Fanning the Flames of Outrage
I watched the raw video of the Jordanian pilot being burned while alive. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a weak stomach. The life of 26 year old Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh ended in several minutes of agony we cannot even begin to imagine. Then his body was crushed by a bulldozer.
One of the most revered clerics in the Sunni faith says that the Prophet Mohammad claimed God alone reserves the right to punish by fire, in the after-life. The Quran also prohibits the mutilation of bodies, even in time of war.
Once again, ISIS acts ostensibly in the name of the faith of its members by violating the tenets of that faith. The hypocrisy is only outweighed by the methodology of their acts of terror.
Yesterday, on Fox News (Faux News for those of you who prefer that label) Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke (R) said that ISIS cannot be defeated by aerial bombardment alone. He has a point. The question is, do we need to put U. S. military personnel in harms way to carry out the objective of ending the ISIS reign of terror?
I believe we do, but only on a limited scale. Congressman Zinke is more qualified than most of his colleagues to speak out on military issues. He served in the Navy for 23 years, retiring with the rank of Commander. He was a member of SEAL Team Six. And in his comments he discussed using special operations forces in defeating ISIS.
That's the key. We don't need to move tens of thousands of infantry soldiers with their thousands and thousands of support forces to the Middle East. We need to train those ISIS is fighting and support them with limited missions conducted by the operators of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Using components of Delta Force, SEAL Team Six (still the name in the public eye, although their official designation has changed) along with certain Marines Corp and Air Force units, the command structure and communication links of ISIS could be taken out.
Cut off the head and the snake dies.
* * *
"Business leagues, chambers of commerce, real-estate boards, boards of trade, or professional football leagues (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players), not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual."
That's from the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U. S. C., Section 501, paragraph (c)(6). How did that provision get into that code section for only the NFL? It came about when the NFL and the AFL merged, and was part of the actions by Congress to avoid anti-trust problems regarding the merger.
The fallacy of these memes going around the net is that they're made to appear no NFL entity is paying any taxes on the income (we tax income, not gross revenue, at the federal and state level) earned. Every NFL team pays taxes on its net income. The league itself is a not for profit.
I agree that the league's not for profit status is questionable, but only because of the outrageous salaries it pays to its executives. Were it not for those, the NFL itself would be comparable to any Chamber of Commerce. An entity designed to help businesses make money.
We need to also remember that the NFL is a gigantic economic machine that generates thousands of jobs. Not just the highly paid players and coaches. The people who sell the tickets, who mow the lawns of the fields that aren't artificial, the people hawking concessions among the fans present. The bartenders and servers in places where fans go to watch games on television. The reporters and TV crews who cover the games. The list of people who have jobs because of professional football is almost limitless. While the hot dog and beer vendors may be merely part-time workers, many of them are moonlighting from other jobs, or making a life out of two or three part-time positions. How many people would be unemployed if the NFL suddenly ceased to exist? I don't know and I don't ant to know.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Someone just said unless you're going to California, chill out about the measles issue. There are now more than 100 cases, in 14 different states. This is no time to chill out. Especially when Westside schools have non-vaccination rates in excess of 75%. I wouldn't send any children I care about to a school where the danger is so much higher. Vaccination rates that approach 95% provide what's known as herd immunity. 25% rates are a recipe for disaster.
Following the announcement that Snoop Dogg is going to throw out his "USC drawers" how many people will be digging in his garbage to try to grab them?
If Jay-Z and Beyoncé are paying over $15,000 for half a school year for Blue Ivy to attend a pre-school, the list of potential schools is very short. I imagine that several of the "A-list" elementary schools on the Westside will be putting out feelers to this power couple.
I wonder if Big Boy will be forced to honor the portion of his contract that allows Emmis to match any offer he receives and remain with the communications group. He says he's leaving. Stay tuned.
Elizabeth Paige Laurie is an heiress to the Walton family fortune. She's currently earning nearly $1 million a month. Her estranged husband, after only six years of marriage, wants $400,000 a month in temporary spousal support. For decades, women who married wealthy men got big bucks that way. Why should this be any different? If her name seems familiar, she's the one who graduated from USC and then gave back her diploma after her college roommate let the world know she'd been paid to do Paige's homework.
Wonder what I'd do if I was offered a lot of money to do someone's homework these days? To get me to ponder that offer for more than a picosecond, it would have to be north of six figures.
I've told a lot of Bruce Jenner jokes, but all kidding aside...I fully support his decision to do what he is doing. If that makes him happy, more power to her.
Why not name your cats after television characters? Taylor Swift did it. Makes as much sense as any other pet name.
Poker chips are trending as a potential Valentine's Day gift. What would you do if your love gave you a set of those?
Ellen Barkin, who is getting married for the third time at age 60, looks damn good. Not just damn good for 60, but damn good.
I guess "conflate" is the newest synonym for embellish, or lie. Just ask NBC's Brian Williams.
If you were suspended from a job paying millions for 10 months for substance abuse, when your suspension ends, would you drink again within weeks of regaining this great job? Wide receiver Josh Gordon didn't, and now he will get another year off without pay. Pro careers end very quickly, but some addictions are hard to conquer.
One of the most revered clerics in the Sunni faith says that the Prophet Mohammad claimed God alone reserves the right to punish by fire, in the after-life. The Quran also prohibits the mutilation of bodies, even in time of war.
Once again, ISIS acts ostensibly in the name of the faith of its members by violating the tenets of that faith. The hypocrisy is only outweighed by the methodology of their acts of terror.
Yesterday, on Fox News (Faux News for those of you who prefer that label) Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke (R) said that ISIS cannot be defeated by aerial bombardment alone. He has a point. The question is, do we need to put U. S. military personnel in harms way to carry out the objective of ending the ISIS reign of terror?
I believe we do, but only on a limited scale. Congressman Zinke is more qualified than most of his colleagues to speak out on military issues. He served in the Navy for 23 years, retiring with the rank of Commander. He was a member of SEAL Team Six. And in his comments he discussed using special operations forces in defeating ISIS.
That's the key. We don't need to move tens of thousands of infantry soldiers with their thousands and thousands of support forces to the Middle East. We need to train those ISIS is fighting and support them with limited missions conducted by the operators of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Using components of Delta Force, SEAL Team Six (still the name in the public eye, although their official designation has changed) along with certain Marines Corp and Air Force units, the command structure and communication links of ISIS could be taken out.
Cut off the head and the snake dies.
* * *
"Business leagues, chambers of commerce, real-estate boards, boards of trade, or professional football leagues (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players), not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual."
That's from the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U. S. C., Section 501, paragraph (c)(6). How did that provision get into that code section for only the NFL? It came about when the NFL and the AFL merged, and was part of the actions by Congress to avoid anti-trust problems regarding the merger.
The fallacy of these memes going around the net is that they're made to appear no NFL entity is paying any taxes on the income (we tax income, not gross revenue, at the federal and state level) earned. Every NFL team pays taxes on its net income. The league itself is a not for profit.
I agree that the league's not for profit status is questionable, but only because of the outrageous salaries it pays to its executives. Were it not for those, the NFL itself would be comparable to any Chamber of Commerce. An entity designed to help businesses make money.
We need to also remember that the NFL is a gigantic economic machine that generates thousands of jobs. Not just the highly paid players and coaches. The people who sell the tickets, who mow the lawns of the fields that aren't artificial, the people hawking concessions among the fans present. The bartenders and servers in places where fans go to watch games on television. The reporters and TV crews who cover the games. The list of people who have jobs because of professional football is almost limitless. While the hot dog and beer vendors may be merely part-time workers, many of them are moonlighting from other jobs, or making a life out of two or three part-time positions. How many people would be unemployed if the NFL suddenly ceased to exist? I don't know and I don't ant to know.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Someone just said unless you're going to California, chill out about the measles issue. There are now more than 100 cases, in 14 different states. This is no time to chill out. Especially when Westside schools have non-vaccination rates in excess of 75%. I wouldn't send any children I care about to a school where the danger is so much higher. Vaccination rates that approach 95% provide what's known as herd immunity. 25% rates are a recipe for disaster.
Following the announcement that Snoop Dogg is going to throw out his "USC drawers" how many people will be digging in his garbage to try to grab them?
If Jay-Z and Beyoncé are paying over $15,000 for half a school year for Blue Ivy to attend a pre-school, the list of potential schools is very short. I imagine that several of the "A-list" elementary schools on the Westside will be putting out feelers to this power couple.
I wonder if Big Boy will be forced to honor the portion of his contract that allows Emmis to match any offer he receives and remain with the communications group. He says he's leaving. Stay tuned.
Elizabeth Paige Laurie is an heiress to the Walton family fortune. She's currently earning nearly $1 million a month. Her estranged husband, after only six years of marriage, wants $400,000 a month in temporary spousal support. For decades, women who married wealthy men got big bucks that way. Why should this be any different? If her name seems familiar, she's the one who graduated from USC and then gave back her diploma after her college roommate let the world know she'd been paid to do Paige's homework.
Wonder what I'd do if I was offered a lot of money to do someone's homework these days? To get me to ponder that offer for more than a picosecond, it would have to be north of six figures.
I've told a lot of Bruce Jenner jokes, but all kidding aside...I fully support his decision to do what he is doing. If that makes him happy, more power to her.
Why not name your cats after television characters? Taylor Swift did it. Makes as much sense as any other pet name.
Poker chips are trending as a potential Valentine's Day gift. What would you do if your love gave you a set of those?
Ellen Barkin, who is getting married for the third time at age 60, looks damn good. Not just damn good for 60, but damn good.
I guess "conflate" is the newest synonym for embellish, or lie. Just ask NBC's Brian Williams.
If you were suspended from a job paying millions for 10 months for substance abuse, when your suspension ends, would you drink again within weeks of regaining this great job? Wide receiver Josh Gordon didn't, and now he will get another year off without pay. Pro careers end very quickly, but some addictions are hard to conquer.
posted by me at 3:39 PM
<< Home