Playing Games With Abuse

All day anymore I hear about bad behavior by NFL athletes.  It is becoming over the top anymore.  Do football players just play football anymore or are they too busy beating their wives or children, getting busted for drugs and guns, DUIs, possible sexual assault, and who knows what else?

I guess they have finally pushed me to the edge with the Adrian Peterson ongoing stories of child abuse.  Below is my opinion piece for the Dallas Morning News which makes my points.  It is getting ridiculous anymore and I am shocked and dismayed by the league's impotence on these issues.

Four children will die. They will die today, like they did yesterday and like they will tomorrow.

The children are not dying of cancer or heart disease; they are dying at the hands of loved ones who are abusing them. You guessed it. I am talking about the Adrian Peterson abuse situation.

Adrian Peterson tells us he is just raising his children like his parents raised him. Wrong. He isn’t raising children at all. He tells us he is just disciplining his kids. He isn’t.

Study after study tells us he is slowing the cognitive development of his own children. That’s right. Peterson is increasing the likelihood of anxiety, depression and antisocial behavior. Another worrying statistic: Children who get “whooped” — Peterson’s description — are nine times more likely to become involved in criminal activity.

Adrian Peterson said he hit his child with a tree branch “10 to 15” times. However, he said, he doesn’t “ever count how many pops I give my kids.” Look at his son’s leg. It has at least that many marks where the switch caught his thigh. Use your senses and let’s consider this 4-year-old — a 4-year-old who was beaten by a man who is 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds.

The police report notes defensive wounds to the hands. I wonder how able this child was to defend himself against a guy who rushes through 300-pound giants.

I won’t attack the game, but we need to realize that if the players cannot control their impulses at home, they need to find a new line of work. I hate to interrupt this young man’s ability to carry a ball down the field just to save the life of his child, but let’s consider his child for a second.

Take a look at the pictures of his child. If you can stomach it, take a look. Take a second and let the images sink in. Now, what would you do if you sent your child to a friend’s house and he came back with those injuries? Would it be acceptable for your neighbor to “whoop” your child like that if he got out of line? Peterson did that to his own son.

Listen to his son. He didn’t want to talk to the police because he was “afraid of Daddy Peterson.” Forget the statistics for a moment about learning difficulties. Forget about long- term psychological issues. This child is afraid of his own father.

Yes, I am silly enough to think the National Football League should clean up its act. They should suspend Mr. Peterson for a year and make him complete a parenting program. Yes, I am silly enough to think that the NFL should keep this man from his profession.

Of course, for now, things appear headed in the opposite direction for Peterson. The Minnesota Vikings reinstated him on Monday, a day after they lost 30-7 to the New England Patriots without their star back.

“I understand that this is a very difficult thing to handle,” said Rick Spielman, the general manager. “Whether it’s an abusive situation or not, or whether he went too far disciplining, we feel very strongly that that is the court’s decision to make.”

Right now, the league is lost. It’s lost like a child afraid of his or her own parent, and that should scare every fan and every family.

Maybe we should stop playing games until we learn how to deal with abuse.

Four children will die today, just as four died yesterday. Let’s make it the last day.

As always, I look forward to thoughtful comments and I hope I am not offending.

Crime And Punishment

A teacher was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter and a concurrent sentence of ten years for failing to render aid after a hit and run accident last year.  Many comments are flooding the Dallas Morning News article saying "she should have been put to death" and "I have no pity for this thug."

What amazes me is not the sentence.  I might argue it is probably deserved when you consider she left the scene of an accident without checking on the child she hit.  What amazes me at the outrage at this teacher, yet no one seemed this up in arms when Josh Brent, the former defensive lineman for the Cowboys had a DUI that killed his team mate.

Despite having a DUI in college that meant he was driving without a license, Mr. Brent somehow managed to serve all of 180 days in county jail despite killing someone, yet this woman will serve years.

I'm not sure anymore whether justice is still blind, but you have to wonder based on sentences handed down of late.

I have no pity for this thug

I have no pity for this thu

Player Behavior Confusion

Today Cowboys defensive back Orlando Scandrick was suspended for four games for violation of the league's drug policy.  The drug in question appears to be MDMA.

It wasn't too long ago that Ray Rice beat his fiancee unconscious.

In San Francisco, Aldon Smith has been nailed on not one, but two DUIs.  He also has a little issue with weapons charges and oh yeah, he made a bomb threat at an airport.

While none of these guys deserve a pass it appears increasingly clear that while the NFL will "discipline" all of them, the league is endorsing this behavior with the way their owners

operate.

In Dallas, photos were recently released showing Jerry Jones in a situation right out of Bill Clinton's playbook with two local stripper.  Jerry Jones has repeatedly demonstrated that money can not buy class and right now he looks like a rube from Arkansas who came into money.

Jones, who has his own drinking problem, is all too ready to bring back Josh Brent -  a player who killed a team mate because he couldn't handle his alcohol issues.  How can Mr. Jones expect Josh Brent to handle gap assignments when he can not seem to handle basic life assignments?

Of course when we come to alcohol and the NFL, it is hard to look past Jim Irsay.  Irsay was busted for DUI.  He was found with multiple prescription pain killers and $30,000 in cash in his car despite his alleged girlfriend dying of an overdose just two weeks prior.  I am not a police officer, but in my world this amounts to what you might call a clue.

Where is Commissioner Goodell on all this?  I have yet to hear public comments saying this behavior is inappropriate.  Worse, his own Vice President of Officiating, Dean Blandino, was seen recently on the Cowboys Party Bus headed to Bootsy Bellows nightclub.  Needless to say, other NFL and team executives were less than impressed and called the decision a "total lack of judgement."

The point is the NFL will throw the book at players for a sneeze in the wrong direction or say a player dunking a ball over a goal post, but they don't seem to have the heart to deal with their owners and executives who can't seem to keep it together.

The NFL seems confused by why they have a player behavior problem.  I'm not confused at all.

Predictions

Okay, so I am not usually one to make game day predictions much less attempt to astrologize what will happens months off in the making, but my friends, I will tell you now your Cowboys are not making the playoffs AND I would take the under when it comes to Tony Romo and him making it through 14 games - which is what Bovada currently has his number at.

Before I continue, let me note that as a Green Bay stockholder, I do not and will not wager on any NFL game as it is a violation of league rules and would void my ownership rights.  That being said, Romo sounds done to me and I will be interested to see how long he can continue to play.

Since his back surgery seven months ago we have had the typical he said/she said from Jerry Jones and the rest of the Cowboys organization about whether or not Romo is 100%.  Romo himself in a recent interview said he was working to getting up to where he wanted to be - for me a clear indication he was not 100%.  Even the Dallas Morning News is noticing him stating in a recent scrimmage his play was uneven.  More telling though is the fact that the Cowboys are holding Mr. Romo out of the one or two series he might have played in Thursday's opening preseason game against the Chargers.

I could be wrong, but something tells me Mr. Romo is much worse than expected and something tells me the entire organization is in fear that the line breaks down in such a way that Tony is re-introduced to Jason Hatcher or other members of the Redskins D line in a compelling way.  I don't think I have anything against Tony Romo personally.  I have never been a Dallas fan and don't anticipate becoming one.  He seems like a good guy, though I don't think he is the one I would want leading my team - too much gunslinger who shows up game day, but does not put in the mental effort of a Peyton Manning or Derek Jeter.

In any case, the season clearly rests on his surgically repaired back which for me means a record 5-11.  No questions about making or not making the playoffs this year Mr. Jones.

Offensive

America is quickly losing its right to free speech.

A panel with the Patent and Trademark Office has ruled that the term Redskins does not deserve legal protection from those who might want to profit from the use of the name other than the NFL franchise.

Let me make sure this is clear to everyone.  Because the term is so disparaging and inappropriate, the US Patent Office has said now, everyone can profit from its use in selling knock off clothing and other items.

As importantly though, this is another example of the US government telling you what speech is and isn't allowed.  While I know Democrats in Congress were unhappy with the Supreme Court decision saying corporations could speak on issues as people, they continue to be striking at the very core of who can and can not say what.

It is embarrassing and for a party that used to protect speech, it is offensive.

The Real Illness

Unbelievable or Expected?

Jim Irsay recently had his driving license suspended for refusing a blood test after his arrest for driving and possibly intoxicated.  He was found with nearly $30,000 in cash and a number of prescription pain killers

Irsay checked himself into rehab, but I am not sure it is working.

Irsay's comments after the suspension of his license in an article in the Indianapolis Star included the comments, "these diseases, both alcoholism and addiction, much like bipolar or depression and different illnesses, are still not seen as real diseases..."  He goes on "I really think the disease aspect gets lost when you're talking about alcoholism and addiction -- it's not like you're battling leukemia or a heart problem."

The difference is Mr. Irsay, no one asks to have leukemia.  That one just gets plopped into your lap.  Whether or not you start on pain pills though is a whole other issue and I say that as an advocate for treating pain.

One thing, I do know about addiction though is the healing starts when you admit there is a problem.  Right now, it appears Mr. Irsay is still ready to blame someone or something else....his genetics, the initial injury or whatnot that caused is back pain, etc.

In an organization that has reportedly pushed pills down the throats of its players, I am a little surprised you want to get into the business of blaming others for creating addiction and then ask for sympathy as if your disease is beyond your control.  Maybe I am wrong here, but it seems like the real illness isn't addiction, it's denial.

National Financial League

Good news NFL fans.  Your league is about to further dilute the playoffs by adding another wild card team.

No, thankfully it will not happen this year, but according to sources, 2015 looks like it will be the year when we have seven playoff teams in conferences with only sixteen teams.  Maybe they should just allow every team with a .500 record in...that would add to the playoffs, right?

And the question as to what competitive advantage this will provide?

Well none.  They aren't adding a team for competitive advantage.  When asked why do this, the first answer back was because it added revenue to the league.  The league already rakes in $9B per year, but the owners want more.  That part isn't surprising.  What is surprising is they did not have the good sense to at least lie to us and argue for some competitive issue.

Of course, they can;t do that.  The league is all about dollars and cents and could care less about your pocketbook or player injuries.  The league continues to send Super Bowls to cities that fleece their local taxpayers and continues to fight issues of hiding concussion/brain injury data from players and now has a new scandal dealing with force feeding pain killers to its players.

It is too bad the NFL can;t fess up and become a game again.

Not The Smartest Cookie

It’s 2014 - nearly 13 years after 9/11.  What amazes me is that with all the civil rights problems we have a TSA we still have morons like Aldon Smith of the SanFrancisco 49ers who think it’s appropriate to joke around about having a bomb on his person.

That is the accusation against Mr. Smith, the linebacker with the 49ers, who this weekend was selected for secondary security screening by TSA chose to joke around about having some sort of explosive device on his person.

Having been subjected to secondary screening on a fairly regular basis, even when I’m out speaking to students about 9/11, I am embarrassed and disappointed that Mr. Smith would choose to go this direction, especially when you consider his recent issues with the law regarding weapons charges and being arrested for DUI.  I’m not clear on why he chose to go this direction but it must be a headache for Coach Harbaugh and the other staff of the 49ers were trying to win a championship to have a knucklehead in their midst who said is obviously not focused on where it should be  - the field.

While I have no idea of the criminal implications of his behavior, as other commentators have noted, he clearly has already been sentenced to a lifetime of stupidity.

The Two Best Super Bowl Commercials

Granted, no one should care about my opinion, but this was the worst year in ...well maybe ever for Super Bowl commercials.  It was sad on many levels.  Thankfully there were two positive examples.

The first is Audi and their no compromise commercial.  The combination Doberhuahua dog that came from compromising at a pet store was hilarious, but only topped by the Sarah McLaughlin being chewed up by the Doberhuahua.  I am not sure how many Lilith Fair tickets Audi will be buying now, but I completely enjoyed it.

The other obvious winner was Oikos yogurt.

In the post Justin and Janet world you knew the half-time show would be clean, but the yogurt commercial had just the right level of pushing the envelope innocently with a great comedic twist.  Strong work and thanks for giving me something to watch other than the game.

Are You Finished Or Just Starting?

As we head into Super Bowl Sunday and the drama of whether or not Peyton Manning will take home a second title ring I heard a recent discussion about Michael Young and whether or not he belongs in the Ranger Hall of Fame or even the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.  (The quick answers to those two issues are who cares and absolutely not.  I can't even believe a "journalist" would refer to Michael Young as a borderline Hall of Famer with a hits total of under 2400 and home run numbers under 200.  Perhaps ESPN 103.3 doesn't believe in drug testing its employees.)

The primary discussion centered around does Young belong in the Rangers Hall of Fame since he went to the Phillies and then the Dodgers.  The absent mindedness of the fact that the Rangers traded Young to Philadelphia is somewhat disheartening, but what was Young to do?  Stop playing?  Simply because he wasn't a Ranger anymore?  You have to be kidding right?

The discussion then moved to how the Dallas Metroplex was unhappy with Emmitt Smith continued to play football after the Dallas Cowboys no longer wanted him.  I realize the picture of Smith playing in a Cardinals jersey had to horrify Dallas fans back in the day, but as I recall he started fifteen games for the Cardinals and nearly ran for 1000 yards in 2004.  Why is it he should give up playing just because Jerry Jones wasn't smart enough to want to keep him around?

Right now, the Cowboys would kill for a guy who was a consistent 1000 yard rusher and a quarterback smart enough to hand the ball off to him.  (Given DeMarco Murrary's injury history I am not ready to pronounce him a true heir apparent to Mr. Smith, but he might be, though I doubt with Tony Romo and his five offensive coordinators, he will ever get to show it.)


Another great example of a guy who didn't know he was supposed to quit was Nolan Ryan.  I know it's a scary thought, but you will remember, even the great Texas Ranger Nolan Ryan wasn't a Ranger.  Not until the END of his career.  Before that he played for the Mets, Astros, and even the California Angels.  Was he supposed to stop playing because the team he started with no longer wanted his services?

What about Willie Mays?  Some say he was the greatest ball player of all time.  I argue that because I never saw Mr. Mays pitch, but having started his career in New York with the Giants, he ended it in New York also...as a Met.  Remember that?

I don't bring up all these examples, not to mention Mr. Manning, for any other reason than this is a child's game that adult men get to earn a living playing.  In general, their careers are short lived, perhaps four or five years if they are really good.  That being the case, why would anyone begrudge a player for taking those extra contracts to play a game?

There is a lesson for the rest of us in their pursuit.  When you find that which you are passionate about...run after it.  Go get it...seize that day.

Robin Williams character in Dead Poets Society was dead right...make your lives extraordinary:

Now I would like you to step forward over here and peruse some of the faces from the past. You’ve walked past them many times. I don’t think you’ve really looked at them.

 

They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. Do you hear it?

 

[whispers] Carpe.

 

[whispers again] Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.

 

 

What are you waiting for?  Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor.  Go get it.

 



NFL And Booze

Am I wrong or is the NFL fueled by alcohol?  Budweiser, Miller/Coors, and even Sam Adams seem to be as omnipresent with the NFL as Ford, Dodge, and Viagra.  (By the way, does anyone else find it odd that a rough and tumble sport that intimates they are the be all, end all when it comes to manhood has to advertise a prescription pill to...support your manhood?)

I am not sure what is more common that the issue of alcohol in the NFL, but I am open to hearing it.  Whether it be the athlete or the executive, it seems that the NFL can not operate without someone acting like, or actually being, a drunk.

While Major League Baseball has struggled with steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, the NFL mostly scoffs at the idea of handling it.  Instead, inebriation, either through repeated head trauma or through alcohol is the cross the NFL must carry.

In the last year alone there were at least seventeen incidents involving players being arrested for DUI, public intoxication, or other assorted alcohol related offenses.  Seventeen!  And this does not even include the January 22, 2013 arrest of Dallas Cowboys' defensive linesman Jay Ratliff who was popped only a few months after team mate Josh Brent killed his team mate Jerry Brown.  An important note in the Brent case, this was not his first DUI offense either.  Instead, he was arrested during his college playing days and clearly did not learn his lesson then.

Don't think I only blame the players because the executives have gotten in on the action too.  As you watch the Super Bowl and think about the various alcohol ads, don't forget that your Denver Broncos have an executive who had a 0.246 Blood Alcohol Concentration, or three times the legal limit anywhere.

Maybe it is my career choice, but I have seen gallons of blood over the years spilled on our highways because of the gallons of alcohol that consumers didn't control.  These personal choices have real and serious consequences and it would be nice if the NFL would stop talking about alcohol abuse and start doing something about it.

Bankrupt Before He Got Paid?

How in the world does it come to this?  A few years ago, Vince Young signed a contract coming out of college as the third overall pick in the NFL draft and received guaranteed money of $26 million.  MILLION, not $26,000, million.  He just declared bankruptcy.

How does someone spend that kind of money?

According to one report, in at least once case, he spent $6000 at a TGI Fridays.  Why?  Let me help you out Vince, the food and flair aren't even that good.

Other accounts have him spending $5000 a week at The Cheesecake Factory.  You want to guess what my annual budget is for dining out?  You're not too far from that number, but I have a family of six.

The point of this rant is in a few months we will have another group of guys coming out of college, ready to take on opposing linebackers (or quarterbacks), but who are more interested in showing their manhood, than in their mental toughness.

In a recent radio report I heard, the reason why Josh Brent did not use the NFL's car service to get home was a source of pride.  He wanted to show he could handle his liquor.  Bad news Josh, you are human and like everyone else, the liquor handled you.  Especially when you consider toxicology reports indicate you probably had the equivalent of seventeen drinks that night.

What is sad is not the bankruptcy itself.  Lots of people have financial issues, but perhaps the issue is society's bankrupt nature: where we judge people by what they have instead of what they give.  Maybe, Mr. Young was bankrupt before he ever got paid?  Either way it is a sad end to what should have been a positive story.

Too much entitlement, not enough effort

Once again, Jerry Jones gets me.  Wow.

Jerry Jones, the President, CEO, and General Manager, of your Dallas Cowboys believes that the NFL playoffs would be better off...if only they would expand.  Look Cowboys fans, I get it.  It has to be tough watching your team miss the playoffs each of the past four years and in each of the last three, losing the final game of the season to a division opponent to keep them out of the playoffs, but who is to blame?

Your coaching staff talks about doing things the right way, but if you are doing it the right way and that leads to success and you aren't successful...maybe the answer is you aren't doing it the right way.  I know that is hard to believe for fans of "America's team," but let's look at reality, you have finished 8 and 8 each of the past three years?  How is that successful?  At best it is mediocre.

By the way, a quick side note for Cowboys fans about your organization, you are not successful getting to the playoffs.  There are thirty-two NFL teams and each year only one of them can be successful.  I know, I know...if the Raiders were to beat up on the AFC West one year and get into the playoffs many would consider that successful.  I don't.  You either win the last game of the season or you don't.  If you aren't sure, go ask Bill Belichick what he thinks about the year they went 16-0 during the regular season and then 2-1 in the playoffs.  Sorry to say, but it's the one that counts in that case, because that was Super Bowl XLII.  The one game they lost that year...the Super Bowl.

Instead of fixing the problems with his team which include a General Manager who is not trained for the job and a general lack of talent (see General Manager, Problems with) the Cowboys want to fix the system where you simply add teams.  My question is after this year, why would I add the Cowboys, then the Arizona Cardinals - in the toughest division in football arguably - were ten and six.  Jerry, you were eight and eight man!

Honestly, the issue is ultimately moot.  For me, I believe you could probably make the playoffs the top fifteen teams from each conference and the Cowboys would still find a way to choke in December and miss the playoffs anyway.  They are America's team, because they like many in America, have decided they are entitled to things instead of working for them.  And that is the real story for the Cowboys and Jerry Jones.  Too much entitlement, not enough effort.

Undesired Wishes Come True

Crazy idea Mr. Goodell, but your product has become over priced and in zero degree weather, few families can participate.  As multiple media outlets have noted including Bloomberg and ESPN, the NFL is facing a blackout of three of its four post season games this coming weekend.  Lions and tigers (well Bengals) and bears (or Packers)…oh my!

What you don’t seem to understand Roger is that your product is made for TV.  That’s right…the product you have packaged for our television screens for years to increase your revenues is more fun to watch….at home.  Have you been to Jerry World in Dallas, well, Arlington?  There is a Victoria’s Secret there.  What on God’s green Earth does that have to do with football?  You are correct…zero.  Unless of course you count the rent money which comes in to Jerry Jones who then puts a mediocre product on the field.

So your product is first made for TV, but the second reason is the post game is made for TV.  The 11:00 news.  Week after week after week I get to see about some fan assaulted in your stadium parking lots by those who have consumed too much alcohol or just awkward security types.  Sure, some of them were running their mouth and sure too much alcohol probably contributed, but this is the same league that has had its alcohol run ins again and again.  Do I need to mention Josh Brent here in Dallas?  Perhaps closer to playoff football we could mention the Minnesota Vikings and Erin Henderson’s most recent DUI arrest?  I don’t need alcohol to enjoy the game, but why am I going to expose my family to these kinds of idiots which your security turns a blind eye to until it is…too late.

Finally, oh yeah, the family.  I am father of four.  Married, two boys, two girls.  Let’s get crazy and assume I could get just three tickets because the men want to go to the show.  At $100 per ticket that is $300 to set foot in the stadium.  We haven’t paid for parking, bought a souvenir (or three), much less enjoyed a cold $6 soda…or three.

I am amazed at the hubris of the NFL.  Sure, you just got away with one with the player’s lawsuit.  Personally, I think their lawyers must have suffered multiple concussions too to settle for such a low figure, but you shouldn’t be surprised when stadiums don’t sell out when you have made your product for TV and businessmen with their corporate suites and lack of fandom.  You got your wish…so be careful next time for what you wish for may come true again.

So we care what the people think?

President Obama decided he would insert himself into the naming issue of the Washington Redskins that continues to show up from time to time.  This time he claims "I don't know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things," he said in the interview, which was conducted Friday at The White House.

As I have previously discussed about this issue, this is a topic this seems to show up when we need a diversion from say real issues, but this being the President and all, I will listen up.  Afterall, if he is concerned about what people think about issues, perhaps we should look at recent polling on Obamacare, or even the Affordable Care Act - which is showing itself to be anything but affordable for the average family.

According to some families, the ACA is thought to be a bad idea by 44 percent of those polled versus just 31 percent of those who thought it was a good idea.  The numbers are even more drastic, 45 to 23 when you ask whether or not the ACA will have a positive impact on the nation's health care.  So...if it is really polling you want Mr. President, let's have that conversation, but your signature achievement would end up getting turned over - probably as quickly as the Redskins are doing this year with their turn over issues.

As usual the President seems more interested in being a celebrity President than a leader President.  Another sad day for the American populace.

Season of Hypocrisy

My my my what a playoff loss does to a team's fans, or fan, I guess I should say.  As in The Washington Post's Courtland Milloy.  Mr. Milloy who over the past eight weeks has had no interest in ruining the Washington Redskin's success while they went seven and zero to secure a playoff spot has now seemingly found the need to pounce on the issue of the team name after their loss, calling it bad karma for a racist moniker.

Yet, for some reason, it seems Mr. Milloy didn't have time to mention it when the season was ongoing and the team was winning, now with a playoff loss, he says "Washington’s professional football team has raked up one disappointing season after another since 1992 — the year D.C. resident Suzan Harjo became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to change the team’s disparaging name" - a lawsuit he seems unwilling to admit she lost.  Nonetheless, Mr. Milloy is a champion of civil rights issues.

He likes to complains about why the GOP is so white (predominantly racist) or why blacks don't play baseball (not enough resurces).  He even complains about Denzel Washington's kissing in the movie Flight (apparently his heart wasn't into it kissing a white woman).

I have to wonder if he concerns himself with any other significant issues other than the racism he seems to see to justify his rampant reverse racism.  I note he has not come running to the defense of Irishmen everywhere concerned about Notre Dame's use of the fighting Irish symbol, nor is he concerned about white men with black women in movies.  His articles are inbstead the usual drivel...the GOP are white and therefore racists, despite the fact that it was President Lincoln who signed the Emancipation Proclamation and it was the religious beliefs of Republicans in the mid 19th century that brought about the abolition of slavery.  His "Democratic" Party fought vigorously to continue the subjugation of men, even to the modern day when Klansmen United States Senator Robert Byrd worked against equal rights for all men.

It is sad that the Washington Post spends so much of its ink on a writer whose only ability seems to be finding racial fault lines in places where they likely would not exist.  The responsibility he seems to show to the issue of race is non existent and that is unfortunate because he demonstrates his only interest is in setting fires, not extinguishing them.  Unfortunate that this is the level of leadership all too often shown, claim racism and stoke a fire until some change is made, which doesnt address any inequity and is disconnected from reality like an apple that has fallen from the tree.  Or in this case, since I am white and I am sure he will claim a racist, the cacao seed falling from the South American evergreen tree.