her good fortune on FB. Worse news. A probation officer saw it and called her up to order her in for a urine test. Worst news. When she heard that, she hung up on him. That's a probation violation. She faces three months in jail. Hanging up on your probation officer is a violation? Wow.
Do we really need pacifiers for babies that enable the parents to track the kid's temperature?
Making a six year old clean up urine without gloves is not just disgusting, but it's inhumane.
* * *
March 28th in History:
37 – Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of
the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
193 – Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by
Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
364 – Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his
brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably
under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
1566 – The foundation stone of Valletta, Malta's
capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta.
1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the
Presidio of San Francisco.
1794 – Allies under the prince of Coburg defeat
French forces at Le Cateau.
1795 – Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland
and Semigallia, a northern fief of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases
to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.
1802 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2
Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.
1809 – Peninsular War: France defeats Spain in the
Battle of Medelin.
1854 – Crimean War: France and Britain declare war
on Russia.
1860 – First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka
begins.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Glorieta Pass –
in New Mexico, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of New Mexico
territory. The battle began on March 26.
1871 – The Paris Commune is formally established in
Paris.
1883 – Tonkin Campaign: French victory in the Battle
of Gia Cuc.
1889 – The Yngsjö murder in Yngsjö, Sweden: Anna Månsdotter
is arrested along with her son.
1910 – Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a
seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near
Martigues, France.
1913 – Guatemala becomes a signatory to the Buenos
Aires copyright treaty.
1920 – Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects
the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
1930 – Constantinople and Angora change their names
to Istanbul and Ankara.
1933 – The Imperial Airways biplane City of
Liverpool is believed to be the first airline lost to sabotage when a passenger
sets a fire on board.
1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco
Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege.
1941 – World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan – in the
Mediterranean Sea, British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham leads the Royal
Navy in the destruction of three major Italian heavy cruisers and two
destroyers.
1942 – World War II: St Nazaire Raid: In occupied
France, British naval forces successfully raid the German-occupied port of St.
Nazaire.
1946 – Cold War: The United States State Department
releases the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international
control of nuclear power.
1951 – First Indochina War: In the Battle of Mao
Khe, French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny,
inflict a defeat on Việt Minh forces commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp.
1959 – The State Council of the People's Republic of
China dissolves the Government of Tibet.
1968 – Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de
Lima Souto is shot by the police in a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant
for low-income students. The aftermath of his death is one of the first major
events against the military dictatorship.
1969 – Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos
Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in
Greece.
1969 – The McGill français movement protest occurs,
the second largest protest in Montreal's history with 10,000 trade unionists,
leftist activists, college students, and some McGill students at McGill's
Roddick Gates. The majority of the protesters are arrested.
1970 – Gediz earthquake: A 7.2 magnitude earthquake
strikes western Turkey at about 23:05 local time, killed 1,086 and injured
1,260.
1978 – The US Supreme Court hands down 5–3 decision
in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary
sterilization and judicial immunity.
1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island's Unit
2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core
overheating and a partial melt down.
1979 – The British House of Commons passes a vote of
no confidence against James Callaghan's government, precipitating a general
election.
1990 – President George H. W. Bush posthumously
awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
1994 – In South Africa, Zulus and African National
Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths.
1994 – BBC Radio 5 is closed and replaced with a new
news and sport station BBC Radio 5 Live.
1999 – Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military
forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in the Izbica massacre.
2000 – Three children are killed when a Murray
County, Georgia, school bus is hit by a CSX freight train.
2003 – In a friendly fire incident, two A-10
Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the United States Idaho Air National
Guard's 190th Fighter Squadron attack British tanks participating in the 2003
invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier Matty Hull.
2005 – The 2005 Sumatra earthquake rocks Indonesia,
and at magnitude 8.7 is the fourth strongest earthquake since 1965.
2006 – At least one million union members, students,
and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed
First Employment Contract law.
Famous Folk Born on March 28th:
Empress Dowager Xiaohuang of China
Heinrich Schwemmer
Samuel Sewall
Thomas Clarkson
Henry Schoolcraft
Frederick Pabst
William Harvey Carney (Medal of Honor recipient)
Christian Herter
Marlin Perkins (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJXzwURlRw)
Irving Paul "Swifty" Lazar
Nelson Algren
Edmund Muskie
Dirk Bogarde
Dorothy DeBorba (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH2tu-Bh6Z4)
Zbigniew Brzenzinski (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6cg7VfseKQ)
Liz Trotta
Neil Kinnock
Jerry Sloan
Conchata Farrell (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z57mCWuvrw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBDxnItsCoI)
Rick Barry (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU88dxJKTHI)
Ken Howard (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CeSUluBWrE)
Henry Paulson
Dianne Weist (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XbN83ZqlIU)
Milan Williams (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrBx6mAWYPU)
Reba McEntire
Brickhouse Brown (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rzDf5sEsvY)
Curt Hennig (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLqTJJ-xN80)
Bart Conner
Byron Scott (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUdYa5hdMPw)
Brett Ratner
Vince Vaughn (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvKeDr3k7n0)
Nick Frost
Umaga (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzT204nwph0)
Kate Gosselin
Shanna Moakler (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPPEWohW2xI)
Lauren Weisberger
Luke Walton (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxosAsUczFI)
Julia Stiles (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxosAsUczFI)
Lady Gaga (I refuse to put a link up for her)
