Should the NFL be Held Accountable for CTE?

As many of you have probably heard, future NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide this past Wednesday.  Seau had an illustrious football career and was loved by many fans, friends, and family.  This is what makes his passing such a tragedy.  One wouldn't expect Seau to take his own life, but another incident with many similarities took place a little over a year ago which has led to speculation that the reason Seau did this was because he was suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).  On February 17, 2011, NFL defensive back Dave Duerson took his life.  The similarity to his case and Seau's is that he also shot himself in the chest.  Duerson specifically asked for his brain to be donated to science so that studies could be done on the effects of CTE.  Although there have not been any found requests from Seau to make this same type of donation, many believe that it was his intention based on the fact that he did not shoot himself in the head.  CTE is caused by repeated trauma to the head and leads to many problems such as depression and dementia.  The link between repeated concussions on the football field to the lifelong effects of CTE were not connected until recent years.  Many studies have been done on this issue and even though the NFL initially denied this link, since evidence has proven it, the NFL has accepted its responsibilities of educating and protecting its players.  According to an article on espn.com, more than 1500 players have sued the NFL regarding this issue and there is a pending lawsuit involving over 100 former players going on right now.  Another article written by George Shunick goes as far as to say the NFL is completely to blame for CTE.  He acknowledges that CTE is caused by repeated head trauma over long periods of time and also acknowledges that the only way to avoid it is by not playing football.  But he continues to attempt to downplay the changes the NFL has implemented to protect its players and the amount of money these players receive for playing a game they choose to play and LOVE to play.  How can you blame the NFL when these players are the ones making the decision to take the risks?  Gene Frenette writes about a player named Tom McManus who has been repeatedly asked to sue the NFL for possible compensation for being exposed to severe head trauma while playing football, however, McManus refuses to blame the NFL for his condition.  McManus has admitted that he suffered concussions while playing football in high school and college, but he made the decision to continue playing football for the NFL.  It has been proven that CTE is caused over "long periods of time".  Who is to say what exact moment in a players' life led to the disease.  It could have developed from several hard hits in a high school football career, it doesn't only happen to NFL players.  I am very saddened at the sudden loss of one of the best defensive football players in recent history, but what is even more sad is the way that lawyers and the media are hovering over the NFL like vultures using Junior Seau's death as a chance to extort millions of dollars.  These players knew what they were getting into when they chose to suit up and play the game.  They played the game at the level they did because they loved what they did and they were good at it.  They were also more than fairly compensated for their playing time.  It is absurd to blame the NFL for injuries that players sustained especially when year after year they add new rules to protect the players.  People love this game and it is not going anywhere, so when someone makes the decision to play, they should be well aware of all of the risks. 

The Boys of Summer are Back in Business

This week my son's little league team kicked off their season by playing their first two games.  My son just recently turned eight and this is his third season playing baseball.  Due to the weather, his team only had the opportunity to practice two times before starting their games.  They were a little rough around the edges to say the least, so the coaches and parents were a little worried about how they would perform come game time.  In their first game they fell behind early by a score of 4 to 1.  The games are only five innings long so they didn't have much time to catch up.  During innings 2 through 5, they played much better defense and only gave up one more run, making it 5 to 1 going into the bottom of the final inning.  During this defensive display my son made two great infield plays to get a couple of critical outs.  Defense was the focus of our practices together in the off season so I was very proud to see him execute so well during game time.  As far as offense goes, his entire team struggled throughout the first four innings.  My son got a single his first at bat, but he struck out his second time up.  All of a sudden when the game appeared to be lost, his team started swinging the bats superbly.  They tied the game up at 5 to 5 with only one out in the bottom of the fifth.  With runners at first and third, my son stepped into the batter's box.  I was nervous because we hadn't worked on his hitting as much I would have liked to during the off season plus he had struck out his last time at the plate.  After missing the first two pitches, he drilled a grounder towards short and it made it through to the outfield.  The runner from third scored and the game was won with a walk off RBI single hit by my son.  It was amazing to see his excitement when his team came running from the dugout to celebrate and to congratulate him on his game winning hit.  This confidence building experience completely elevated his entire team.  In their second game they completely crushed the other team by a score of 14 to 5 (they gave up 4 of the 5 runs in the final inning).  It was a complete blowout.  Everyone was hitting well, everyone was making great defensive plays, and they all worked together as a team to out play their opponents.  I grew up loving baseball and it has been so much fun seeing my son take on the same love of the game that I have.  I am looking forward to the rest of the season and possibly signing up for a few private tournaments after the little league season is over.

The Cabin Project

     I have spent my last few weekends working with my father to erect a man cave of fabulous proportions.  He bought a large lot of land about 20 miles south of Joplin three years ago.  Two years ago he put in a pond and stocked it with fish.  After spending the last year planning, designing, and purchasing materials for a two story cabin, we have finally started putting the plan into motion.  I do not have much experience with these kinds of things, so this experience has been very educational for me.  The best thing is we have only just begun.  We started off by running the plumbing lines and laying the foundation.  We had some help from some pros who stamped and stained the concrete for us.  The finished slab was absolutely gorgeous.  The interior floor looks like tile and the exterior porches were stamped with a design that looks like rustic wooden boards.  It really is amazing.  After we let the stain completely dry, we started with the framing.  We had to work through some design miscalculations along with some other minor complications, but after two full days of work, we have all four walls completed.  This weekend we will be finishing up the framework by completing the roof, after that we will be installing the windows and doors, and also adding the stone siding to the walls.  We haven't gone into much detail on the interior just yet, but based on what I've seen so far, my dad is planning on taking this thing all the way.  I am very excited about this project because we should have it finished by the end of June.  The pond is only 20 feet from the front porch of the cabin so we can expect to get a lot of fishing done this summer.  This cabin will be a great home away from home for both of us and we will be able to take my kids out there on a regular basis as well.  I'm taking the summer off from classes so I will have even more time to enjoy, what I hope to be a real masterpiece.

Will Kony 2012 Help Anyone?

     What is being called the most viral video of all time, the short film "Kony 2012", produced by the nonprofit group Invisible Children, calls to bring justice to Ugandan militant Joseph Kony.  Kony is known for leading the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda and is notorious for abducting and brainwashing young children and turning them into murderous soldiers for his rebel army.  He is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, but has never been held accountable for these actions.  The campaign proposed by Invisible Children encourages groups like these found in Massachusetts in this article on telegram.com to flood the world with knowledge of Kony and the crimes he has committed by "covering the night in red" with flyers, posters, and any other means to spread the word of their mission.  Although their cause is intended to bring a homicidal abuser of children to justice, it is receiving very much criticism globally.  Many believe that the issues in Northern Uganda have been completely oversimplified.  The conflict has been going on there for nearly 30 years.  Another criticism that Invisible Children has received is that they have offered very little help to victims of this conflict and have only misrepresented these victims through their videos and speeches.  The most substantial argument against this movement is that they are asking for military action against the LRA which would bring even more violence to the region and would result in many deaths of kidnapped victims.  In this article on The Guardian's website, Victor Ochen, the founder and director of the African Youth Initiative Network, claims that "the people who have suffered at the hands of Kony don't want to promote him or make him famous.  They want to rebuild their lives."  He points out Invisible Children's ignorance to the conflict by asking "Why April 20th?  Don't they know or care that this is the anniversary of one of the worst LRA massacres, when over 300 people were killed at Atiak in 2005?"  One of the biggest eye-opening statements made by Ochen, whose brother was kidnapped in 2003 by the LRA, is "many of the LRA are our abducted family members-a military offensive will kill lots of innocent people."  Many other Ugandans agree with Ochen.  The website, ugandaspeaks.com, a site designed by local journalists, goes on to say that Kony's power has greatly declined and giving him this kind of global fame has only motivated him to do more harm.  The site has many testimonials that continue with the theme that Invisible Children has done nothing to help the Ugandan people and that Kony is the least of their problems.  The children of Northern Uganda face more serious issues like the nodding disease, poverty, and starvation.  When "Cover the Night" is over, will this trendy video have helped anyone in Uganda?  I seriously doubt it.  I enjoy seeing the vast technological improvements we have made in global communication, but this issue will not, and cannot be resolved by hanging up flyers in Worcester, MA.  This country has been war torn for far too long and is in desperate need of a complete overhaul.  This will not come overnight by talking about it, it will take many, many years of hard work.

U.S. Threatens Sanctions on European Union

Earlier this week I read about a new threat of sanctions issued by the United States to the World Trade Organization that could potentially eliminate between $7 billion to $10 billion worth of trade.  The issue arose after the U.S. learned that illegal funding of airline manufacturer Airbus was being granted by European nations.  The block of funding to Airbus was the result of a 2004 ruling by the WTO due to the conflicting production of Boeing aircraft in the U.S.  Since this block went into effect, it is claimed that the EU has provided Airbus with over $18 billion in funding.  I respect the fight that the U.S. government is putting up to help create more manufacturing in our country, but I also think that it is unfair to prevent competition in the free, global market.  Our capitalist economy is founded on this type of competition so I find it odd that our government is taking this case so far.  Even though there will not be any decision made on this issue for at least a year, this move by the U.S. must definitely have EU nations questioning their relationship with the U.S.  When the WTO places these kinds of rules in place, it is understandable that they should be enforced, but my concern is that our government is risking the relationships of many of its strongest allies over a battle that even if won, might not justify the risks.

UK Tries to Gain Access to all Private Conversations

In next month's Queen's Speech, the British will announce plans to permit authorities the ability to monitor every phone call, email, social network comment, or any other form of electronic communication made within their country.  Currently this information is only attainable through a court order and can be used to help convict criminals if there is just cause.  If this new policy were to be approved, then everybody's privacy will be jeopardized, not just criminals.  According to this article on foxnews.com, Prime Minister David Cameron claims that with the modern technological changes in communication, the country must develop new strategies and methods of tracking down criminals and bringing them to justice.  This proposal would only target those known to have been involved in criminal activity.  Only general information will be traceable, such as phone numbers used in a conversation, who sent who an email, or how long phone calls were carried on.  According to the government, no content of calls or messages would be monitored without a court order.  The thing about this is as soon as they have the power and ability to track this information, what will stop them from doing so?  How easy is it to deem someone to be a criminal or to be affiliated with some sort of criminal activity.  This makes it nearly impossible for any citizen to feel comfortable when using these forms of communication.  In this article I read on google, UK Home Secretary Theresa May said that "ordinary people" had nothing to fear when it comes to this potential legislation, but critics have been quick to point out that anyone can be accused of having some kind of connection to criminal activity and their personal lives will then be easily scrutinized by the authorities.  In another article on abcnews.com, a Home Office spokesman claims that "It's not about the content.  It's vital that police and intelligence services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public".  But along with so many other British lawmakers, conservative David Davis states that "this is not focusing on terrorists or criminals, it is absolutely everybody".  The thought of our government getting handed the right to eavesdrop on every single conversation we have is frightening.  If this legislation goes through in the U.K. then I would not be surprised to see people in Washington trying to push for the same kind of control.  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next couple of months, but based on the quick opposition, I do not expect this law will be placed into effect any time soon.

How Big is the Racism Wave?

     I've been reading about this shooting in Pasadena, CA involving multiple police officers and a young black man.  In an attempt to draw attention and blame from the local police department, charges have been brought against the man who made a 911 call to inform the authorities of a robbery.  The VICTIM of the robbery claimed that he was robbed at gunpoint.  This triggered the local police to be on high alert as they sought the perpetrators.  As local law enforcement officials pursued the suspects of this ROBBERY, they attempted to stop the suspects in an alley, however, the suspects continued to flee and disregarded the warnings the law enforcement officials gave them.  After cornering the suspects and continuously warning them to halt, one of the suspects reached toward his mid-section triggering an offensive attack from the authorities.  Unfortunately a young man died.  With the recent outrage of the shooting death of a Florida youth, this occurrence is also being regarded as another racial profiling issue, however, this story is much different.  The young man who was shot to death in Florida committed no crime.  He was simply minding his own business on his way home from a trip to the convenient store.  He was confronted (and most likely attacked) by a rogue security watch captain and inexplicably shot to his death.  The young man in Pasadena was a party to a ROBBERY.  He stole another person's belongings and fled.  The police were notified.  Yes, it has come to light that the VICTIM of the ROBBERY exaggerated the situation by saying that the robbers had a gun, but even after attempting to peacefully acquire the assailants, they chose to flee.  Even when these thieves were completely cornered and had no where to turn, they did not give up on their beliefs that they could evade the police.  When one of the young men reached towards his waste line, the officers felt the need to imply force.  Multiple shots were fired from two different police officers, resulting in the death of a young black man.  This was, by no means, a racial profiling problem.  This was a matter of THIEVES trying to escape JUSTICE.  The sad thing is, if they had gone peacefully, no one would have gotten hurt.  The lack of respect for authority in this situation led to the death of a young man.  His actions speak a thousand times louder than words.  You do not steal from others.  You do not run from the police.  You do not attempt to pull something from your waste line when you are being pursued by police.  When authorities are chasing you and warning you to FREEZE, you should freeze.  Owing up to the robbery of a backpack would have been severely less consequential then the outcome of this tragedy, but by no means was this young man's life lost due to negligence or "racial profiling".  This young man reaped what he sowed by stealing and attempting to flee from the authorities.