Monumental Criminal Stupidity
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
June 24, 2020
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” - attributed to George Santayana (1863-1952)
The United States of America is devolving and degenerating into an us versus them society losing sight of what civilized society used to be. The politically correct are no longer progressive enough. The cancel culture does not seem progressive enough anymore either. Humanity is teetering on the brink.
It is not hyperbole to say that we the people are on the precipice of the end of days of decent, moral, respectable, honorable, and peaceful existence and coexistence. While America is burning all around us, what’s left of the conservative structure is fiddling at best, cowering in a corner at worst. They refuse to speak out against the atrocities being perpetrated by the progressive, anarchistic mob - the unholy alliance of Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Sadly, decent society is counting on the conservatives to be the adults in the room.
Indoctrinated since kindergarten and indelibly rooted in socialist, anti-capitalist, anti-democracy, anti-law and order, and anti-American radical beliefs, civilization is staggering toward the great egress of reality.
I recently had a conversation with the college-age child of friends. Raised in a conservative, upper-middle class home and attending a large state university in the Midwest, this collegian defends the destruction of government, public, and even private property in the name of so-called justice. This 20-year-old calls these acts of perversion part of a revolution.
The destruction of American monuments and statues, the assault on our houses of worship, via graffiti and other vandalism are crimes being committed by the uneducated mobs continuing on an increasingly brazen level. Anyone involved with these actions is now a criminal, should be arrested, charged with vandalism, destruction of public or private property, be made to make financial restitution, pay a fine on top of the restitution, and have a permanent criminal record following them from college applications to job applications. These criminals should also be part of the physical restoration of these structures. These domestic terrorists are following in the footsteps of ISIS with the destruction of our American antiquities. They simply hate the United States and are seeking its destruction, “by any means necessary.”
These criminal revolutionaries believe that the United States is inherently evil with no room for redemption and needs to be destroyed from within.
In a speech given in Springfield, IL, on January 27, 1838, Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) said “At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
That which Lincoln said is the direction of these United States - the downward spiral of a civilization that has lasted nearly 250 years - the average length of a civilization.
There is no legitimate reason for the statues of American patriots to be vandalized, defaced, or torn down. They built this country giving us a foundation from which to build - to form “a more perfect union.” Warts and all, the good, the bad, and the ugly, what present day so-called American revolutionaries are trying to destroy, millions of people the world over are desperately trying to acquire. People living in 2020 cannot judge those who lived in 1920, 1865, or 1776 by the present day morees.
Women were finally granted the right to vote in August of 1920. How many statues did the Suffragettes deface or tear down? How many businesses did they loot? Abolitionists worked day and night to help free slaves. How much property did abolitionists destroy? In fact, they knew that slaves should not be considered as property and some even died in the attempts to liberate such “property.”
Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution ruled that slaves counted for three-fifths of a person for representation purposes, even though slaves could neither vote, nor were even considered people. A more perfect union. Amendments 13, 14, and 15 resolved that disgrace following the War Between the States.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to freed slaves. The 15th Amendment granted that voting rights would not be denied based upon race.
Peaceful protests, sans mob violence, should be supported by all - yes all, regardless of message. “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it,” said Evelyn Beatrice Hall (1866-1956), a British writer. That is the beauty of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Protesters would garner more support from people heretofore opposed to the message because of the violence attached to it.
The child of my friends said the violence and destruction of property is designed to get people to listen. This young person said the crimes of vandalism, graffiti, and arson should go unpunished because they should not even be considered crimes in the first place. These monuments and statues are marked for destruction because they offend those who are willfully destroying public property. Should everyone have free reign to destroy what offends them?
As a lifelong New York Mets fan, should I have the right to desecrate the statue of Baltimore native George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948) standing outside of Oriole Park at Camden Yards simply because he played for the hated New York Yankees? Perhaps the revolutionaries would endorse such a crime because Ruth played Major League Baseball at a time when black players were still barred from playing in the majors. On the other hand, would it be permissible to destroy the statue of Henry “Hank” Aaron (1934- ) in Atlanta by a Yankees fan as Aaron broke Ruth’s then all-time home run record? Where does it end? When no more statues are left standing? And when there are no more statues remaining to be attacked, what will be the next target of the ochlocracy? The artworks in galleries and museums? The books in bookstores and libraries? Buildings on college campuses because the schools admissions’ committees denied people entry into those schools?
The now no longer shocking scenes of violence and depravity are a stronger visual than the audible words of protesters. From the journalistic mantra, “if it bleeds, it leads,” videos run viral before the first words are heard. Violence will only beget more of the same while the message will get lost in the shuffle. If any listening is being done, it is being done out of fear. The houses of worship and businesses with signs of Black Lives Matter seem to be akin to the lambs' blood upon the doorposts of the ancient Hebrews before the liberation in Egypt - the Passover. They believe those signs will protect them from attacks from Black Lives Matter. Time will tell if that will work.
If there is any listening to be done, it must be done by these radicals who will only succeed in creating a deeper chasm between the revolutionaries and supporters of the rule of law. Clearly their knowledge of history is absent real facts and details. More American history must be required for graduation from every American high school as well as college and university. I have a number of years of classroom instruction from grade six through the college level so I know what history curriculum looks like. It’s disgraceful. History can’t be whitewashed. They may have their own opinions, but they cannot have their own facts.
A group of students is demanding, among other things, that the statue of William Marsh Rice (1816-1900) be removed from, of all places, Rice University - the school he founded in 1891. Rice owned 15 slaves and founded the school for white students of Houston. Rice University opened its doors in 1912. The first black students were admitted in 1965, and 55 years later roughly 10 percent of the student body consists of black students. That is progress, considering the black population in the United States is about 13 percent according to the last census. This is an insane request. Even the child of my friends recognized that. The same demand has also come from students at Yale in New Haven, CT regarding a statue of its founder. Elihu Yale (1649-1721) was involved in the slave trade. The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), principal writer of the Declaration of Independence, first Secretary of State, second Vice President, third President of the United States, and yes, a slave holder. Students on the Charlottesville campus are also calling for the removal of his statue. How many of its students are transferring in order to stay consistent with their principles?
Do your homework before you choose a school. If you don’t like the background of the founder, pick another school. It would seem those students objecting to Rice, Yale, and Virginia on racial principles should have no trouble gaining admission to virtually any other school with a founder of pristine background. How about George Washington University, founded in 1821? Oh, no - Washington (1732-99), the general responsible for leading the American Colonies to victory in the Revolutionary War over England, and served as the first President of the new United States, owned slaves. Yet he ordered the slaves freed upon the death of his wife Martha (1731-1802). Such the conundrum. Should the name of the capital city of the United States be changed? What about the 42nd state of the nation, entering the union in 1889? Apparently a group of criminal vandals in Portland, OR think so, as they wrapped a statue of Washington in an American flag and set it ablaze. In his myopic obtuseness, Democrat Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo (1957- ) called these various criminal activities “a healthy expression.” How healthy would that expression be if the miscreants vandalized the governor’s mansion in Albany?
These principled students will certainly want to avoid James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, founded in 1908. Although Madison (1751-1836) was a co-author of The Federalist Papers, wrote the Bill of Rights, served as the fifth Secretary of State, and fourth President, he too owned slaves. Then there’s the prestigious Georgetown University, founded in 1789 by John Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore (1735-1815). That’s out, as he too owned slaves. If everything founded, built, or created more than 10 minutes ago were to be destroyed, what would be left of the nation after the scorched earth cools?
History cannot, should not, must not be erased.
Brown University became the first university to confront its link to slavery in a major way. In 2003, Brown president Ruth Simmons appointed a commission to investigate. “What better way to teach our students about ethical conduct than to show ourselves to be open to the truth, and to tell the full story?” she said.
Are the progressive anarchists in Seattle and the newly formed, soon to be dismantled CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, 2020-2020), going to move out of the State of Washington in an effort to remain true to their so-called principles? Sadly, a 19-year-old was shot and killed on Saturday, June 20 within the confines of CHOP, and two more shootings - one each on June 22 and 23, prompting the feckless Democrat Mayor of Seattle Jenny Durkan (1958- ) to call for the axing of CHOP. This is just about two weeks after singing its praises, suggesting it might be another “summer of love.” The love sure waned quickly. After that announcement came another, that Durkan cut $20 million (five percent) of the Seattle police budget - most of which to come from its training division. Isn’t that the part of the police the anarchists are willing to live with? Training new police in their own progressive image? But don’t look for that information on CNN or MSNBC, as that news does not fit its progressive narrative - their networks only run selective facts.
One area where I agree with the protesters concerns Confederate statues, flags, and named military bases. They all should come down and/or be renamed. Why, in the United States of America are bastions of the Confederacy being honored? They were the enemy! Put the statues and flags in museums - do not relegate them to the dustbin of history. The more than 640,000 who died in the War Between the States must not have died in vain. Otherwise, how will students learn from the past, learn not repeat the ugly parts of the past, and also how will they see the evidence of the progress that has been made in the United States. In order to know where the country is headed, it is vital to understand where the country stood in the past and where it is standing now.
While these changes are purely cosmetic, and for those who want them it is certainly understandable, they will not better educate anyone, won’t feed anyone, won’t employ anyone, won’t even end bigotry or racism. The United States should no more honor Jefferson Davis (1808-89) than Israel should honor Hitler (1889-1945) as they were the enemies of the United States and the Jewish people respectively. And although part of Reconstruction called for the repatriation of the former confederates, and the grave sites of their dead should not be disturbed, they were still enemies of the United States.
Any Confederate statues in the Capitol building should be replaced by the states they are honoring. Put a vote before the citizens of those states to determine with whom the current statues should be replaced. Do likewise with the names of the 10 military bases named for Confederate leaders.
The 10 military bases named for Confederate generals are:
Camp Beauregard (LA) - Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (1818-93)
Fort Benning (GA) - Henry Benning (1814-75)
Fort Bragg (NC) - Braxton Bragg (1817-76)
Fort Gordon (GA) - John Brown Gordon (1832-1904)
Fort A. P. Hill (VA) - Ambrose Powell Hill, Jr. (1825-65)
Fort Hood (TX) - John Bell Hood (1831-79)
Fort Lee (VA) - Robert E. Lee (1807-70)
Fort Pickett (VA) - George Pickett (1825-75)
Fort Polk (LA) - Leonidas Polk (1806-64)
Fort Rucker (AL) - Edmund Rucker (1835-1924)
They should be replaced by:
General Omar N. Bradley (1893-1981)
Served in WWI and WWII; first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General of the Army
“...the ablest field general the U.S. ever had,” said President Harry Truman (1884-1972)
Should replace Fort Benning (GA)
Stars *****
Major General John Buford, Jr. (1826-63)
Served in the War Between the States; promoted to Major General for “distinguished and meritorious service at the Battle Gettysburg,” by President Abraham Lincoln
President/General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)
Served in WWII - Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, leading Allied invasion/liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe; first Supreme Commander NATO; president of Columbia University; 34th President - signed civil rights legislation in 1957 and 1960
Should replace Fort Polk (LA)
Stars *****
President/General H. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-85)
Served in the Mexican-American War and the War Between the States; General in Chief of the Armies; soundly defeated the Confederacy; 18th president - pushed 15th Amendment through to ratification; established the National Park Service
Should replace Fort Lee (VA)
Stars **** (first to earn four, the highest allowed until 1944)
General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)
Served in WWI, WWII, and Korea; field marshal of the Philippines; commanded Southwest Asia in WWII and Allied occupation of Japan following WWII; Chief of Staff of the US Army; earned Medal of Honor
Should replace Fort Bragg (NC)
Stars *****
General George S. Patton (1885-1945)
Served in WWI and WWII; led a fictitious force elsewhere, enabling the landing at Omaha Beach to succeed; played a key role in winning the Battle of the Bulge; captured 10,000 miles of territory in liberating Germany from the Nazis; represented the US in the 1912 Stockholm Summer Olympiad in the pentathlon;
Should replace Fort Pickett (VA)
Stars ****
General John J. Pershing (1860-1948)
Served in the Spanish-American War and WWI; senior US Army officer; General of the Armies; opposed armistice of WWI - wanted unconditional surrender of Germany; mentor to Bradley, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Patton, and George Marshall (1880-1959)
Should replace Fort Gordon (GA)
Stars ****
General Roscoe Robinson, Jr. (1928-93)
Served in Korea and Vietnam conflicts; first black soldier to earn the rank of four star general; earned Distinguished Graduate Award; Exemplar Combat Arms Officer; infantry officer rising to four star status; West Point Class of 1951
Should replace Fort A.P. Hill (VA)
Stars ****
General H. Norman Schwartzkopf, Jr. (1934-2012)
Served in Vietnam, led forces in Grenada, and led all coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War - leading Operation Desert Storm; commander of US Central Command; West Point Class of 1956; earned three Silver Stars, one Bronze star, and a Purple Heart in Vietnam; earned a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II
Should replace Camp Beauregard
Stars ****
Dr. Mary Walker (1832-1919)
Only woman to earn a Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service - 1865; worked as an Army field surgeon, yet denied a commission due to her gender; abolitionist; prohibitionist; Prisoner of War during the War Between the States; outspoken women’s rights activist; supported the Suffrage Movement until her death in 1919 - but not the amendment that would be enacted a year after her death, citing the right to vote was already in the Constitution
Should replace Fort Hood (TX)
Tuskegee
A conglomerate representation of the famed airmen, the tragic experiment, and the institute, now university in Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black soldiers to successfully complete training and enter the Army Air Corps. Almost 1,000 aviators served as the first black military pilots during WWII as the highly decorated 99th Pursuit Squadron. The 992 pilots flew 1,578 missions and 15,533 sorties, earning 850 medals.
The Tuskegee syphilis study (Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male) was the disgraceful use of black males as human guinea pigs by the United States Public Health Service from 1932-72. The “subjects” were neither told they had syphilis nor were given the medication that would lead to a potential cure. They were not even told they could transmit the disease via sexual intercourse.
The Tuskegee Institute, now University, was founded in 1881, by Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) for the initial purpose of training black school teachers, adding the teaching of agricultural skills, later becoming a degree granting institute in 1937, offering graduate studies in 1943, before finally moving to University status in 1985. The school’s third president, Frederick Douglass Patterson (1901-88) founded the United Negro College Fund in 1944. In 1987 President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) awarded Patterson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Should replace Fort Rucker (AL)
(USA Today floated just the names of Dr. Mary Walker and Tuskegee, not the biographical information.)
After 111 monuments and/or statues removed or requested to be removed, there seems to be no end in sight, thus the importance of cracking down with the use of video footage to catch as many of these criminals as possible, and hope some turn on others not identified by authorities. So dangerously out of control are these anarchists that they are planning to destroy the monument of Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in Washington, DC. A monument funded by freed slaves with a keynote speaker at the dedication of Frederick Douglass, himself a former slave.
In spite of all the insidiousness, violence, arson, anarchy, and abject stupidity in the name of G-d knows what, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) reflected that “in America all things are possible. Progress has been made. Progress needs to be made.”
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
The Evil From Within
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
June 22, 2020
It has become painfully obvious and with increasing numbers that the current crop of the 18-30 generation have lost their collective moral compasses as they support the violence, looting, pillaging, plundering, vandalism, graffiti, arson, and even murder that has besot many of this country’s cities, while rejecting the Constitution and the 10 Commandments.
Mob violence will only beget increasing violence ultimately leading to the next civil war in these United States. This is becoming an increasingly dangerous time not just in America, but across the globe as ochlocracy seems to be rearing its very ugly face. As hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of college age and young adults continue to take to the streets committing acts of domestic terrorism destroying other people’s property believing it will solve the growing racial unrest in this country, the reality is, it will only serve to enflame their opponents.
Most recently, sparked by outrage over the killing, possibly murder, of George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis on May 25, by now former police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, peaceful protests were the correct response. That is until the likes of Antifa and the more extreme branches of Black Lives Matter decided violence would be the answer. Once the looting, vandalism, and arson began, virtually all credibility was lost.
Two wrongs do not a right make must have been drilled into all of us as children and it is still correct today. The absolutely abhorrent behavior by Chauvin as well as his three cohorts, complicit in the death of Floyd, is never acceptable, and he should be found guilty of murder, while the three bystander officers should be found guilty of accessory to murder. Floyd was being arrested for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. For eight minutes and 46 seconds, Chauvin drained the life out of Floyd by forcing his knee into Floyd’s neck, rendering Floyd unresponsive for the last two minutes and 53 seconds, after crying out for his deceased mother.
While that scene will remain vivid in people’s minds for a long time to come, the response of destruction, theft, and arson remains wholly unacceptable. Peaceful protests are acceptable all day long.
A much different scene presented itself in Atlanta about three weeks later, as on June 12 Rayshard Brooks, 27, ended up dead - shot twice in the back by now former police officer Garrett Rolfe, 27. With just the above information, one would suspect another gratuitous killing of an alleged black suspect by a white police officer. However, if one watches the full, available video, one should come away with a different conclusion in this particular case. For at least 20 minutes Rolfe engaged in conversation with Brooks, who was under suspicion for over the limit alcohol consumption. The exchange was cordial, polite, and professional between the two men. Only at the time Rolfe attempted to place Brooks in handcuffs, did Brooks wrestle Rolfe and one other officer to the ground, eventually steal Rolfe’s taser gun, and begin to flee. After Brooks fired Rolfe’s taser gun at Rolfe, did he return fire with the two shots that hit and killed Brooks.
With no investigation Rolfe was immediately fired, brought up on charges, and could actually face the death penalty. Rolfe should not only have not been fired, but he should not be facing a possible death sentence. Quite frankly, I am not the biggest fan of the police, although I was raised to respect law enforcement. That said, and understanding that in Georgia, among other states, the taser is considered a deadly weapon, Rolfe had legitimate reason to return fire in order to defend himself. Brooks’ actions lead to his own demise. His death could very well have been avoided. Watch the video and judge for yourself.
Far too many people, with their knee-jerk progressive liberal reaction, agreed with the charges against Rolfe. In fact, quite a few people have literally said a black suspect should not be fired upon by a white officer in any circumstance. That is patently absurd.
While there clearly is an issue between alleged black suspects and the police - not always white officers, by the way, the violence, destruction of property and businesses, looting, and arson remain unacceptable. These actions solve nothing. Yet more and more of the 18-30 crowd, becoming increasingly agitated, have become agitators themselves defending their actions as appropriate and legitimate because they garner attention and lead to reform. What they will lead to is increased resentment that extortion is not the answer. Give us what we demand or we’ll torch the city. This is the evil from within.
In between those two incidents, on June 2, David Dorn, 77, a retired police captain in St. Louis, was fatally shot by a looter during the Floyd protests. The 38 year police veteran was responding to a pawn shop break-in. Where was the outrage over the slaying of a black police officer? Selective outrage as the murder of Dorn does not fit the narrative of the liberal progressive socialists. Some of those progressive socialists justified the killing of Dorn because his uniform was blue, while disregarding that his skin was black.
There is enough video footage to identify at least some of the perpetrators in each instance who should be charged to fullest extent of the law. A message must be sent that the acts of thugary should no more be accepted than that of the police brutality being witnessed.
As more and more police officers are fired for inappropriate behavior, and as fewer and fewer police departments have the support of their mayors, the level of police officers to take their places will become increasingly deleterious. The bar will eventually need to be lowered, which sounds like a frightening proposition. Also a frightening proposition is the thought of there being no law enforcement available when truly needed. More and more cities, towns, and individuals are demanding city councils defund their police forces and in some cases, put them out of business altogether. That is not the answer.
Better vetting of officer candidates, longer training, and an increase in community policing are a good start. If police officers are in the same neighborhoods on a regular basis they should get to know the communities in an effort to win back even a modicum of good will. Overzealous officers are not the answer either, nor are complicit officers. The “thin blue line” that thousands of police departments swear by only serves to convince the general population that the fix is in and that officers will stand by their fellow officers no matter what. That does not increase good will.
The calls for anarchy, chaos, and abject lawlessness solves nothing either, and only makes a bad situation infinitely worse. When I hear people attempt to justify, defend, and support their criminal behavior or that of others in the name of civil rights or justice, that simply frightens me to the core. Those people are more than just slightly misguided. Assaulting police officers with bricks, bottles, human excrement also solves nothing other than to convince police officers it isn’t safe for them out in the communities. Shouting obscenities, calling officers pigs, and that all police are bastards does not lessen the tensions between police and community residents.
More cop-cams will help. Make them lighter weight and less obtrusive for officers to wear as they do their jobs, make their rounds, and respond to calls. While the level of police brutality seems to be on the rise, and perhaps it is, these are the cases that make the news. What does not make the news is that “today, 99 percent of police officers did their jobs without incident.” Boring. The media lives for the salacious - it sells papers and television advertising.
The issue of profiling, and again, overzealousness, will probably not go away any time soon. It should, at the very least, wane more and more over time. I don’t have the solution for driving while black or walking while black. These cases and situations are, obviously, unfortunate and undignified. When a Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) is stopped on numerous occasions by Capitol Hill police, who should know him and see his identification that all members of Congress are required to have on their person, it’s no wonder these stops continue to occur - it’s wrong, but I don’t have the solution.
It is also important to remember one cannot avenge the past. No one is either a slave nor a slave owner in the United States in 2020. The War Between the States ended in 1865. The millions and millions of families who have migrated to the United States since that time, such as my family, are not, nor should be held responsible for what occurred before their collective arrival.
There must be more education. More history must be required for graduation in both high school and college. And not that watered down, fake news, indoctrination that passes for history. I have a number of years of classroom instruction from grade six through the college level so I know what history curriculum looks like. It’s disgraceful. History can’t be whitewashed. Warts and all, the good, the bad, and the ugly must be taught. People can’t see the progress that has been made without the study of history. From there, people can use those lessons to continue down a positive path. Books authored by Mark Twain should not be censored simply because the name of one of Twain’s characters is unacceptable in 2020 - it’s demonstrative of progress. Stand in the face of adversity and mock it.
Who was taught about the following in high school history and can confidently discuss:
Black Wall Street
Brandeis, Louis
Bleeding Kansas
Dawes Severalty Act (1887)
Doby, Larry
Manhattan Project
Manzanar
Missouri Compromise (1820)
Rankin, Jeannette
Tulsa Race Massacre (1921)
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” - attributed to George Santayana (1863-1952)
May G-d save and preserve the Union.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
Mighty MLB Has Struck Out
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
June 15, 2020
While America is literally burning, Major League Baseball is fiddling as billionaires and millionaires engage in a pissing match that is leaving baseball fans feeling all wet as the 2020 season is on the verge of being rained out.
Yet the myopic Commissioner Rob Manfred, mustering all the power of hitting the forkball with a wet noodle, guaranteed Major League Baseball will be played in 2020. While never having met Manfred, he’s no “Broadway” Joe Namath. The major leagues will play “baseball in 2020 - 100 percent - even if it has to be under the March 26 agreement. If we get to that point in the calendar, so be it. But, one way or the other, we’re playing major league baseball,” said the pusillanimous and feckless Manfred.
In March, the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball agreed to allow the league to implement a schedule, and with no agreement in place, could impose a 50 game regular season, paying players “full prorated salaries worth a total of around $1.25 billion.”
Bear in mind a proposed 89 game regular season with full prorated salaries, down from 114 games, had already been deemed a non-starter by the MLBPA. This was a deal to include expanded playoffs to 16 teams - eight from the National League and eight from the American League - for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Another non-starter had a 76 game MLB regular season run July 10-October 11. With the expanded playoffs, the World Series would wrap up sometime between Chanukah and Christmas.
The MLBPA also rejected a proposed 72 game regular season at 70 percent prorated pay. Do the math, 72 games out of a traditional regular season of 162 games is but 44.4 percent of the season, yet the players would see more of their salaries than they actually should. The MLBPA called on the league to out forth a schedule for 2020 instead of countering the latest rejected proposal. “Further dialogue with the league would be futile. It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where,”said MLBPA executive director Tony Clark on Saturday, June 13.
ESPN released part of a letter it acquired sent by MLBPA negotiator Bruce Meyer to Dan Halem, deputy commissioner of MLB that said, “We demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday, June 15.” Yet as of the close of business, Wednesday, June 17 and a multi-hour meeting in Phoenix, the 2020 baseball season still hangs in the balance.
Saturday night, June 13 MLB released a statement, part of which said “We are disappointed that the MLBPA has chose not to negotiate in good faith over resumption of play after MLB has made three successive proposals that would provide players, Clubs, and our fans with an amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
If COVID-19 is genuinely the sticking point, and players are genuinely concerned for their health, then the responsible course of action is to not play baseball in 2020. After all, a potential 50 game regular season with an extended postseason more than half as long, is ridiculously stupid. When did Major League Baseball become the NBA and the NHL - 82 and 80 games respectively with half the leagues making the playoffs? No thank you. Everyone go home and come back fighting in 2021 with a full complement of games.
Team owners wishing to pay players a portion of their salaries should do so under no obligation that it be mandated. On the other hand, players choosing to sit out the 2020 season, should do so. There are hundreds of minor leaguers at the Double-A and Triple-A levels who are playing for $350 and $502 per week respectively and would gladly suit up in a major league ballpark for the MLB minimum salary of $563, 500, or even 70 percent of that ($394,450). Promote those minor leaguers to fill out the 40 man roster. They are barely seeing enough money to pay for their per diem/meal money, while the owners and players are bitching over the millions, revenue sharing, and television revenue.
Regardless of the number of games to be played and the start date, (July 3-September 27 for 87 games), MLB still desires a regular season that concludes on Sunday, September 27 in order to avoid the postseason spilling over into November competing with football and the November 3 presidential election. While the suggested postseason plans call for 16 teams, the following plan is limited to 12 teams, six per league - division winners and the next best three records regardless of division. The division winners with the two best records will earn a bye in a first round, best of five series. The remaining division winner will play the lowest ranked of the three non-division winners, while the other two non-division winners will face off. With no days off, the series would start Tuesday, September 29 with a possible game five on Saturday, October 3. No Sunday game to compete with the NFL.
The divisional series would match the two bye teams against the winners of the first round in another best of five series. These series would begin on Monday, October 5, with a possible game five on Saturday, October 10, with yet another Sunday free to watch the NFL. The league championship series, seven gamers, would start on Monday, October 12 with possible game sevens on Tuesday, October 20. And as October winds down, the World Series would commence on Friday, October 23, with a thrilling conclusion game seven on Saturday, October 31 - yes, Halloween, but MLB will have its season ender prior to November 1, and no Sunday games throughout.
If COVID-19 is not the chief concern, the major leaguers can suck it up, suit up, and take the field to play a game most of us would play for free. They have rejected deals that would pay them more than they ought to be paid based upon the prorated statistics. If the schedule calls for 114 games, the payers should get paid for 114 games. If 50, likewise. It’s called a contract, and if the players don’t honor it, they should be fired for breach of contract.
Apparently both the owners and the players association have channeled their inner Gordon Gekko, adhering to the mantra, “Greed is good.”
There’s a tone-deafness even Beethoven would recognize. The fans really don’t give a rat’s tuchus about the prorated salaries, revenue sharing, or television revenue bickering back and forth. There are roughly 40 million Americans out of work who desperately need a respite from COVID reality and race riots. They just want to see the American pastime in action on the field of play not the boardroom of some ivory tower. No one in Major League Baseball should be crying poverty.
The minors, as has been demonstrated above, has 42 more legitimate reasons to cry poverty. Even before COVID-19 hit the fan, MLB had put a plan in place to contract 42 minor league teams from Rookie ball to Double-A. Although salary bumps are in the offing for the 2021 season, it is MLB, ironically, that is doing most of the crying.
League From/Week To/Week
Rookie/Short Season $290 $400
Single-A $290 $500
Double-A $350 $600
Triple-A $502 $700
Minor league players are only paid during the five months of their season - or less. They are not compensated for spring training or postseason. Some have argued that such low salaries violate minimum wage laws. The poverty line for a single person in 2019 was $12,490 and for a family of four, $25,750 according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Minor Leagues, Major Slayings:
Appalachian League (Advance Rookie): Bluefield Blue Jays, Bristol Pirates, Burlington Royals, Danville Braves, Elizabethton Twins, Greeneville Reds, Johnson City Cardinals, Kingsport Mets, Princeton Rays
California League (Advanced-A): Lancaster Jethawks
Carolina League (Advanced-A): Frederick Keys
Eastern League (Double-A): Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Erie Seawolves
Florida State League (Advanced-A): Daytona Tortugas, Florida Fire Frogs
Midwest League (Full Season-A): Burlington Bees, Clinton Lumber Kings, Quad Cities River Bandits
New York-Penn League (Short Season-A): Auburn Doubledays, Batavia Muckdogs, Connecticut Tigers, Lowell Spinners, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, State College Spikes, Staten Island Yankees, Vermont Lake Monsters, Williamsport Crosscutters
Northwest League (Short Season-A): Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Tri-City Dust Devils
Pioneer League (Advanced Rookie): Billings Mustangs, Grand Junction Rockies, Great Falls Voyagers, Idaho Falls Chukars, Missoula PaddleHeads, Ogden Raptors, Orem Owlz, Rocky Mountain Vibes
Southern League (Double-A): Chattanooga Lookouts, Jackson Generals
South Atlantic League (Full Season-A): Hagerstown Suns, Lexington Legends, West Virginia Power
Yet, while the average value of a major league team is $1.78 billion, according to Forbes, and MLB revenue in 2018 was $10.3 billion, MLB claims it is purging 42 teams to cut costs and save money. Minor league teams are valued between $5 million and $45 million. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the savings emerging from the elimination of these 42 teams is about $60 million for MLB as a whole - or $1,428,571 per team killed off. What is also being killed off are thousands of jobs in the host cities - both team and non-team related, local economies will suffer - stadium jobs, restaurant jobs, lodging - hotels and homes, small businesses will suffer, other tourist attractions will also experience losses, and, a culture of a team’s history will be destroyed.
Olney also pointed out that New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole will earn about $1 million per start in 2020. Put to the test, Cole is the second highest paid player behind only Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels centerfielder. Assuming Cole takes the mound once every five days, he would start 32 games. At a salary of $36 million for the season, every start is valued at $1.125 million, or $125,000 per inning pitched were he to complete every start. In two starts, Cole could save one of these forlorn teams with enough left over to buy that team’s fans a hot dog and a Coke ® .
It would take the aforementioned Trout just under six games to save a team. His $37 million 2020 salary comes to $232, 716 per game, assuming he plays all 162 games in a season, or $25, 857 per inning played, were he to play every inning of the season.
Max Scherzer, Nationals pitcher $35.9 million $1.122 million per start
Zack Greinke, Astros pitcher $35 million $1.094 million per start
Stephen Strasburg, Nats pitcher $35 million $1.094 million per start
Nolan Arenado, Rockies 3rd baseman $35 million $216,049 per game
Justin Verlander, Astros pitcher $33 million $1.031 million per start
David Price, Dodgers pitcher $32 million $1 million per start
Manny Machado, Padres 3rd baseman $32 million $197,530 per game
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers pitcher $31 million $969,000 per start
And that’s just the top 10. The big boys of MLB could very easily help their younger brethren and save some small towns and cities along the way. And, I’ll just bet such largess might be tax deductible. Save a team, save a town.
Minneapolis Mayhem Manifests Nationwide
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
June 1, 2020
Police brutality is alive and well, sadly, and not just living in Minneapolis, where 46 year old George Floyd was pronounced dead at 9:25 PM on Monday, May 25, at the hands of a police officer, or more accurately, the knee of a police officer, one Derek Chauvin.
The autopsy results show “no physical signs of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation; death [was] attributed to being restrained, his underlying health conditions, and any potential intoxicants in his system,” according to Jim Mone of the Associated Press. Floyd’s pre-existing health conditions included coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. However, there is no doubt that now former officer Chauvin exacerbated the situation gravely during the seven to eight minutes pressing his knee onto Floyd’s neck. Floyd was non-responsive for nearly three minutes before Chauvin removed his knee from Floyd’s neck. Chauvin’s irresponsible actions were absolutely a contributing factor of Floyd’s death.
Sound demonstrated that Floyd choked out, “Please, I can’t breath,” upwards of 10 or more times, while pictures show Chauvin with his left hand in his pants pocket while his knee was lodged into Floyd’s neck, clearly indicating Chauvin was in no danger from Floyd. Chauvin and the three officers standing by all lost their jobs, and rightfully so, and Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third degree murder and manslaughter. His now former colleagues, also fired, and rightfully so, should, at the very least be charged with depraved indifference - one of whom videoed just standing next to Chauvin while he had his knee pressed into Floyd’s neck. “The lack of humanity in this disturbing video is sickening. We will get answers and seek justice,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The video of Floyd’s arrest leading to his death went viral setting off a firestorm of protests peaceful and violent alike nationwide - more than 65 cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, DC. In DC, protesting that turned violent right across from the White House in Lafayette Park, where among other signs, many anti-Trump signs, as if the President was responsible for the thuggish act of one specific now former police officer. Trump himself said, “At my request, the FBI and Department of Justice are already well into an investigation.” What more should he do? Go to Minneapolis and punch out Chauvin? Of course not. He has condemned the acts of the specific officers, and he has also condemned the acts of the protesters who had no intention of protesting peacefully, calling them thugs, which they are.
Trump also announced he is officially declaring the agitators and radicals that comprise Antifa a domestic terrorist organization. So troubling are Antifa’s actions, that Twitter suspended its account. They stand for anarchy and the destruction of the United States from within. “Antifa and Black Lives Matter should both be labeled domestic terror organizations,” said Brandon Tatum, a former member of the Tucson, AZ police force and co-founder of Blexit. Blexit is a movement of black Americans leaving the Democrat Party, explained co-founder Candace Owens. Tatum further condemned the rioting, arson, and looting. “They destroy property, they destroy our country,” said Tatum, noting with the arrest of Chauvin and the firing of all four officers, “justice is being served. They’re protesting what?
This is, once again, history repeating itself - an unarmed black man dies at the hands of a white police officer. Make no mistake, on a per capita basis, more white men die at the hands of police officers, not that that excuses anything; it’s just not reported by the lame stream media. Unfortunately, when pointed out by a white person, they are automatically tagged a racist for all eternity - just for speaking the truth. Not all suspects are innocent of the commission of a crime, and not all police officers are guilty of abuse of power. It’s not all black or white, absolutely no pun intended. This is not a laughing matter. In fact, Floyd had not been suspected of a violent crime. He was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill in a deli. Chauvin, on the other hand, has 10 conduct complaints in his 19 years on the force, sans disciplinary action. He is being held in a maximum security prison on $500,000 bail.
Regardless of what happened to Floyd, and it is not being dismissed by any stretch, the response is criminal and should be dealt with appropriately - with arrests, charges, convictions as well as fines and/or jail time, just as Chauvin deserves should he be found guilty of murdering Floyd. The problem is, that when all hell breaks loose in city after city across the fruited plain, all credibility is vanquished. Most of what people now see on the televisions news is the aftermath of the Floyd death - arson, rioting, looting, vandalism, pillaging and plundering, assault and battery on police officers, even firefighters attempting to put out fires started by thugs in their own neighborhoods.
“We built this country, we’ll burn it down,” said one angry protester to a FOX News reporter.
In Minneapolis, the mobs advanced and the police retreated. The mobs burned down police precinct number three - burned it down. The news footage shows stores being vandalized, windows smashed, and merchandise stolen. How does that send a message of protest pertaining to the death of George Floyd? Floyd’s younger brother Terrence said this is not what George would want. Peaceful protests should be protected, but this kind of mayhem and licentiousness should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Stealing televisions and sneakers is a crime. With all the video footage, thugs should be identified, arrested, charged, and prosecuted. More than 300 people were arrested on Sunday in Minneapolis.
In Chicago, Neiman Marcus and Nike on the Magnificent Mile were but two among a number of stores vandalized and robbed. High end stores Chanel, Dior, and Gucci in Manhattan were all but cleaned out. The looting went on through the wee hours, as “cars filled to the brim,” in multiple boroughs, reported Brian Llenas of FOX News, who pointed to a torched New York City Police van. He also said that part of the weekend’s vandalism in Atlanta included the CNN headquarters. Graffiti marred St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Why? To what end? How does that help fix the problem? Will that prevent another officer from abuse of power? Many cities instituted curfews - 6 PM in Philadelphia, where 13 police officers were injured, 7 PM in Dallas, and 8 PM in Detroit and Indianapolis, where local WalMarts closed their doors at 5 PM “in preparation of” potential rioting and looting.
“We cannot, will not, have mobs taking over businesses… I’m very proud of my Detroit police officers,” said Detroit Police Chief James Craig, himself a black leader in his community. “This brings back memories of the Rodney King riots; police gave it over to the mobs,” said Craig, who was on the job in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots, and reminded viewers of the near death beating of Reginald Denny, a truck driver, just for being white. “We’re not going to stand for lawlessness,” said Craig, noting his officers arrested 84 people the previous evening.
Even typically anti-police New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, nee - Warren Wilhelm, Jr. condemned the vandalism, rioters, looters, and defended the police. Police have been assaulted with bottles, bricks, rocks, shards of glass, even bodily fluids. But the liberal, lame stream media fanned the flames by downplaying the rioting and attempting to upsell the peaceful aspect of the protesting, which ceased to exist almost as quickly as it started. These have not been peaceful protests across the nation and this is not democracy, but chaos and anarchy. Virtually all Americans support the right of the people to peacefully protest just about anything. When it turns violent, caustic, ugly, destructive, even deadly, that is where the line in the sand must be drawn.
In Minneapolis more than 170 businesses and buildings have been destroyed in the neighborhoods where the thugs and criminals reside. A local Target, corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, was being vandalized in full view of the cameras - brazen thieves and thugs, some actually mugging for the cameras. As the mobs advanced toward the police - clad in protective garb and armed - they stood down and retreated like gutless weasels, leading to the destruction of the Third Precinct police house. The retreat no doubt had to do with the fear of being labeled racist. This fear of being labeled racist is what keeps far too many people silent, as in this politically correct era, just about anything is considered racist, sexist, homophobic and any other -ist or -ism there is. People are genuinely fearful of losing their jobs, their livelihoods all because they expressed an opinion - an opinion that is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The major problem is a lack of education. Briefly - the socioeconomics of young people in miserable public schools, the lack of support for school choice - parochial schools, charter schools by teachers’ unions, the tenure system protecting bad teachers’ jobs when they should be protecting the jobs of new teachers who are paid peanuts, and find ways to encourage them to stay on the job. The average teacher’s career is about 4.5 years. With almost 10 years classroom experience in suburbs, inner city public and charter schools, I know what the problems are, but conservatives and libertarians are rarely heard because it destroys the narrative of the teachers’ unions. While there is no discipline in the schools, there is violence, teen pregnancy, and little genuine time spent on task. Teachers at all levels and all neighborhoods are expected to be nurses, doctors, psychologists, nutritionists, priests or rabbis, and oh, yeah, once in a while squeeze in some teaching. When school systems like Baltimore have one student in 13 high schools testing at grade level in math and English, that’s a failed system - one student. When graduation rates are below 50 percent in just about every major urban center, it’s obvious there’s a problem. It's not that students in socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances can’t learn, there’s just too much chaos in the halls and classrooms of these schools.
Problem is, when white folks point this out, and it needs pointing out; no, it needs shouting out from the top of the mountain, there’s that pesky label of racism once again, so few and far between want to risk their jobs to speak up. But another problem is how few prominent black intellectuals there are on the national stage willing to take the slings and arrows from liberal blacks degrading them and calling them despicable names for being conservative or libertarian. Some of the more prominent include author and commentator Deneen Borelli, businessman Herman Cain, author and commentator Larry Elder, civil rights leader Niger Innis, writer and commentator Deroy Murdoch, writer and motivational speaker Star Parker, stateswoman Condoleezza Rice, author Jason Riley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, economist Thomas Sowell, author Shelby Steele, commentator David Webb, retired US Army Lt. Col. Allen West in Texas (a former member of Congress), writer Armstrong Williams, and professor Walter Williams. But how long can the same dozen or so people be a voice for an entire race? Sure there are some up and coming commentators and candidates running for Congress and Senate like Winnie Heartstrong in Missouri, combat veteran John James in Michigan, Lacy Johnson in Minnesota, Lawrence Jones of FOX News, Kimberly Klacik in Maryland, former NFL safety and author Burgess Owens in Utah, Candace Owens of FOX News and PragerU. But many more are needed - and not just for the benefit of the black community, but for the American community.
But in the interim an important message must be sent to the criminals who are masquerading as law abiding protesters. The government - neither state nor federal - should pay to rebuild these destroyed communities. Their message should be - you broke it, you fix it. And that includes the Third Precinct. The kind of maladaptive behavior that believes arson, robbery, assault, vandalism, and general mayhem is acceptable and appropriate in a non-antifa society needs to learn a lesson - and a rather painful one it may be, but it is not a lesson that the honest, law abiding citizen protester should be paying for - that money is earmarked for more important uses - like defending our borders and educating our young people.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
