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TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND THE AMERICAN WAY
It's been 8 years since Osama Bin Laden took credit for an attack on this country that killed thousands of innocent Americans. It's been 7 1/2 years since Commander-in-Chief George "Wimpy" Bush declared that Bin Laden had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. It's been 7 1/2 years since Pres. "Wimpy" promised us that he would bring the Al Quaida leaders to justice. It took 8 years for our President to finally get the latest version of war crime trials started.
After 8 long years, who was the first person the mighty United States executive branch decided to put on trial? Who was the person we chose to use to demonstrate to the world the folly of attacking the United States of America? The only person we could actually capture in 8 long years -- some shnook chauffeur who drove Bin Laden around, and whose defense was, "It was only a job. I was the chauffeur. I feel very bad for all the innocent people Osama's actions killed."
This was a big week in the annals of United States justice. First, a hand-picked military tribunal acquitted the shnook chauffeur of the most serious charge, and then sentenced him to 5 years on the charge of aiding a terrorist. He is eligible for release in 5 months, which is half the time until Tim Donaghy is eligible for release.
It would have been a great week for American just-us even without Citibank. But there was also Citibank. New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, federal prosecutors, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Association of Securities Regulators all accused Citibank of defrauding its customers out of at least $7.3 billion. Thanks to Citibank's misrepresentations, some people had to survive for months without their only source of money and income. Nevertheless, not a single Citibank executive spent even one minute in a criminal courtroom or a jail cell. Instead, Citibank promised to use shareholder money to pay back the $7.3 billion to Citibank customers. That action made the federal prosecutors, the SEC, the National Association of Securities Regulators, and N.Y.S. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo so very happy that they all agreed to forgive Citibank's executives and waive any proseuction. The NBA and the federal prosecutors had no such sympathy and forgiveness for compulsive gambler and sports cheat Tim Donaghy.
It was good old American justice all the way. Blow us up -- no problem. The armed driver of the escape car gets 5 months. Steal billions from us -- hey, free enterprise is the American way. But cheat in one of our gambling-free sporting events -- that's a direct attack on Mom and Apple Pie. It deserves DEATH AND DISGRACE.
I have never been able to understand why cheating in a sporting event should be illegal. I understand why our laws forbid cheating in a sport in which betting is legal, such as horse racing. Cheating in a legal-betting sport constitutes a fraud on the public. If betting is not legal, however, who do our legislators believe is hurt?
I understand why Nevada would want to have a law against cheating on a sporting event, but I don't understand other states and the federal government falling in line. If betting on the game is illegal, the authorities shouldn't care who wins, who loses, or how much cheating there may be.
Did you ever notice that there is no law against cheating by high school game officials, or by little league officials, or by sandlot umpires. No law threatens the school yard basketball player who decides to shave points. The monopoly and scrabble police never bust in to arrest people for cheating in those games, even when they are played for money.
Who are the various State laws and the Federal Law supposed to be protecting? Who authored the Federal laws against sports cheating? I suspect it must have been those two guys who never met a Nevada casino they didn't like, those two distinguished senators from Arizona -- Kyl and McCain. While Arizona was quickly sinking into the abyss of one of the worst local depressions in the United States, Kyl and McCain decided the most important issue facing the American public today is internet sports betting. Not since Bill Bradley, former NBA player and congressman from New Jersey, screwed his own state and all others out of sports betting revenue while permitting it only in Nevada, has any member of Congress so favored a business interest of another state.
Why would Kyl and McCain spend endless time attempting to push through legislation against sports betting that helps only Nevada casinos, but not one minute on legislation that might have saved home-owners in their state? The answer is easy. Middle class home-buyers don't normally send their congressmen off on expense paid junkets.
I'm not saying that game-fixing should be permitted. It's the hypocrisy of making both game-fixing and game betting illegal that bothers me. If betting is illegal, then a law in New Jersey against game-fixing protects those engaging in criminal activity. If we intend to make game-fixing illegal, then, to be consistent, we must make game betting legal.
There you have it -- Truth, Justice and the American Way.
Five months for Bin Laden's driver. After he's release he'll be offered a job as a CIA informant and allowed to obtain political asylum permanently in the U.S.
No jail time at all for the Citibank execs who defrauded the public out of billions. They get to make restitution using other people's money and continue earning their multi-milloin dollar per year salaries.
Fifteen months for Tim Donaghy, the evil cheater. After he's released there won't be any CIA job or million dollar salary waiting. There won't be any job at all. All there will be for Donaghy is disgrace and 3 years of probation. Our tax money will pay to feed, house and clothe Donaghy while we lock him away for over a year to protect society from heinous basketball cheats.
Our tax money will also pay for Donaghy's supervision during three years of probation. Unlike the terrorist chauffeur or the guys from Citibank who need no supervision, we must protect society from Donaghy with three more years of supervision at our expense because you never know when he might get another job as a referee and cheat again, or, heaven forfend, place a sports bet again. Fraud and terrorism be damned, Americans need protection from those who might sully our sporting events.
__________________
It's been 8 years since Osama Bin Laden took credit for an attack on this country that killed thousands of innocent Americans. It's been 7 1/2 years since Commander-in-Chief George "Wimpy" Bush declared that Bin Laden had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. It's been 7 1/2 years since Pres. "Wimpy" promised us that he would bring the Al Quaida leaders to justice. It took 8 years for our President to finally get the latest version of war crime trials started.
After 8 long years, who was the first person the mighty United States executive branch decided to put on trial? Who was the person we chose to use to demonstrate to the world the folly of attacking the United States of America? The only person we could actually capture in 8 long years -- some shnook chauffeur who drove Bin Laden around, and whose defense was, "It was only a job. I was the chauffeur. I feel very bad for all the innocent people Osama's actions killed."
This was a big week in the annals of United States justice. First, a hand-picked military tribunal acquitted the shnook chauffeur of the most serious charge, and then sentenced him to 5 years on the charge of aiding a terrorist. He is eligible for release in 5 months, which is half the time until Tim Donaghy is eligible for release.
It would have been a great week for American just-us even without Citibank. But there was also Citibank. New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, federal prosecutors, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Association of Securities Regulators all accused Citibank of defrauding its customers out of at least $7.3 billion. Thanks to Citibank's misrepresentations, some people had to survive for months without their only source of money and income. Nevertheless, not a single Citibank executive spent even one minute in a criminal courtroom or a jail cell. Instead, Citibank promised to use shareholder money to pay back the $7.3 billion to Citibank customers. That action made the federal prosecutors, the SEC, the National Association of Securities Regulators, and N.Y.S. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo so very happy that they all agreed to forgive Citibank's executives and waive any proseuction. The NBA and the federal prosecutors had no such sympathy and forgiveness for compulsive gambler and sports cheat Tim Donaghy.
It was good old American justice all the way. Blow us up -- no problem. The armed driver of the escape car gets 5 months. Steal billions from us -- hey, free enterprise is the American way. But cheat in one of our gambling-free sporting events -- that's a direct attack on Mom and Apple Pie. It deserves DEATH AND DISGRACE.
I have never been able to understand why cheating in a sporting event should be illegal. I understand why our laws forbid cheating in a sport in which betting is legal, such as horse racing. Cheating in a legal-betting sport constitutes a fraud on the public. If betting is not legal, however, who do our legislators believe is hurt?
I understand why Nevada would want to have a law against cheating on a sporting event, but I don't understand other states and the federal government falling in line. If betting on the game is illegal, the authorities shouldn't care who wins, who loses, or how much cheating there may be.
Did you ever notice that there is no law against cheating by high school game officials, or by little league officials, or by sandlot umpires. No law threatens the school yard basketball player who decides to shave points. The monopoly and scrabble police never bust in to arrest people for cheating in those games, even when they are played for money.
Who are the various State laws and the Federal Law supposed to be protecting? Who authored the Federal laws against sports cheating? I suspect it must have been those two guys who never met a Nevada casino they didn't like, those two distinguished senators from Arizona -- Kyl and McCain. While Arizona was quickly sinking into the abyss of one of the worst local depressions in the United States, Kyl and McCain decided the most important issue facing the American public today is internet sports betting. Not since Bill Bradley, former NBA player and congressman from New Jersey, screwed his own state and all others out of sports betting revenue while permitting it only in Nevada, has any member of Congress so favored a business interest of another state.
Why would Kyl and McCain spend endless time attempting to push through legislation against sports betting that helps only Nevada casinos, but not one minute on legislation that might have saved home-owners in their state? The answer is easy. Middle class home-buyers don't normally send their congressmen off on expense paid junkets.
I'm not saying that game-fixing should be permitted. It's the hypocrisy of making both game-fixing and game betting illegal that bothers me. If betting is illegal, then a law in New Jersey against game-fixing protects those engaging in criminal activity. If we intend to make game-fixing illegal, then, to be consistent, we must make game betting legal.
There you have it -- Truth, Justice and the American Way.
Five months for Bin Laden's driver. After he's release he'll be offered a job as a CIA informant and allowed to obtain political asylum permanently in the U.S.
No jail time at all for the Citibank execs who defrauded the public out of billions. They get to make restitution using other people's money and continue earning their multi-milloin dollar per year salaries.
Fifteen months for Tim Donaghy, the evil cheater. After he's released there won't be any CIA job or million dollar salary waiting. There won't be any job at all. All there will be for Donaghy is disgrace and 3 years of probation. Our tax money will pay to feed, house and clothe Donaghy while we lock him away for over a year to protect society from heinous basketball cheats.
Our tax money will also pay for Donaghy's supervision during three years of probation. Unlike the terrorist chauffeur or the guys from Citibank who need no supervision, we must protect society from Donaghy with three more years of supervision at our expense because you never know when he might get another job as a referee and cheat again, or, heaven forfend, place a sports bet again. Fraud and terrorism be damned, Americans need protection from those who might sully our sporting events.
__________________
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