Author Archives: Tom Liberman

Malarkey – The Boy Who Didn’t Go To Heaven – Along with Everyone Else

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alex-malarkeyThere’s an interesting story in the news today about a young man whose story was made into a book. He was in a coma for a couple of months and when he came out of it he made up a story about going to heaven.

This comes as a huge surprise to me. Obviously not because he made up the story, I knew that all along, but because he admitted to making up the story. That’s a real shocker. Once someone commits to a massive lie, as did Alex Malarkey, it’s unusual to see them admit to it. Usually, like say Vice President Cheney and the weapons of mass destruction evidence, they won’t back down regardless of the evidence proving their story was a lie.

At first I was ready to applaud Alex for his admission but as I read the article it became clear to me that perhaps his motivation was not simply coming forward with the truth. It seems clear he is angry that the book publisher, author (his father), and others are making a lot of money off of his name and this rankled his sense of fairness. Lying for the last six years apparently not so much. Fooling millions of people with his lie didn’t bother him as much as the fact that someone else, his father the author, was making money off of his name. Once his parents divorced and mom wasn’t getting her share of the profits, suddenly it was a lie.

Good for Alex for coming forward, I suppose, but I’m not all that impressed. He is still using religion in his quest to get what he wants. He makes an excuse for himself by saying that only the bible is accurate (nonsense, of course) and that all men lie. Perhaps we all do lie about some things, particularly to ourselves, but all of us don’t lie about what we experienced in a coma. Some of us have more character than that. I’m willing to give Alex a small break because he was a young boy when he told the original lie but his coming out now, six years later, and apparently with the soul motivation of his lack of remuneration for the book doesn’t garner my sympathy.

The most ridiculous quote from the now suddenly honest Alex is: They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible. Hey Alex, the bible was written by men.

Alex’s message largely seems to be driven from his mother who admits that she knows what it is like to be pulled in. By this she means she willingly participated in the scam because she thought it was going to make her a lot of money. When she finally realized it wasn’t she suddenly gained a conscience.

The whole thing is despicable. From beginning to end. I have no kind things to say about Alex, his mother, the book publisher, the book author, or anyone involved in this money grubbing scam. I have no doubt we’ll be hearing more from Alex and his amazing conversion in the future, although this time he and his mother will be sure to get the contracts right so they reap the profits.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

I hope so too, Movie Monday – Vision Quest

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Shute Vision QuestI happened upon a movie, Vision Quest, I saw long ago and realized it has more to say to me now than when I was a foolish young college student. Not to say I didn’t love the movie then, I did.

Vision Quest is a movie about a young man on a mission. It was filmed in Spokane, Washington in 1983 which was just down the road from where I was attending college at the University of Idaho from 1982 to 1985. So people were pretty hyped up about it. I was a cynical and unhappy person back in those days and I wanted to dislike the movie because all my friends loved it. Even then I came out of the theater realizing it was a good movie, now I realize it is a great movie.

It’s the Journey

It tells the story of an accomplished young wrestler named Louden Swain, played by Matthew Modine, who wants to wrestle against the reigning state champion from a lower weight class. An already legendary wrestler named Brian Shute. Modine’s character must make-weight to wrestle in the lower class but this is not the driving force of the movie. During the course of the movie he falls in love with a young woman, played by Linda Fiorentino, who is staying with he and his father as she makes her way to San Francisco.

There are a couple of things in this movie that make it a Libertarian story. In the beginning of the film when Modine states his intention to drop a weight class and wrestle against Shute they do not gloss over the fact that this means he must displace the current wrestler at that weight class. This wrestler is played by Michael Schoeffling as Kuch. Here we have the first fantastic message of the movie. Louden defeats Kuch but Kuch does not go off into a corner and weep. He does not plan and plot against Louden. He helps his friend in the quest. He realizes he was defeated and goes about his business like a man. That’s a fantastic message. A message which doesn’t focus on revenge but simply doing the best you can despite any setbacks life throws your way.

The movie, based on a book by Terry Davis, slowly and beautifully shows us that it is Louden’s attempt that makes him a winner. He sees something that will be very difficult and takes the steps necessary to succeed. Will he succeed? Will he fail. In the book we don’t find out because it ends just as the match begins but the movie, of course, had to give us closure. I prefer the book’s ending. It is the journey, the Vision Quest, that makes us better. Not winning or losing.

I Hope So Too

The greatest and most important point in the movie, from my perspective at least, is when Louden and Kuch go to visit Shute as he is working out. Louden shouts out to Shute who looks up and they engage in a short but astoundingly powerful conversation. Shute asks Louden if he will make weight, thus enabling the match between the two. Louden says he hopes so. Shute replies, “I hope so too.”

That right there is everything I try to convey in all my blogs, in all my novels. “I hope so too.” In most movies Shute would be portrayed as the bad guy. We’d see him hitting his girlfriend or bullying a smaller kid. Not in this movie. In this movie Shute, the bad guy, is looking forward to the tough challenge as much as is Louden. Why? Because he also knows that to be strong you must test yourself against others who are strong. Man, what a scene! That’s the kind of writing I strive to achieve.

That’s a motto to carry forward in life. Welcome the challenges and strive to win but don’t be despondent in defeat. You will live to fight another day, another battle, and you will be the stronger for it. This message that victory is everything corrupts. It is a bad message, a wrong message. Fight hard, fight fair, do your best and you’ll be a winner, even in defeat.

Tom Liberman

Rich Ross aims to Fix Discovery Channel

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Discovery Rich RossThere is an absolutely fascinating event taking place in the world of entertainment in that the new president of the Discovery Channel, Rich Ross, plans to take the network in a different direction.

The Discovery Channel has recently aired episodes which are geared towards the sensational and play fast and loose with reality. These episodes have generated some of the largest audiences the Discovery Channel has ever recorded. You see, my loyal readers, sensational nonsense is much more popular than boring reality. Of this there is no doubt but it is this very fact that makes Ross’s decision so incredibly interesting to me.

I’ve written on numerous occasions about the perception that the media is destroying our country when in reality it is the viewing habits of the denizens of our country that drives the media. Idiotic Megladon nonsense gets better ratings than shows about the natural beauty of North America. Not by a little, by a lot.

Ratings are what drives the amount a network can charge advertisers for sponsorship of a show. The reason being that if more people are watching a show then the advertisement reaches … more people! It doesn’t take a degree in Aerospace Engineering … er … I mean Rocket Science to figure out people like it sensational, they like it dumbed down, they like it mostly naked, and they like it with a bit of the naughty stuff.

So here we have it. Mr. Ross is looking you right in the eye United States of America citizens. He’s saying we’re going to give you some reality because we think you are ready for it. You complained vociferously about our nonsense shows and therefore, despite their great ratings, we’re going to pull them off the air and give you what you claim you want to see, not what our market research and reams of evidence tells us you really want to see.

I stand here ready to watch more of the Discovery Channel. I’m on your side Mr. Ross. I wish you the best of luck in your attempt. I desperately wish people would click on Science Articles in their various media outlets rather than stories about the Kardashians. I’d love it if people decided to read balanced and factual stories about the Keystone Pipeline rather than reading political motivated rhetorical lunacy. That being said, I’m not holding my breath waiting for it to happen.

I’ll be very interested to see the overall ratings for the Discovery Channel this time next year. I’ll be happily surprised if they are trending upward.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Stan Kroenke and the St. Louis Rams

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Stan-KroenkeAnyone who reads my blog with any regularity knows I’m from St. Louis, a huge sports fan, and holder of Rams season tickets. The big story around here the last few weeks involves the owner of the Rams being part of a group that is building a new football stadium in Los Angeles.

It’s no secret that the NFL would like to have a team in the largest market in the United States. It’s also no secret that Stan Kroenke is unhappy with the stadium here in St. Louis and is in the middle of negotiations to build a new one. He wants the city to provide much of the money while the city would prefer he funded the effort.

The implicit threat is that if Kroenke doesn’t get his way he will move the Rams to Los Angeles. There’s nothing new going on here. Mr. Kroenke has been playing this game with the city of St. Louis and the state of Missouri since he purchased controlling interest in the team back in 2010.

What I want to talk about today is a recent news story that’s been making the rounds. Since the announcement of the stadium plan in L.A. there has been a lot of hand-wringing here in St. Louis. State and city leaders joined the fray when they announced to the press that Mr. Kroenke wasn’t returning their calls and they were taking their case directly to the NFL.

Let me preface my comments by saying I’m a huge Rams fan. I love the team and think they are on their way back to the elite in the NFL. Maybe I’m delusional but I want the team to stay in St. Louis so I can cheer them onto to their next Super Bowl victory. I am rooting for the community leaders and Mr. Kroenke to work out a plan. That being said ….

Boo hoo, Mr. Governor, Mr. House Majority Leader, Mr. Mayor. When you encouraged Mr. Kroenke to purchase majority ownership of the Rams you invited a tough businessman to the table. When you’ve got a man like Mr. Kroenke opposite you it’s time to put on your big-boy pants. I’m of the opinion that Mr. Kroenke would like to keep the team here in Missouri. It’s his home state. His family is from here and many of his friends. Mr. Kroenke doesn’t let that change his game face.

What’s the biggest card in the deck for those who want to pressure Mr. Kroenke to stay? Hey, Stan, there ain’t no stadium in L.A. so your threats to move don’t scare me. Well, boys, Mr. Kroenke comes to play.

He’s not returning your calls? Then stop calling him.

Going behind his back to the NFL to plead with them not only doesn’t make you look strong but I also think it’s a stupid play. The NFL cares a lot more about keeping Mr. Kroenke happy, he’s the second or third wealthiest owner in the league, than it does about any Missouri politicians or a fan like me. I doubt seriously Mr. Kroenke would have gone ahead with this L.A. stadium plan if he didn’t have solid backing from the other owners about bringing a team to L.A. whether it be the Rams or someone else.

What Mr. Kroenke did was take away a chip from his opponents and potentially make a lucrative deal to lease the new stadium to whatever team moves there even if he gets the stadium he wants in St. Louis. Tough, good, business. I’ll tell you this, I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of the negotiation table from Mr. Kroenke. And if I found myself in that position I’d certainly be making my plans with great care. Not whining about how he won’t answer the phone.

You want the team to stay in St. Louis. Hammer something out. Don’t give away the farm, because Mr. Kroenke won’t respect that either. There’s money to be made by everyone when it comes to the NFL. No doubt there’s more money in L.A. than St. Louis but L.A. has failed to support a team before. There are dangers in the move. There is stiff competition from the City by the Bay, Alameda County, and down Route 1.

Don’t whine, don’t run to the press, don’t look to the NFL to save you. Figure out a plan that can work for the city, the state, and for Mr. Kroenke. Give his executive assistant a call and invite him to a dinner next Thursday at Tony’s. Call ahead and make sure Vince is there to make Bananas Foster table-side for dessert. A round of Booker’s bourbon, with a splash of water of course, might not hurt negotiations either.

Go Rams!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

 

Je Suis Charlie

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charlie-hebdo-magazine-shootingI think almost all of us have read about the despicable attack in Paris against those who work for a French magazine called Charlie Hebdo. A bunch of religious nut-jobs decided they could further their cause by killing some people who posted cartoons of their prophet.

I’m not going to waste time denouncing these murderous scum. There are plenty of people already doing that. What I want to do today is try to explain, rationally and calmly, why such actions harm their cause greatly.

The thinking of the terrorist is that if they frighten people they can get them to do what they want. It’s a behavior that works in certain instances and thus those who promulgate its use are encouraged. The long term reality is far different. The embracing of terror as a weapon to achieve political gain is destroying the entire Muslim religion and laying waste to hundreds of thousands, nay, millions of young lives. While twelve innocent Frenchmen and women were killed, there is no doubt that the actions will result in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent young Muslims.

Not just from retribution attacks but simply from the setback in relationship between nations. Countless young Muslim boys will look to this as an achievement and spend their own lives in the fruitless and eventually deadly pursuit of similar activity.

Young Arab men are dying everywhere in this world. Killing each other and trying to kill others. It’s a terrible waste of their lives.

This attack also inestimably set back any attempt to get people to respect Muslims, the Islamic world, or Arabic people in general.

If the terrorists hoped to have the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo splattered over every blog, every newspaper, every media outlet, papered onto every mosque in every western country, and generally shoved down the throats of Muslims everywhere, well, their actions were well-thought out.

If the murdering terrorists wanted to make enemies of rational people the world over then they have succeeded.

If they wanted Arabs who are trying to live in peace in Western countries to be beaten, ridiculed, or even killed by those seeking revenge, well, then their actions were certainly well-planned and carried out.

If, on the other hand, they hoped to gain respect from other people then they have failed. If the goal is to have people respect your prophet then the solution isn’t to murder those who don’t. That only generates hate. The result of the actions of these murderous scum will be felt by peace-loving Muslims all over the Western world. And not in a good way. If their goal was to gain respect, admiration, and acceptance of their religion … they have failed and failed tragically with horrific consequences for so many, mostly for those whom they think they represent.

So terribly sad. Twelve people dead and the exact opposite of the goal of the killers achieved. Everything they hoped to gain by their attack is destroyed instead. Stupidity. Useless rage.

The Muslim world better get their act together soon because enough attacks like this are eventually going to result in such terror and horror a million times over and not against cartoonists. Wake up Muslim world. Save yourself before it’s too late.

Je Suis Charlie
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Parental Responsibility in Murderous Children – Thomas Gilbert

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tommy gilbertThe last few days have brought us a tragic story in that a man named Tommy Gilbert murdered his father. I’ve been keeping up with the sad story somewhat peripherally but I read a new article on the subject this evening and I was particularly struck by the comments sections.

The story is one we’ve seen before. 30 year old Tommy Gilbert largely seemed to live off of his father. Tommy graduated from Princeton with a degree in economics so the fact that he didn’t have a job and relied on an allowance from his father seems to have been more a matter of choice than lack of ability. Reading the comments it seems many people think that just anyone can get such a degree but that’s just not true. Perhaps he was given favored status because of his father’s wealth and alumni status but he still earned the degree. With his father’s name behind him it seems impossible that he could not have made some sort of reasonable living.

What I find interesting are the assumptions largely being bandied about in the comments section. The main assumption is that because Tommy had a weekly allowance and his apartment paid for by his father he was spoiled and the parents are to blame for such an entitled child. This latest article seems to indicate that Tommy’s relationship with his father was anything but good. He wasn’t spoiled by his father but apparently constantly ridiculed. Nothing he did was good enough according to at least what Tommy thought if not reality.

This would indicate a parent who is doing relatively the opposite of those assumptions. Tommy was getting a small allowance, $400 a week, and his apartment paid. While $1,600 a month and rent seems like a lot to many people it’s frankly almost minuscule to what many super-wealthy parents bestow upon their children. I would not call it an amount that allowed Tommy to live whatever party life he desired. This sounds like parents who were trying to force their son to get to work without completely cutting him off. I think it’s easy to judge but what parent out there doesn’t want to help their child?

I think the problems that Tommy had were of his own making. He had many advantages in life and failed to use them properly. That’s on him, not his father.

No big rant here today. I just think those that want to lay blame on Thomas are misjudging the situation. Even if Thomas was giving hundreds of thousands to his son it is still Tommy’s job to make his own way in the world.

Was Tommy spoiled and entitled? Unloved and never supported? Not easy to say for certain but I’ll tell you one thing. He’s a murderer and the only person he needs to blame for that is looking him in the mirror.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Kobe Bryant Doesn’t Like the AAU and Corporate Profiteering

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kobe-aauThere is an interesting sports story making its way through the various news outlets and it brought something to my attention of which I was unaware. All-time NBA superstar Kobe Bryant recently made some comments about the way young U.S. basketball players are being coached and prepared for the future. He didn’t pull any punches. He also talked about treating the young players like “cash cows”.

He suggested that the Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) Basketball arm was largely encouraging young players to perform highlight reel plays rather than learn fundamental basketball skills. That this leads to a lack of basic skills in players all the way up the chain to the NBA. When Kobe talks about the AAU he is also speaking of some leagues you have likely never heard of called EYBL, Adidas Uprising, and the UAA. He lamented that players coming from Europe have better team skills than young U.S. players and this was going to have a long term negative effect.

What I want to talk about today is his “cash cow” comment. It ties back to what he was saying about the lack of fundamental skill but also goes very strongly towards my Libertarian ideology. You have to understand what is EYBL, Adidas Uprising, the UAA, and the new model of the AAU based upon the existence of these other leagues.

Let’s jump back into our time machine to examine youth sports fifty years ago. There was little in the way of traveling teams and the vast majority of players learned their skills from local coaches with a few making select AAU teams. That world no longer exists. EYBL is a Nike organized youth league. Uprising is Adidas and UAA is Under Armour. The main purpose of these leagues is to make money, not develop overall player skills. These corporate leagues do focus on highlight reel plays although there are certainly good coaches in their ranks who work on fundamentals. The players in the leagues travel all over the country to sold-out stadiums to play in All-Star games and one regional “Championship” after the next. The parents of these players shell out big bucks to play in the league. These leagues quickly sucked up all the talented players leaving the AAU to follow the business model or die.

Agents associate themselves with the brightest young talents and their parents. Corporate sponsors make friends with the players who will journey on to college and potentially the NBA with an eye towards the bottom line for Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour. They are, for all practical purposes, professional development leagues making money and channeling players towards their agency and products.

What Kobe Bryant says is absolutely true. The players are focusing on big plays to the detriment of their fundamental skills and corporate sponsorship is making big bucks while the players provide the entertainment. Certainly the top level players are gaining keen competitive advantages by playing against the most talented young athletes from other parts of the country that they would never otherwise have competed against. This does serve them well when they transition to high school, college, and potentially NBA careers. So they are profiting to some degree.

Is this corporate takeover of youth athletics a bad thing? A good thing? I think there are arguments to be made both ways.

People are paying to see these young athletes play. Parents are willingly forking over big chunks of cash to allow their children to play even if their dreams of eventual professional stardom and return for their investments are unlikely to be realized. The kids are traveling the country playing a sport they love.

On the other hand the kids are being used to generate large sums of money while getting very little, and no actual payment, in return. This runs counter to my capitalistic ideology. Those who do the work should be getting a share of their profits, as do those who run the league. Parents are being manipulated by promises of eventual college scholarships and huge paydays in the professional leagues. Only a small percentage of these promises are met.

We see this same corporate takeover with Marching Bands, Cheer Competitions, and a variety of other youth pastimes. Things that used to be for kids are now for adults and focus largely on profits. Various companies create artificial “championships” in which parents pay for uniforms, travel, tickets, and sundry other items which all generate profit for the corporations.

I’m not against making money. I think if kids want to participate in these leagues, if parents want to shell out money to have their kids play, and if spectators want to watch then that’s fine.

What Kobe doesn’t like and where I agree with him is that the kids seem to be getting the least from all of it. I don’t think corporate leagues are going away simply because of the profit involved. I do think the kids doing the work should be compensated just as you are paid for working at your job. The kids doing the work should be treated as employees, not cash cows. They should be paid either directly or in some deferred manner. After all, we are not communists.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Friday after Holiday Law

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Should be lawA friend of mine made the following post, in jest, on her Facebook page this morning and it’s got me thinking.

I think it should be a law that if a holiday falls on a Thursday you just get Friday off too. I’m just saying ….

Not surprisingly the comment has accumulated quite a few Likes although it’s still early in the morning. I’d imagine everyone who sees it will grin and agree. I’m certain that my friend isn’t actually calling for government intervention in the Thursday holiday situation but there is truth in humor. What the comment got me thinking about was the role of government and its legal arm in our lives.

We do have legally assigned holidays. If you work for a government agency there are certain days that you must give workers off. There are certainly optional religious holidays and cultural holidays where most employers give their employees the day off; these being Independence Day, Christmas Day, and the like.

I’m taking today off. I took last Friday off as well. I have accumulated enough vacation hours to manage to do so. I am logged in at work in case there is some sort of emergency but basically I’m going to sit at home and work and laze about the house. That’s certainly my right with my vacation days. I was aware of the Thursday holidays this year and planned accordingly. Could not my friend have done the same? Do we need to rely on government intervention to take a day off?

Again, I realize my friend’s comment was largely a joke but I do think there is some misguided mentality to the thought process of someone who would make such a joke. If you want to take the day off then make plans to do so. Talk to your employer. Make sure you can take the day off. Schedule your vacation days so that it is available to you. If your employer refuses to give you the day off then consider looking for a new job. That’s one of the reasons employers give optional paid holidays like Christmas and New Year’s off. If they forced their employees to work those days they would soon have no employees.

I work in the IT world and our technicians don’t get days like today off because there might be a client with an emergency. Normally it’s pretty slow because so many businesses are closed but it is important to have someone available in case of disaster.

I’m not making any big rant or complaint about some injustice today. I’d just like to say take a moment to think about how you can accomplish what you want without having to ask for government intervention. I think when the government gets involved legally in issues, even for the most well-meaning reasons, things often do not end up the way we originally envisioned.

Have a great day and a good luck with the coming year!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Rodgers

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suh steps on rodgersThis past weekend in the NFL I saw my downtrodden St. Louis Rams end yet another losing season but I also witnessed one of the most despicable acts in sports that I’ve seen in many a year. There is some controversy over the play in question but I have no doubts.

Detroit Lion’s defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh stepped on Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodger’s leg. Not such a big deal you say? I beg to differ.

Before I go on, I’d like to say that I’m no Cheesehead. The Lions are, like my Rams, the ugly step-child of the NFL. I watch as year after year the favored sons (Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and New England) have every marginal call go their way. It’s infuriating as Rodgers gets away with rule-breaking that is called on whoever is quarterbacking the Rams. That being said I have a huge problem with what Suh did in the game.

Rodgers hurt his leg early in the game but returned to play. I may hate him for getting all the calls but there is no denying his toughness and talent. In the incident in question Suh stepped on Rodger’s hurt leg twice. At first glance of the replay it looks like it could easily have been accidental, it wasn’t. If you watch the incident closely you see that Suh only managed a glancing shot the first time and came back for more. The second time he paused, lifted his other foot, and pushed down with all his weight on Rodger’s calf. Rodger’s swats at Suh who then walks off apparently not realizing what has happened. Ha.

Here’s what happened and why I think it’s so horrible. Suh knew that Rodgers was injured. He knew that there would be an opportunity to hit the injured leg and he made his plans. When that opportunity arose he stepped backwards with cool and calculated nonchalance. He missed and took another crack at it. Then he pretended nothing happened and walked off feigning ignorance to the event. That is calculation, that is malice, that is intent to injure.

The natural reaction when accidentally stepping on an opponent is to immediately put the opposite foot on the ground and take weight off the standing foot. I played rugby, I was stepped on and stepped on others. When stepping that obviously on an opponent you know it. Suh knew it. There is no way he didn’t realize it but he pretended he didn’t. That’s a dead giveaway. Had he turned and feigned an apology I would have some doubt about if it was intentional or not. He didn’t do anything of the sort. He wanted to hurt Rodgers and he wanted to pretend it was unintentional.

Last week a teammate of Suh stomped an opponent in a fit of anger. I have no sympathy for Dominic Raiola but I at least understand rage. I’ve been angry and I’ve wanted to stomp an opponent for a moment before reason prevailed. But to plan, wait, and execute an attack like that with such cool disregard for another man’s livelihood? Disgusting.

Professional football is a tough game. I remember Stephen Jackson breaking his thumb and talking about how players on opposing teams squeezed it in pileups. I have a problem with that just as I have a problem with Suh. On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with attacking an injured player’s weakness within the game. If Rodgers is having trouble running then adjust your pass rush to force him from the pocket. If you tennis opponent has a weak backhand, hit it to their backhand over and over and over again.

Suh has been suspended for one game for his actions which is the playoff game next week. Personally I think he got off too easily. There are plenty of opportunities to hit an opponent legally in the NFL. I don’t have a problem with players who go at it hard and to the phantom of the whistle. That’s the game. I cannot and will not excuse such a calculated and cool attack.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

$10 Billion Gambling Loss?

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Billion Loss Sheldon AdelsonThis week’s misleading headline isn’t particularly egregious in nature and anyone with a modicum of sense knew that the headline was steering people in the wrong direction even before clicking the story. Still, I picked it today because it is a classic example of someone writing a misleading headline to attract viewers when I think a more accurate headline would have done the job better.

1 Man Loses $10 Billion in Las Vegas screams the headline on the Yahoo news scroll although the article comes from the habitual headline abuser Motley Fool. It’s pretty easy to determine that no one could actually lose $10 billion gambling and the story must refer to investment losses. That’s the case. Sheldon Adelson is a casino owner who has attracted my ire in the past had a bad year money wise. He is leading the efforts to make sure offshore gambling stays illegal in the United States. It’s Crony Capitalism at its worst but that’s not my story today.

What I find most interesting about this headline is the choice to go with something misleading rather than the truth. Adelson is a divisive character who has spent heavily in various elections earning the ire of one party and the praise of the other. This alone makes his name a marketable headline. I think writing an accurate headline, Adelson loses $10 Billion or something of that ilk would have attracted more clicks than the misleading headline.

The misleading headline attempts to lure us in with a story of some ultra-rich person who lost the stated amount at the gambling tables. I suppose that is an interesting premise. What I think happened here is that the headline writer for Motley Fool, so accustomed to writing headlines that skirt or completely hide from the truth, simply fell back on old habits without thinking things completely through.

Anyway, it’s certainly not the worst misleading headline I’ve ever pointed out but I thought it was instructive nevertheless Why lie when the truth is more enticing? This is what happens when you practice bad habits. You risk making them part of your normal life and that’s not good.

Have a great Holiday Season and if you’ve got friends who love to read please think about spending $2.99 on one of my books. I think you’ll get real value for the price!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

 

Rush Limbaugh and the James Bond Controversy

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idris-elbaHuge news story hitting the world right now!

There is talk of replacing Daniel Craig as master British Secret Service Agent James Bond. Craig has done a masterful job of bringing back the edge to 007 after the series turned rather comedic with Roger Moore and those who followed. I’ve loved Craig as Bond and I’d be sorry to see him go. So what’s the big controversy?

One of the actors being considered to replace Bond is Idris Elba. Elba is a dashed handsome fellow from England with a good history of movies and television credits to his name. So what’s the problem? Rush Limbaugh thinks Elba should be disqualified from the role because he is a black man. Bond, James Bond, is white you see, at least according to Limbaugh.

I’ll dispel with any suspense about my opinion on this one. The actor who does the best in the audition and who the casting director and the director of the film think will do the job should be awarded the part. Anyone who says anything different doesn’t believe in capitalism. I’m talking to you, Rush. Racism? Maybe. Dirty, filthy, anti-objectivism – absolutely! To suggest that Elba should be disqualified from the role regardless of his ability to play it makes my blood boil! Out, out foul villain. Not in my house.

People argue that Bond is a fictional character and thus open to interpretation. Not relevant. I don’t care if it is a historical character. If a black man kills in an audition for Eleanor Roosevelt he should get the role. If a white man destroys in an effort to depict Ghandi, he should get it. Oh wait, he already did (well, half-white). If a ginger-haired, fair-skinned woman is best as Nelson Mandela then so be it. Anyone who says differently will face my wrath!

This is what Ayn Rand is talking about when she writes Atlas Shrugged. This is a meritocracy. This is the way the world should be. Whoever does something best should be rewarded. Limbaugh shows us here that he doesn’t believe in Rand, he doesn’t believe in capitalism, and that he is certainly not an Objectivist.

I see this so clearly. I know I’m right. I know Limbaugh and anyone who agrees with him is wrong. Dead wrong. That is the kind of thinking that holds back a society. Maybe we shouldn’t hire someone who does the best because they are a devout evangelical. Nope. Maybe we shouldn’t hire a woman to be head of our security department because women aren’t qualified? My advice? Hire the person best qualified under any and all circumstances. It’s your security!

I don’t even know what else to say to make my point. Hire the person best qualified. Period. Anything else is wrong.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

North Korea and the Blame Game

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North Korea Sony AttackNorth Korea is good for it. Or at least that’s what it appears to be in the Sony Hacking case.

I was watching this case from before it became major news and when word first started to leak about North Korea and the hack being related to the release of The Interview I was extremely skeptical. I thought it sounded like classic misdirection from whatever group actually perpetrated the hack.

Then the U.S. government got involved in the form of the FBI and they seemed pretty clear that North Korea was involved in the case. Oh well, I thought to myself, I was wrong. More good reason not to jump to conclusions and write blogs before all the information is available. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way in the past and I try to be cautious.

This morning a read a news story from one of the worst of the slanted journalism sites indicating that the blaming of the hack on North Korea was premature. Before you go thinking the Daily Beast has got their act together you might read this story from the same publication that demands the U.S. take action against North Korea for the hack. I’m not going to spend time today attacking or praising the Daily Beast for their regularly insane and irregularly sane articles. Today I want to talk about perception.

North Korea was good for it. There are not many people in the world who have a high opinion of North Korea and that is for excellent reasons. It is the worst totalitarian state in the world. Their record on human rights is abysmal. There is every reason to think they would do something terrible like this. They would certainly be on the list of suspects. What’s important is that all this is merely conjecture.

After reading the article in the Daily Beast I went searching for more articles and there seems to be a fairly general consensus that the FBI laid out the blame without the evidence necessary to do so. That there were other potential parties involved and the investigation seems to have stuck upon the few bits of evidence that supported their presupposed notion. I’ve written about this tendency in smaller and more domestic situation as recently as last week.

I find it predictable, but still disheartening, that law enforcement agencies as lofty as the FBI apparently fall prey to the same sort of investigative blindness. I’m not going to say that North Korea is blameless because I haven’t seen all the evidence. I certainly won’t say that North Korea is behind the attack. I think the question still remains up in the air.

I will toot my own horn. I was skeptical of the blame North Korea game the second I heard that the hackers didn’t want The Interview released. I still think so. It appeared obvious to me that this was a case of one group attempting to lead the authorities on a wild-goose chase by putting out misleading statements.

The real take that I get from the story is that you should always be cautious about assigning blame to the person our party that appears to be guilty at first glance. It’s something we have the tendency to do all too frequently.

Don’t play the blame game. Look at the facts with an open mind and particularly examine those that don’t fit in with your preconceived notions. You might find the world a more complex and interesting place than you imagined.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Does Joe Wickline Call the Plays? It shouldn’t Matter!

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joe wicklineI just found out about a situation that’s been brewing in NCAA football for a while now. For once it’s not about screwing over the players, everyone’s favorite whipping boys. This time it’s about a coach.

A fellow by the name of Joe Wickline worked for Oklahoma State as an offensive coach. In that capacity he advised the head coach and the offensive coordinator on what plays to run but did not make the final call. The nonsensical question the court faces is whether Wickline is calling plays for his new school, the University of Texas. Why is this such a crucial question? Because of insane employer contracts.

You see, Wickline was only allowed to leave Oklahoma State without paying a $600,000 penalty if he took a promotion at his new school. If the move was lateral, or technically a demotion, then he would be forced to pay the penalty. Insanity. I will never understand how a business can penalize an employee in the United States of America for taking another job. It’s our right to work where want and when we want as long as an employer is willing to pay us. No one should have any say about that except me and the person who wants to hire me. If I steal company ideas or clients that’s another matter but if I simply want to move from one company to another it’s completely and totally my decision.

You might wonder the point of the clause in the contact. I’ll tell you. It’s a nasty, and in my opinion clearly illegal, way to make other schools pay when they hire someone who works for the first school. In the article I’ve linked the lawyers for Oklahoma State lament the fact that Texas is not paying the fee because everyone does it! Madness. It puts a huge chill on the ability of any employee to actively sell their services. If a potential employer has two candidates but one comes with a half a million dollar fee associated with him or her that clearly effects hiring practices. How this is not illegal mystifies me.

Shame on the anyone who writes such a contract. Shame on any judge who upholds it. Capitalism depends on people being able to sell their services to the highest bidder. It’s not just about making an environment where competition thrives and government doesn’t stifle it. It’s not just for the company, it’s all about the employee as well. Contracts like this stifle capitalism and the free market.

In the immortal words of Mr. Mackey, “m’kay?”

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

More Casualties from the War on Drugs – Baby Phonesavanh

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phonesavanh_familyLiterally not a week goes by that I don’t spot a disturbing story about over-zealous police and the ridiculous War on Drugs that is nothing more than a giant promotional device to make drug-dealers rich. This one makes my stomach hurt. After reading this story I want to punch someone. I’m not a violent man and being all of 5′ 7 1/2″ tall and weighing 155 pounds I’d probably get beat up in the end anyway. Still. It’s infuriating.

I hate you proponents of the War on Drugs. I despise your shortsighted insanity. Your insane logic. Your willful ignorance of reality. Your war has cost so many people so much. This includes so many good law enforcement officers who died or were destroyed while trying to carry out your stupid laws. So many people hurt and only pain and violence the result. The War on Drugs has brought on so much more violence than the drug use it was purportedly designed to prevent.

Why am I so mad? I’ll sum up the story of the Phonesavanhs. In an unrelated incident their home burned. So they moved in with family. The estranged son of said family was a meth addict and dealer. The boy had stolen from the family and was not welcome home. Had not been seen in the house since the Phonesavanhs moved in. They didn’t know him although knew he was unwelcome. A wonderful DEA agent named Nikki Autry used statements from a drug informant whose name we will never know to gain a no-knock warrant on the house.

By no-knock they mean kick down the door. Judge James Butterworth authorized the warrant. Apparently no one bothered to learn that the house was overflowing with children including 18-month old Bounkham Jr “Bou Bou”. The officers kicked down the door. They hurled flash grenades randomly about. One of them flew into the crib. The crib!! The doctor described the injuries thus: His chest wall had torn down to muscle and it tore his face down to bone, down to his teeth.

The officers snatched up the baby and rushed him to an ambulance. The parents, worried, asked if anything was wrong. He lost a tooth they were told.

Agent Autry retired almost immediately. Judge Butterworth resigned from the bench. No penalties were exacted on either of them.

The investigation leading up to the raid was called hurried and sloppy according to the grand jury convened to see if any officers, or anyone at all, should be held responsible. No charges were filed.

Medical bills, you ask? Over a million dollars. The state’s responsibility you might wonder? Zero. Protected by laws designed to shield them from any damage they do while enforcing the War on the Drugs.

Oh how I hate thee War on Drugs. You make my heart sick. You make my mind burn with rage. What can I do to stop this insanity?

I write my blog. I write my books. I want to do more.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Which Crime to Investigate – Sex Scandal or Burglary?

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Amy Bramlett InnocentI just read about an interesting case in which a teacher, Amy Bramlett, from San Bernadino, CA was accused of having sexual relations with a pair of her students. Three months into the investigation all charges have now been dropped. The details of the case bother me greatly. Read on.

All the information isn’t in yet but the it looks to me like a rather typical case of overzealous police officers backed up by a prosecutor who saw a high profile case as a way to gain advancement.

The story is relatively straightforward. Two boys broke into their teacher’s home and were caught. One boy panicked and made up a story about having sex with the teacher as being the reason why they were there. The second boy denied this repeatedly but was held in custody by the police and questioned for many hours until he too eventually admitted to doing something that he did not do. It’s impossible to guess what sort of trickery the police used to convince the boy to lie but it’s extremely informative as to the tactics our officers use to coerce admissions of guilt.

We’ve all seen various police dramas where officers lie to suspects and use other psychological tactics to gain an admission of guilt. What’s rather shocking about this one is that the tactics were used to get the criminal to lie about his own activity, not admit the truth. The boy was caught in the middle of a robbery and convinced by the police to lie and blame someone else. If you think this is an isolated case you should spend some time looking up Innocence Project.

The first boy went home and immediately told his father that he had lied. Authorities were informed that the boys recanted their story very early in the case but the zealous prosecutor pursued matters for three more months even going as far as to bring charges against Bramlett. In the meantime Bramlett was removed from the classroom and stigmatized in her community.

I well-understand it is the job of the police to vigorously investigate crime and of prosecutors to seek convictions for said crimes. It just seems to me that in this case the choice between a mundane burglary and a sensationalist teacher/student sex scandal drove the investigation rather than actual evidence. I wonder how often this happens.

Again, there’s a lot of information still out there but my initial reaction is to lay blame largely on the prosecutor for steering the investigation the wrong way. Certainly the police with their aggressive questioning in the wrong direction bear some responsibility but the actual filing of charges and three months of wasted time and surely considerable money falls squarely on the prosecutor. Not to mention the damage done to Bramlett which, despite all apologies, can never be undone.

Follow the evidence, I say. Even if you don’t like where it’s going. It makes us all safer.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Johnny Manziel Misleading Headline

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Johnny Manziel HeadlineAnd the winner for misleading headline of the week is awarded to Pro Football Talk with this doozy about Johnny Manziel.

Teammates say Johnny Manziel is a “nightmare” in practice.

For those of you not following the NFL closely I’ll do a quick recap. Manziel was a controversial pick in the first round of the NFL draft and some think he will be a great quarterback while others think his style is not suited to the league. The starting quarterback of the team has been ineffective lately and Manziel made his first start today.

The headline lures you in with a promise that his teammates are finding problems with him during practice. The reality is just the opposite. They say that Manziel presents unique difficulties for defenses because of his ability to extend plays.

I’m not jumping in here as a fan of Manziel or a naysayer. I’m just telling you that the article isn’t what you think. Therefore it wins this week’s Misleading Headline of the Week!

Congratulations, PFT.

By the way, Manziel had a rather awful first outing which will cheer those who dislike him. Time will tell.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

Character Above all Else in the NFL

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Roger GoodellThe National Football League suffered a serious blow to their image over the Ray Rice incident. I wrote about it back in September of 2014. Now the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell, has come out with a statement that he hopes will alleviate some of the damage.

It goes on for a bit but the part I want to discuss today goes like this: Character and values sits above everything else …

I have a thought about that: A ha ha haha haaaa haaa, a haa haaaaa haaaaaa!!!

I do not laugh because it’s a funny situation. It’s not. Ray Rice knocked out his wife with a single punch. She precipitated the blow by yelling at him, punching him, and spitting on him. The league suspended him for two games initially but months later increased the suspension because people saw the video. The arbitrators between the union of players and league ruled that Goodell had violated the rules and reinstated Rice (something I argued for in my original post). It’s far from funny. It is disturbing in many ways. Today’s blog isn’t about that. It’s about the blatant lie that Goodell just told.

The NFL is about a lot of things but the character of the players does not come before everything else. The league wants to make money. The various teams want to win games and make money. The players want to succeed, win games, and get paid more money. What comes first? Winning and with it money. Now, I fully understand that if the league fails to punish players who do things that society abhors that might cut into their profits. Therefore the behavior of players, management, and owners is of some importance. I don’t dispute that members of the NFL organization would like to eliminate domestic violence completely. They would like to end serious head injuries. But to say character and values sit above everything else is rank hypocrisy. It almost makes my ears bleed.

Almost all athletic endeavors place the ability to play the game well above everything else. Who was chosen first in grade school gym class? The smart kids? Of course not. There are plenty of intelligent and ethical athletes who play football at every level. If a team refused to play anyone with character issues they wouldn’t win a game. You’re good to your wife and kids, you’ve never broken the law, you have an ethical code? Whoop Dee Doo, can you ball?

I love my St. Louis Rams. I truly do. Janoris Jenkins was drafted after having been kicked off his college team for marijuana use. He was a 22 year old kid with multiple children from different women. Don’t be fooled though, he can play. Every year teams draft players who were involved in domestic violence incidents, who failed drug tests, who have a difficult time keeping their pecker in their pocket. But they can ball. And that’s what is most important. It’s not just players. Coaches and owners have broken the law and done unethical things. Can they bring home a winner is the question most asked of such people.

I’m bothered by such blatant falsehoods. It’s as if he thinks he can look us right in the eye and lie knowing we don’t care as long as it’s what we want to hear. It’s as if the truth doesn’t matter.

As Master On says in my novel The Black Sphere: What you wish to be true is irrelevant. Only a child believes what they desire to be real is actually so. 

I have but a single question for Commission Goodell: Do you consider getting up on a podium and telling obvious lies to a national audience be a trait of those with character and value?

Tom Liberman

Police and Rams – To Bully and Intimidate

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CrybabyThe Ferguson situation here in my hometown of St. Louis has been making headlines for quite a while although I’ve refrained from posting on it largely because I don’t have much to add to the dialog. But things got weird during the St. Louis Rams football game this past weekend against the Oakland Raiders.

I have season tickets to the Rams and was at the game. My seats give me a good view of the player entrances and I saw the Rams receivers gather and raise their arms before they came onto the field. At the time it didn’t occur to me that they were showing support for the protesters in Ferguson and no one around me seemed to note it either. It quickly became a big story.

I don’t want to lure you into my blog today thinking it will draw conclusions from the tragic events in which Officer Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. Nor will I be talking about the despicable people who burned and looted during the riots. I won’t be talking about the peaceful protesters. What I will be talking about is the St. Louis Police Department’s reaction to the Rams receivers pregame jaunt onto the field.

What the police force did was demand an apology. Really? Your job is to protect and to serve. Not get bent out of shape because someone disagrees with you. Your job it to protect the rights of the people not to whine like a little baby when someone dares take a stance against you. Your job is quite the opposite. It is to protect those who take such unpopular stances. If a man calls you a pig on the street while peacefully protesting something, your job is to protect that man from anyone who tries to assault him. That’s your job. That’s the oath you swore.

Is it fun to protect people who disagree with you? No. It’s your job.

Do you swear to only protect and serve people who like you? No. You swear to protect and serve us all. No matter our opinion of you.

Stop crying for apologies because your panties are in a twist because someone insulted you.

A Rams official tried to reach out and they threw him immediately under the bus claiming he apologized. They sent out memos embarrassing the official. They tweeted the definition of an apology. Essentially they tried to bully both the NFL and the St. Louis Rams into doing what they wanted. So here we have a police agency’s top officials acting to bully and intimidate anyone who dares disagree with them. Sound familiar?

The police are saying, in no uncertain terms, don’t cross us. We’ll hit you, we’ll hit you hard, and make you regret it. Sound familiar? Top-down leadership makes its way directly to the ranks.

Oh, and by the way, Officer Wilson was attacked and had every right to defend himself. Could he have handled the entire situation better, probably, but when you’ve got a giant man beating on you, you have every right to defend yourself.

Demand an apology? Give me a break.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Black Sphere
Next Release: The Girl in Glass I: Apparition

The Black Sphere – Available Now!

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The Black Sphere Anything, no matter how powerful, is a toy in the hand of a child.

Kindle – Nook – Smashwords:

Buy it today!

I’m proud to announce the release of my seventh novel, The Black Sphere.

When a child carries something of great value there will be those who want to take it from her.

Ariana only wanted to keep the Black Sphere but now her world has erupted in war. At thirteen years old she must face the consequences of her decisions. Will she remain an unconcerned child or will she accept responsibility for events and begin her journey to adulthood

Ariana flees the marauding forces of Lord Thotmes with her companions in the hopes of destroying the Sphere. Joined by young Aydon she flees first to the Maw and then into the Great Salt Fen but the forces arrayed against her are relentless in their pursuit.

Complicating matters is the dark shadow Tenebrous who has his own agenda, as does the Mistress of the Abyss.

The Black Sphere is a story about growing up but Ariana is not the only one who must choose. Not everyone will survive.

Still Rolling on – U.S Government v. Kim Dotcom

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Kim DotcomI’ve written about the now almost three year saga of Kim Dotcom who was arrested in New Zealand at the behest of the U.S. government who in turn was working for their corporate masters the RIAA. Whew.

I wrote here how the arrest itself was largely illegal, based on illegal surveillance, and he was mistreated while in prison.

I followed up with a misleading headline that called Dotcom a cyber-fugitive. More on this in a moment.

The story continued when a judge ruled that the nation of New Zealand is not allowed to keep his possessions indefinitely.

As part of the deal returning his possessions the United States now argues that Dotcom is a fugitive and not entitled to use his money to defend himself in court. It’s a ridiculous argument because Dotcom is exactly where he was when he was arrested. The United States wants to Extradite him but he is opposing this which is completely legal. Government stooges working for the recording industry are simply throwing every procedural obstacle they can in the way to further bankrupt their enemy. No one really cares about “winning” the case. They are punishing their opponent financially.

I called the government’s argument ridiculous but I want to explain why. Dotcom is trying to sell his car to help pay for his legal defense. The government wants to say because he’s a fugitive he can’t do so. I want you to imagine a world where government forces can arrest you for anything they desire and without a trial seize your money and possessions for years and when forced to release some of it simply claim you are not allowed to use it for legal defense. To sum up. The government can come by your house, take almost everything, and not allow you to use what’s left for legal defense despite the fact that you haven’t been found guilty of anything.

The original raid was madness. The seizures despicable. This application of the Doctrine of Fugitive Disentitlement is frightening. It is an extension of police force that is essentially unlimited dictatorial power. No one can be secure from such power. Even the wealthy can easily be curbed of their rights when the government simply make it illegal for them to use their money without even a trial.

I rightly worry about the extension of police power at a local level and I’ve written about seizures laws on a number of occasions and this is merely an international version of the same thing. At what point does the government and particularly their police arm present more of a threat to the population than criminals? I honestly think we are there.

I’m a 50 year old white man with enough money to not worry about retirement. When someone like me is honestly afraid of the police there is a serious problem. When I see police at every level doing the work of the highest bidder and far more concerned about seizing money and destroying enemies than preventing crime there is a problem.

I worry that someone in power might decide I’m the bad guy. Charge me with a crime and take my things. To all apparent appearances such could easily be done and there is almost nothing I could do about it.

Maybe we all should be worried.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Ideology
Current Release: The Broken Throne
Next Release: The Black Sphere