Category Archives: News and current events

January 5, 2013 · 13:26

The NCAA College Football Bowl Season Money Machine

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College football bowl season is almost over and after seeing many bad games played by less than stellar teams in sometimes nearly empty stadiums I decided to look at attendance, team records, game results and the money machine. It really is an amazing machine that the NCAA has set up.

Of the 35 bowl games, 32 have been played. 70 teams have or will have played in post season bowl games this year. Of the approximately 2,261,902 available seats in the already played games about 1,497,113 were filled, about 66% of the available seats.  In all about $273,586,425 will be paid to the athletic conferences and schools sending teams to bowl games.

The attendance numbers at the remaining three games should move the overall percentage up a bit but I expect that the total number of seats filled at the games will be under 70%. The biggest game payouts go to the four BCS bowl games and the BCS Championship game which are $17 million dollars per team, $18 million for the championship game.

Since attendance and ticket sales cannot possibly cover these kinds of payouts. For the BCS games alone ESPN which has the current contract is approximately $125 million a season. This does not include the Rose Bowl which had a previous contract with ABC. The other bowl games, many of which are also carried by ESPN bring in more television revenues. The format will change in 2015 and ESPN will air the BCS playoff games and the National Championship Game. The contract for 84 games over a 12 year period is worth $7.3 billion or about $610 million a year.

That is just a drop in the bucket because there is much more money that will be made. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that “ESPN, Fox Sports, Comcast/NBC, Turner, and CBS had agreed over the last 20 months to pay $72.4 billion for the national rights to televise live games well into the next decade.” 

Television revenues are also distributed to the conferences which in turn distribute them to their teams. Despite the money involved for some schools lose money by going to a bowl due to the costs of travel and lodging for the teams as well as bands and other school officials. Where does the money go? It goes to the athletic conferences who then dole it out to their programs. The players get none of the  revenue. Some are on scholarships but the amount of scholarship money pales in comparison with the money brought in. The players images are bought and sold but they get nothing and if if a player so much as sells a jersey he has worn he can be disqualified from the NCAA.

The proliferation of the bowls has led to many games where teams with marginal records have played including one team with a losing record. However on the plus side of this the games are a chance for college players, most of whom will never see a professional football contract one last chance under the the lights, one last chance at glory. It also serves as a boost for the schools, their fans, alumni and boosters. Since a lot of the schools are smaller and in small television markets the bowl games give them national exposure that they would not get elsewhere. Some of this actually draws students to them.

The sponsors of this years games are an interesting collection. They include defense contractors, oil companies, retailers, clothing manufacturers, banks and other financial services, insurance companies, online services, transportation companies and even the leading owner of online college education programs and universities. That last one is pure irony since they sponsor no athletic programs of their own.

Some of the sponsors are controversial. The Gildan company is a large sportswear company with a long history of reported worker rights and abuses.

Many of the bowls have gone by different names as the years have gone by including some the the older games. Many of gone by other monikers and have changed their name whenever a new sponsor took charge. One example is the Chick-fil-a Bowl in Atlanta. For decades it was known as the Peach Bowl but when Chick-fil-a took it over that long held name was consigned to history.

It is interesting because if you look at attendance and the money that is made it is obvious that the NCAA, which shamelessly uses the young men playing in these games is making money hand over fist. I wonder how much is actually going toward education, especially in an age of austerity where education programs are being cut. The money is in the billions, not millions, but billions. One has to ask. I mean really. It seems to me that the NCAA is playing the pimp here, with us as the customer.

The indirect beneficiary of the bowl games and the NCAA college football programs is the National Football League which does not have to pay for a minor league system as does major league baseball.

I have listed the bowl games for this season, their sponsors as well as their attendance, results and payouts below.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl, University Stadium Albuquerque New Mexico (39,224/24,610  62.7%) Arizona (7-5) 49 Nevada (7-5) 48. The sponsor Gildan has a long history of worker rights complaints and abuses in Canada, Central America and in Haiti. It make low cost t-shirts and other garments and is the largest supplier of blank sports apparel in the world. Payout $456,250 per team.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Bronco Stadium Boise Idaho. (37,000/29,423  75.4%) Utah State #22 (10-2) 41 Toledo (9-3) 15. Now Sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission. Payout $325,000 per team. 21,759The last sponsor Roady’s Truck Stops called it the Humanitarian Bowl, a name that the game lost when uDrove became the sponsor and moved it to Payout $325,000 per team.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego California (70,561/35,422 50.2%) BYU (7-5) 23 San Diego State (9-3) 6. Payouts $500,000 per team.

Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, Tropicana Field Tampa Florida (42,735/21,759 50.9%) UCF (9-3) 38  Ball State (9-4) 17. Payout $500,000 per team.

R & L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Mercedes Benz Superdome New Orleans Louisiana. (73,208/48,828 67%) Louisiana Lafayette (8-4) 43 East Carolina (8-4) 34 Payout $500,000 per team.

MAACO Bowl, Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas Nevada (36,800/33,281 90.4%) Boise State #19 (10-2) 28 Washington (7-5) 26 Payout $1.1 Million per team. Waiting for the Earl Scheib or Bondo Bowl.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Aloha Bowl Halawa Hawaii (50,000/30,024 60.55) SMU (6-6) 43 Fresno State (9-3) 10 Payout $650,000 per team

Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, Ford Field Detroit Michigan (65,000/23,310 35.8%) Central Michigan (6-6) 24 Western Kentucky (7-5) 21 Payout $750,000 per team formerly known as the Motor City Bowl.  Terrible turnout to damage an otherwise nice baseball field.

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop-Grumman, Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington DC (56,692/17,635 31.1%) San Jose State (10-2) 29 Bowling Green (8-4) 20 Payout $1 million per team.

Belk Bowl, Bank of America Stadium Charlotte North Carolina, (73,778/48,128 65.2%) Cincinnati (9-3) 48 Duke (6-6) 34 Payout $1.7 per team. Formerly known as the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl, Qualcomm Stadium San Diego California (70,561/55,507 78.6%) Baylor (7-5) 49 UCLA #19 (9-4) 26. Payout $2,075,000 per team. The biggest owner of for profit schools a without football of its own hosts a bowl.

Advocare Independence Bowl, Independence Stadium Shreveport Louisiana (53,000/41,853 80%) Ohio University (8-4) 45 Louisiana Monroe (8-4) 14. Payout $1.1 million per team.

Russell Athletic Bowl, Orlando Florida (65,438/48,127  75.3%) Virginia Tech University  (6-6) 13 Rutgers University (9-3) 10. Why can’t we have the Bike Athletic Supporter Bowl instead, I would love to see the “cup.” Payout $2,275,000 per team.

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, Reliant Stadium Houston Texas (71,054/50,386 71%) Texas Tech (7-5) 34 Minnesota (6-6) 31. Payout $1.7 million per team.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Amon G Carter Stadium, Fort Worth Texas (45,000/40,754 90.6%) Rice (6-6) 33 Air Force (6-6) 14. Payout $1 Million per team.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Yankee Stadium, New York New York (54,251/39,098  73.1%) Syracuse University (7-6) 38 West Virginia University (7-6) 14. Another football game in a stadium designed for baseball. A travesty. Payout $1.8 million per team.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, AT&T Park San Francisco California (41,915/34,172  81.5%) Arizona State University (8-4) 62 US Naval Academy (7-5) 28. Ditto as far as destroying a beautiful baseball field. Interesting that the company that prospered due to its Mac and Cheese is the sponsor of the Fight Hunger Bowl. Do they do take out in Haiti? Payout $837,500 per team.

Valero Alamo Bowl, The Alamo Dome San Antonio Texas (72,000/65,277  90.6%) University of Texas (8-4) 31 Oregon State University #15 (8-3) 27 Payout $3,175,000 per team.

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Sun Devil Stadium Tempe Arizona (71,706/44,617 62.2%) Michigan State University (6-6) Texas Christian University (7-5) 16. Payout $3,350,000 per team.

Franklin American Mortgage Company Music City Bowl, LP Field Nashville Tennessee (67,700/55,801 82.4%) Vanderbilt University (8-4) North Carolina State University (7-5) 24 Payout 1,837,500 per team.

Hyundai Sun Bowl, Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso Texas, (51,500/47,922  93%) Georgia Tech University (6-7) 21 University of Southern California (7-5) 7. Payout $2 Million per team.

Auto Zone Liberty Bowl, Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis Tennessee (61,008/53,687 88%) Tulsa University (10-3) 31 Iowa State University (6-6) 17 Payout $1,437,000 per team.

Chick-fil-a Bowl, Georgia Dome Atlanta Georgia (71,228/68,027 95.5%) Clemson #14 (10-2) 25 LSU #9 (10-2) 24. Payout $3,967,000 ACC/ $2,932,500 SEC Formerly long known as the Peach Bowl.

Heart of Dallas Bowl Presented by Plains Capital Bank, Cotton Bowl Dallas Texas (92,100/ 48,313 52.4%) Oklahoma State University (7-5) 58 Perdue University (6-6) 14 Payout $1.1 million per team.

Tax Slayer.com Gator Bowl EverBank Field Jacksonville Florida (84,000/48,612  57.9%) $3.5 million per team. Northwestern University #20 (9-3) Mississippi State University (8-4) 20. Payout $3.5 million per team.

Outback Bowl, Raymond James Stadium Tampa Florida (65,908/54,527 82.7%) University of South Carolina #11 (10-2) University of Michigan #19 (8-4) 28 Payout $3.4 million per team.

Capital One Bowl, Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando Florida (65,438/59,712  91.2%) University of Georgia #6 (11-2) 45 University of Nebraska #23 (10-3) 31. Payout $4.550,000 per team

Rose Bowl Presented by Vizeo , the Rose Bowl Pasadena California (94,392/91,425 96.8%) University of Oregon #6 (11-2) 45 University of Wisconsin #9 (11-2) 38. Payout $17 million per team.

Discover Orange Bowl, Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens Florida (78,383/72,073 91.9%) Florida State University #13 (11-2) 31 Northern Illinois University #16 (12-1) 10. Payout $17 million per team.

Allstate Sugar Bowl, Mercedes Benz Super-Dome New Orleans Louisiana (73,208/54,178 74%) University of Louisville #22 (10-2) 33 University of Florida #4 (11-1) 23. Payout $17 million per team.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale Arizona (72,200/70,242  97.3%) University of Oregon #5 (11-1) 35 Kansas State University #7 (11-1) 17. Payout $17 million per team.

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, Cowboys Stadium Arlington Texas (80,000/expected sellout 85,000+ 106% or more) Texas A&M University #10 (10-2) 41 University of Oklahoma #12 (10-2) 13. Payout $3,625,000 per team.

There are 3 bowl games left before the end of the bowl season. The BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham Alabama which will pay the 6-6 University of Pittsburgh $900,000 and the 6-6  University of Mississippi $1,000,025 in a game which has never had more than 46,000 attendees in a stadium that seats 71,000. The GoDaddy.com Bowl in Birmingham Alabama which will pay the 9-3 Arkansas State University and the #25 ranked 11-2 Kent State University $750,000 each. Ladd Peebles Stadium seats 33,371 people and attendance has generally been in the 20,000-30,000 range.  The last game of the season is the BCS Championship Game which will be played at Sun Life Stadium between the University of #1 ranked University of Notre Dame and the #2 University of Alabama will play at Sun Life Stadium which with attendance being above the capacity of 78,383. The two teams will each be paid $18 million.

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That is enough for today. I actually started writing this on Thursday night and got far deeper into the subject than I thought possible. I do hope my numbers are accurate because my eyes did get blurry a few times and if there are any errors in the numbers you can attribute them to my lack of math skills and blurry eyesight.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 1, 2013 · 15:01

Another Year: Politics as Usual but Hope Still Abounds

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“We have to protect our phoney baloney jobs here, gentlemen! We must do something about this immediately! Immediately! Immediately! Harrumph! Harrumph! Harrumph!” Governor William J. LePetomane (Mel Brooks) in Blazing Saddles

Over the cliff we went last night and like clockwork our politicians finally got a partial deal on the Fiscal Cliff done. At least they did in the Senate. The House is another matter.

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The deal didn’t make anyone happy, and maybe that is a good thing. If the House passes it this afternoon the one thing it does promise is that these same politicians will be taking us off another cliff at the end of February since this deal simply pushes the hard decisions of budgetary cuts. Of course cuts have to be made as well and some will be painful. However, truth be told the vast majority of these politicians and their backers don’t really care about the deficit so long as their interests remain funded and their special interests satiated.

Unfortunately the bitter and divisive political climate will probably ensure that we will go through at least two months of partisan posturing and struggle, mostly funded by outside special interest groups, political action committees and supported by the lobbying of think tanks.

But in the end I think that far from displaying any moral courage that our elected officials will simply act like Governor LePetomane and o what they can to protect their jobs.

Another year of the same old stuff probably accentuated by diplomatic, military, economic crisis’ as well as natural or man-made disasters. Oh well, we have gotten through times like this before, sometimes not very well but we have muddled through. So I guess that we will again. Thankfully baseball spring training is now but a month and a half away. Until then I have plenty of Star Trek the Next Generation, Boston Legal, Seinfeld and Ken Burns: Baseball to watch. I also have plenty of books to keep me busy. I am currently reading T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom and I have a backlog of other books to get through.

I guess that I will also keep abreast of our political mess and world events. But I won’t let them overwhelm me or cause me to despair as I have too much in my life that is good and see too much in this world that is good and fair. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in Lord of the Rings:

“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places. But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.” 

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 29, 2012 · 23:32

Padre Steve’s Look Back at 2012: The Year that Was and Still Can Be if You Have Access to Time Travel

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“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
~T.S. Eliot~

Well my friends it is my time to look back at 2012, the year that should have been the end of the world had the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. However the Mayans couldn’t see that possibility and life goes on. With that in mind I decided to look back at the more that 300 articles that I have written since the the babe wrapped in Champagne soaked clothes and lying in Times Square gutter belched out his first words… “Is this live?” 

If we lived in the Star Trek World things could be different. We could find an alternate universe, find a time portal at the City on the Edge of Forever or if need be whip the Enterprise around the Sun to throw us back in time.

However we don’t have that ability yet and the year of our discontent began in January. It was a year filled with political carnage, war, man made and natural disasters including the BCS Championship, the athletic drama of human competition, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Much of the year was consumed by the American 2012 General Elections and Presidential primaries and campaigns. It was a year where we thought things might be different but sages like me looking back on the wisdom inscribed in my Bloom County Comic Strip Collection knew was not.

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Back to the Future in Iowa: A Bloom County Redux

It was not just politics as usual it was also media as usual something again that I predicted was the case by looking back at history.

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Doing the Sidestep: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and American Politics and Media

But as the campaign season snaked its eerie course through the hills, dales, bayous and valleys of our fair fruited plains the rest of the world experienced joy and pain, triumph and tragedy.

It began in this country as all things do when the University of Alabama, a fully accredited school of higher learning won the BCS College Football Championship game, something that the University of Phoenix will never do.

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Alabama wins the Boring Pseudo-National Championship Game…aka the BCS BS Championship Game

Not to be outdone the Italian Merchant Marine got into the act when Captain Francesco Schettino while joy riding in hie massive 115,000 ton Cruise Ship, the Costa Concordia  managed to hit a rock and sink the ship.

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Sinking the Costa Concordia: A Lesson in Hubris and Cowardice

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In February we saw the renewal of of love affair with television commercials as the Super Bowl XLVI: Commercials, Madonna and a Football Game as Madonna lip synced between the halves as the New York Football Giants defeated the New England non-Tea Party Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, pronounced “Exlivy” in the original Latin.

Politics continued in March with the indecisive “Super Tuesday” Primaries:

Super Tuesday Agony: Indecisive, Inconclusive and a Portent of Things to Come

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But thankfully for all baseball returned in April bringing some sense of normalcy back to a world gone mad. Opening day brought me back to an even keel and the fact that it coincided with Holy Week made it more special to me. Opening Day and Holy Week and being able to attend a home opener was nice. A Home Opener and thoughts on Rick, Ozzie and George

But even in the midst of this there was perfection, in fact perfection done several times in Major League Baseball one of those being when Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants pitched a perfect game on June 13th.

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The Mark of Cain: Matt Cain Pitches 22nd Perfect Game in MLB Historyand Johann Santana did the same for the otherwise hapless New York Mets 8020 Games and Finally….a Miracle for the Mets: Johan Santana Pitches First No-No in Mets Historyand “King Felix” pitched his first perfect game for the Mariners The Perfect King: Felix Hernandez Pitches Third Perfect Game of 2012while Phil Humber of the Tigers threw a perfect game against the Mariners Perfect! Phillip Humber Joins Legends as He Pitches Perfect Game against Mariners

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Baseball produced other surprises this year but probably none bigger than that of the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, underdog and underfunded teams that surprised everyone with their playoff runs and playoff appearances. September Surprises: O’s and A’s Shake up the American League

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The Major League Baseball playoffs were filled with amazing comeback stories but none more than that of the San Francisco Giants who played on the brink of elimination in both the NLDS ( Giants Sweep Red’s in the River City: On to NLCS ) and NLCS ( Raining on a Parade: Giants Make Giant Comeback to Win National League Pennant ) before sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. SWEEP! GIANTS WIN SERIES!

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But around the world and away from the rich green baseball diamonds there were other events. In April Kim Jong Un #1 the new dictator for life in North Korea shot a rocket in the air, and where it landed he knew not where Missile Impotence: Kim Jong Un’s Rocket Launch goes Splat even as an American preacher turned fake historian became the star of the Religious Right Faux Fact Factory: The Twisted World of Fake “Historian” and “Hero of the Faith” David Barton  Not to be outdone a Roman Catholic Bishop made his own bad history comparisons Bishop Jenky’s Obama and Hitler, Stalin, Bismarck and Clemenceau Comparison: Bad History, Bad Theology and Bad Politics

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Meanwhile in the background Europe and the European Union faced their own problems. Economic and political crisis engulfed the continent. Europe on the Edge: France and Greece Point to Dangerous Times Ahead

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The Middle East was not to be left behind in the the political tumult. Syria continued its post-Arab Spring plunge into the abyss of full out civil war. Fear and Loathing in Damascus eventually bringing the deployment of NATO Patriot Missiles in Turkey. NATO Patriots to Turkey as Syria Teeters on the AbyssIn the broader Middle East War threatened on almost every front The Gathering Storm: Shades of 1914 as War Threatens in the Middle East and the Arab Spring heated up again Arab Spring Fever: The Revolution Begins Anew in Egypt as Syria Begins to Melt Down

In June the United States saw something akin to what our European cousins were going through when my home town, Stockton California declared Bankruptcy. When City Dreams Become Nightmares: Stockton California to Declare Bankruptcy

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But Britain was able to celebrate as Queen Elizabeth marked her 75th year on the throne in June  The Diamond Jubilee: All Glory is Fleeting and hosting the XXX Olympic Summer Games in London in July and August

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British Humor: Bond, Bean, Poppins and The Queen Kick Off XXX Games , “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” Goodbye London: XXX Olympics End on Musical Note

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After a bitterly contested primary campaign Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney lost the General Election to President Obama. Obama Wins….Now the Real Work of Healing the Wounds Must Begin However that healing didn’t begin and as of today the nation stands at the brink of political and economic crisis that could harm everyone in this country and sink the world economy. Fiscal Cliff Notes: There are Always Results

Then there was the senseless violence of massed murders, some obviously motivated by some kind of insanity while others simply due to hatred of people different.

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The Hatred of “the Other”: White Supremacists, Neo-Nazis, Politics and the Oak Creek Massacre

Man of Murderous Mystery: James Egan Holmes and the Aurora Dark Knight Massacre

The worst of these was just a couple of weeks ago in Newtown Connecticut A Cry in Newtown: Anguish after a Massacre

The War in Afghanistan dragged on while no politicians really addressed the subject even though the toll in American lives passed the 2000 mark and casualties at the hands of our Afghan allies rose to unthinkable levels. Likewise the crisis in the rise of suicides among active duty and reserve troops as well as Veterans continued unabated.

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The Afghanistan Quagmire and the Escalation of “Green on Blue” Attacks

Why Aren’t Any Politicians Talking About the War and Why don’t Voters Care?

Padre Steve Remembers 9-11 and the Forgotten War

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Natural disasters were not absent from the news this year, the biggest as far as the news went was Hurricane Sandy which struck the week before the US Presidential Election and devastated large parts of New Jersey, New York, the Mid-Atlantic and New England. A Massive and Deadly “Freak” Storm: Sandy Hits the USA while in the forgotten country of Bangladesh a fire at a clothing factory claimed over 100 lives A Juxtaposition of Contradictions: Thanksgiving, Black Friday and the Bangladesh Clothing Factory Fire

There were deaths of noted people this year:

Disgraced former Penn State College Football Coach and legend Joe Paterno died in January barely 2 months after his final game.

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The Death of a Tarnished Legend: Joe Paterno dead at 85

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Singing great Whitney Houston died of what appeared to be an accidental overdose One Moment in Time: Rest in Peace Whitney Houston 1963-2012 

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Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon passed away in August One Giant Loss for Mankind: Neil Armstrong Dead at 82

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1972 Democratic Presidential nominee, war hero and Senator George McGovern died in October A Loss for the Country and the World: A War Hero and Prophet of Peace George McGovern Dead at 90

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Iconic General H Norman Schwarzkopf, victor of the First Gulf War died just this week The Loss of an Icon: General Norman Schwarzkopf dies at 79 

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Of course much more happened over the course of 2012 including the end of the world that didn’t happen The Failed Mayan End of the World Prediction and the Chicago Cubs 

There are other things that I might have or should have written about but looking back over the past year if I was a full time writer. However I don’t think that I did too bad for being just one person who has a day job and who is maintaining two residences in different states. Besides as much as I want I still don’t have access to Warp Drive, transporter beams or time travel.

So I write today hoping for a good end to 2012, a better 2013 and peace on earth.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 28, 2012 · 15:28

The Loss of an Icon: General Norman Schwarzkopf dies at 79

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Schwarzkopf and Powell, the Eisenhower and Marshall of their Era

“Do what is right, not what you think the high headquarters wants or what you think will make you look good.” 

Americans lost a military hero and an icon yesterday. General Norman Schwarzkopf died in Tampa at the age of 79 due to complications of pneumonia.

Schwarzkopf was one of the most brilliant commanders of his era, a multi-dimensional character who was to many of us bigger than life.

Schwarzkopf was the quintessential Army Brat, growing up on military bases in the United States as well as in diplomatic posts overseas. The son of General he graduated from West Point, was commissioned as an infantry officer, became a paratrooper at Fort Campbell Kentucky before being assigned to the Berlin Brigade, a post he left just prior to the erection of the Berlin Wall by the Soviets and the East Germans. He completed a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from USC and was assigned as an instructor at West Point.

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Schwarzkopf helping to carry a wounded South Vietnamese Paratrooper 

During that tour he volunteered to serve as an advisor with South Vietnamese paratroopers.  After that tour and the completion of his tour at West Point he was promote to Lieutenant Colonel and commanded the 1st Battalion 6th Infantry, 198th Brigade and was wounded while with his troops and who in the crisis kept his head and helped lead his troops, though seriously wounded out of the trap. He was known with affection by many soldiers as “the Bear,” a moniker that he appreciated much more than Desert Storm media nickname of “Stormin’ Norman.”

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Schwarzkopf with ARVN Paratroops

It was during his time in Vietnam that Schwarzkopf came to a realization about men at war and his own personality. “I prided myself on being unflappable even in the most chaotic of circumstances,…That guise lasted until Vietnam, where I realized that I was dealing with human lives and if one were lost, it could never be replaced. I quickly learned that there was nothing wrong with being emotional.”

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Following his time in Vietnam he remained in the Army to help be a part of its rebuilding as an All Volunteer force. By the late 1970s he had served as a Brigade commander in the 9th Infantry Division and Assistant Division Commander in the 8th Infantry Division before taking command of the 24th Infantry Division in late 1982. He was appointed the Deputy Commander for the Joint Task Force that invaded Grenada in 1983 and in 1988 was appointed Commander for the US Central Command.

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It was in this capacity that he took command of US and coalition troops gathering to respond to Saddam Hussain’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1981. His leaders and planning cells helped engineer a military campaign in conjunction with the admirable skill of President George H.W. Bush and his diplomats the successful expulsion and destruction of Saddam’s forces. While some criticize the decision not to continue the war and go on to Baghdad Schwarzkopf made a comment that those that invaded Iraq in 2003 might well have better heeded: had “we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like a dinosaur in the tar pit — we would still be there, and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of that occupation.”

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Schwarzkopf’s Briefings

After his retirement he was active in supporting cancer research programs, efforts to save the Grizzly Bear and was a military commentator and analyst for NBC. Although he supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003 he asked questions that few were asking. In early 2003 he told the Washington Post: “What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That’s a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan.”  Following the invasion and the beginning of the insurgency he became a critic of the operation. He was particularly critical of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for not anticipating the consequences of the invasion and for Rumsfeld’s criticism of the Army and the deployment of reserve component troops into urban combat who did not have the correct training or equipment for the job. He also made another observation that few noted about Rumsfeld and much of the Pentagon staff and the Bush Administration appointees in Iraq, in that they “showed a total lack of understanding of the culture that we were dealing with.” 

Schwarzkopf was an original and though he was loathe to admit it a hero. He also knew that life was bigger than the military and that one has to be more than the sum of their career. He once told the Associated Press: “I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I’m very proud of that… “But I’ve always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I’d like to think I’m a caring human being. … It’s nice to feel that you have a purpose.”

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Schwarzkopf with Iraqi Generals at Cease Fire

Though I never served under his command while in the Army I knew many friends that did and my early career was shaped and molded by men life him.  He was not a perfect commander, analysis of his command in the Gulf show that he did make some mistakes, the greatest and most long lasting being the concession to allow the defeated Iraqi forces the use of helicopters which they used with great effect against the Shi’a tribes near Basra that sought independence.

However, in my mind it was Schwarzkopf’s public leadership that helped inspire his troops and encourage the nation which until that point had not recovered from all of the effects of the Vietnam War.  His briefings inspired confidence in America and with our Allies. He was as much of a diplomat in figuring out how to employ over 700,000 troops, military forces of 32 nation coalition, including numerous large Arab countries in a successful war.

Schwarzkopf also understood the full gravity of war and its effects on nations and people. He said: “I hate war. Absolutely, I hate war…Good generalship is a realization that … you’ve got to try and figure out how to accomplish your mission with a minimum loss of human life.”

He is remembered well. General Colin Powell who served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs during Desert Storm remarked after Schwarzkopf’s death “His leadership not only inspired his troops, but also inspired the nation. He was a good friend of mine, a close buddy. I will miss him.” From his hospital bed former President George H W Bush issued a statement saying that Schwarzkopf: “epitomized the ‘duty, service, country’ creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises….More than that, he was a good and decent man — and a dear friend.”  President Barak Obama praised him saying that “He was an American original” and “From his decorated service in Vietnam to the historic liberation of Kuwait and his leadership of United States Central Command, General Schwarzkopf stood tall for the country and Army he loved…”

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Rest in Peace General, Rest in Peace,

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 27, 2012 · 15:54

Fiscal Cliff Notes: There are Always Results

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I am not a fan of heights. I find cliffs, bridges and tall buildings frightening. As a result unless there is like a high wall that I cannot be thrown over I stay far away for the edge. I think the correct term for this is ohnosplataphobia. This is the fear of what you say when you realize that you are going over the cliff and the last words that you say before you hear the sickening sound your body makes when it reaches the bottom. “Oh no”…splat.  There are several derivatives of this, there is “Our Father which art in…” splataphobia, the “Oh shit”…splataphobia, the “Did I remember to lock the car door…” splataphobia and my favorite the “Fuck it all you assholes….” splataphobia.

When we visited New York a few years back we went to the top of the Empire State Building and 30 Rock. Both gave us very good views of the New York skyline and no I did not come even close to looking down.

Sometimes I watch movies where there are scenes where a character dives off a cliff or some other really tall place. We were watching the 3D version of Men In Black 3 the other night and the scene where Will Smith has to dive from the top of the Chrysler Building was enough for me to hold onto the couch for dear life.

But now our nation is at what everyone is calling the “Fiscal Cliff” which if you ask me would be a terrifying horror movie if it wasn’t real. In fact in term for the phobia of people like me to the Fiscal Cliff is the “Fuck it all assholes…” splat. Of course the assholes are all the idiots in Congress who a year and a half ago passed a law on the extension of the nation’s debt ceiling in 2011 to keep the nation from defaulting on its debts. It was called the Budget Control Act of 2011 and basically it was caused when the Republicans  decided, believing that anyone that they ran against Obama in 2012 would win, forced a showdown on the usually innocuous measure of extending the debt limit. So to get the deal done all parties joined together to pass this bill, which is such bad legislation that it will screw everyone in the country if our elected leaders don’t do something about it.

Back when it was passed people pretty much figured that with a year and a half before the big mandatory across the board cuts, quaintly called “sequestration” which I think is similar to what happens when you castrate the cast of Sea Quest, except that it happens to all of us.

Since we are not a dictatorship and Mussolini is still dead and magically make things happen we have to depend on both houses of Congress and the President to figure this out. Now in the past we did these things. Politicians frequently compromised to get things done for the benefit of the country even if they did not get everything that they, or their supporters wanted and for the most part we were all better for it.

What I think needs to be done now is drastic. I am really pissed off that the House of Representatives, led by the Orangeman himself John “I need a smoke” Boehner didn’t even show up to work today. I mean that is really responsible. I think that all the members of Congress, House Members and Senators of all parties need to be forced at bayonet point into chambers and not allowed off of the House or Senate floor until they get a deal done. No office visits, no runs to the coffee shop, no ordering pizza for everyone, no conjugal visits and no smoke breaks.

Now I am not completely inhuman. They would get to go to the shitter, except that instead of going to one of the nice ones that our tax dollars pay for we would bring shitters to them. Yes it would break up the decorum of the place but we could put an inadequate number port-a-johns around the wall of the chambers and not empty them until the deal was done. This would be kind of like what happens when KBR-Halliburton contractors run Forward Operating Bases.

We should give them MREs to eat and all the Pabst Blue Ribbon and Busch beer needed to get the deal done even if that means that the port-a-johns overflow. The C-SPAN cameras should be going live the whole time Then maybe these assholes would do something, and if they don’t they should be allowed to leave, at the point of a bayonet. This may seem rather harsh and undemocratic but these men and women, of both parties are failing the country and seem more attuned to those that through their massive campaign contributions help keep them in office.

Will this happen? Probably not, but back when the Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed I knew that it would come down to this. I remembered and wrote about this on August 2nd of 2011 (The Deal is Done and are We? There are Always Results )and I quoted Thomas Jefferson’s words about the Missouri Compromise:

“but this momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. it is hushed indeed for the moment. but this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. a geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be obliterated; and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper.” 

God help us all.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 26, 2012 · 11:27

The Second Day of Christmas: My Wish for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All

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“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” Bob Hope…

Today is December 26th and for most people Christmas is now in the rearview mirror until about November, but it is the Second Day of Christmas, also known as the Feast of St Stephen. You see the 12 days of Christmas actually began yesterday, contrary to what the retailers and marketing folks tell us.

Today people will be out seeking bargains battling throngs of other for the best deals while others return gifts that do not not fit or were not to their liking.  Politicians will resume their endless campaigns using the rest of us as pawns for their respective agendas.  Leaders of nations, tribes, religions and political movements; be they terrorists, freedom fighters or liberators, (the terminology varies based on ones perspective) will continue to wage war on each other and the innocent will still be in the way and suffer accordingly. Bankers, financiers and those that profit off of the wars and politicians will continue to use their economic power to amass more wealth and power, exploit workers in Third World nations to maximize their profits and avoid meaningful health, safety and environmental protections. Good on them and if it happens to trickle down to a few of us all the better, right? We might get more bargains next Christmas.

Sometimes it seems easy to despair. It seems that the chilling verse from Henry Wordsworth Longfellow in his Civil War era song I heard the Bells on Christmas Day is as true as the day he penned in in 1863:

And in despair I bowed my head

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Yes, with Christmas behind us are already getting back to doing and thinking all the things that the Unholy Trinity of Preachers, Pundits and Politicians tell us.

But for one day we paused from the madness.  We heard those bells of Christmas day and for a moment there was relative peace on earth, then it was gone until next year, unless by some chance we heard, believed and decide to act upon the message of “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All.”

The good thing is that even if we forget, even if we get consumed in the troubles of the day that the message of this peace, the message heard in those bells, and in a following verse of Longfellow’s song are even more true:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

It could be if we simply decided to love one another like Bob Hope said. That sentiment seems so trite now days with all the bleating of those that make a living off of bad news and tragedy… love one another, peace on earth, goodwill toward all. But I believe like Wordsworth that things will indeed end with peace on earth good will to men. Like Ebenezer Scrooge after his wild ride with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

Peace on earth, good will to man. It’s not just for Christmas.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 21, 2012 · 17:13

The Failed Mayan End of the World Prediction and the Chicago Cubs

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The Mayan Calendar: Note the Disgusted Cubs Fan in the Center

I woke up this morning and what did I see? I saw a world that was still in existence. The sun was shining, and the dog yawning and I knew that it was going to be a good day for the world had not ended.

Not that I believed it would as the Chicago Cubs did not win the World Series. But there were believers who now that the end of the world has come and gone are left asking themselves why, kind of like the Jehovah’s Witnesses do every couple of decades, or those of more extreme millennial Christian viewpoints. Last year a preacher named Harold Camping was predicting that Jesus would come back on on May 21st 201, it was his second swing and a miss which led him to apologize. But he is not alone, there have been over 100 predictions of Jesus’ return since I have been alive that have fizzled as well as plenty by others ranging from New Agers to Death Cults.

So the world didn’t end but the shills that predicted it to certainly made some fast cash which since the world did not end they can now spend on themselves.

That being said I do have a theory that explains the whole metaphysical side of this.

I believe that the Mayan seer that carved out the great Mayan calendar was probably probably a very early, like before they existed Chicago Cubs fan.

From my cursory knowledge of the universe and end times prophecy it is the only explanation. I believe that the soul that worked his ass off carving this masterpiece did so based on the erroneous proposition, that the world was based on the 154 game baseball season of 1908, when the Cubs last won the World Series and that he did not foresee the 162 game season or the baseball strike of 1994-95.

Like any real seer he had no real ideal what he was seering about and to use a biblical term “saw through a glass darkly.” In other words he really didn’t know exactly what he was predicting and in his limited way did the best that he could. Instead he had to rely on interpreters that neither knew him or his world to understand and publicize his carvings.

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The End of the World in 1908

I do think that the Mayan calendar carver looked deep into the future and saw the end of the world. However the end of the world that he saw occurred on the afternoon of October 14th 1908 when the Cubs defeated the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series a point in history where the world as we knew it ended and a new world began. Yes he saw the end of the world in a sense, but not as those that profited off of his work have over the past few years.

I believe that when he looked into the future and he assumed that the universe was based on the 154 game season. He did not anticipate the 162 game season, which if he had he would have known that as we know it ended on October 14th 1908 when the Cubs defeated the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series.

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Yes my friends, even the end of the world does come down to baseball and in particular the Chicago Cubs.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 17, 2012 · 01:24

God and Gun Violence: Mike Huckabee and Bryan Fischer Mock the Gospel in Comments about the Newtown Massacre

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I am still trying to comprehend the massacre in Newtown Connecticut. It seems to be an evil committed by a young man who was quite possibly mentally ill. He used an arsenal of weapons kept by his mother, a woman who ensured that he was able to handle weapons, and who he killed before he went on his rampage. He may have been evil. He may have been mentally ill. He may very well have been both, but more importantly he was well trained in the use of firearms and very well armed.

This is not an article about gun control. However after seeing the effects of these types of weapons on civilians in this country and US military personnel and Iraqi civilians in Iraq I wonder about the wisdom of allowing just anyone to own a military grade assault weapon and enough ammunition to lay waste to a town. No, this is my criticism of fellow “Christian” ministers that attempt to reduce all the ills of our society and crimes of individuals to the lack of government enforcement of their religious views in public schools.

In the wake of the massacre certain religious-political leaders on the political right. Former Arkansas Governor and current Fox News commentator Mike Huckabee, who dropped out of the seminary that I graduated made this comment:

“We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools…Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?”

Not to be outdone failed former pastor Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said on his radio program:

“The question is going to come up, where was God? I though God cared about the little children. God protects the little children. Where was God when all this went down. Here’s the bottom line, God is not going to go where he is not wanted….God would say to us, ‘Hey, I’ll be glad to protect your children, but you’ve got to invite me back into your world first. I’m not going to go where I’m not wanted. I am a gentlemen.”

Personally I think that the comments by both men do a grave disservice to God and God’s people. Men like these and their political hack allies use such language to attempt to blame everyone but the culture of death that their worldview helps promote. A culture that makes it easier and cheaper to obtain a military grade assault weapon than health care, that glorifies a perplexing blend of vigilantism and militarism mixed with apocalyptic religious views is not healthy. It is not Christian. It is not Pro-life. Of course the people of Newtown will also have to deal with the cultists of radical hate, Westboro Baptist Church as those professional religious hate spewers attempt to protest the funerals of the victims.

The fact is that there is little linkage to what these men preach and the facts. If there was such a direct correlation one would think that the liberal-secular humanist countries of Western Europe would have astronomically high rates of gun violence. You would think that the same would be true of other countries as well. But the fact is that the United States has one of the highest gun violence and deaths per 100,000 of any country in the world. In fact our rates of death by guns dwarf those of any Western European countries, most Asian countries and are only exceeded by countries of Central America that are wracked by drug violence, much of which is enabled by the consumption of drugs by Americans, or countries wracked by full scale civil war. The fact is that in most instances you seldom see school shoots and mass murder on a scale seen in this country in Western Europe, most of Eastern Europe, Japan, Korea or other industrialized societies, most of which are far more secular than the United States.

If we want to look at history we can find that in almost any era, even in the days where American Christians dominated the political and moral landscape of the country that we were a country in love with guns and enamored with gun violence. The big difference now is the amount of firepower easily available to anyone that can afford it, or in the case of the latest maniac took from the mother that he murdered with her own weapons.

To be so crass as the seminary dropout turned political hack Huckabee and the professional hate monger Fischer to blame this on the lack of prayer in schools, or that “God will not go where he is not wanted” is nothing more than worst kind of religious abuse. It is shameful and it makes a mockery of the Gospel. God goes exactly where he is not wanted, and died on a Cross for it. In the midst of Good Friday and for that matter all Good Friday experiences, especially that horrible Friday in Newtown, God is there, not in power but in suffering, his name Emmanuel, “God with us.”

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 15, 2012 · 22:25

NATO Patriots to Turkey as Syria Teeters on the Abyss

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M-104 D Patriot Missile (Patriot PAC-3)

There are times when wars and conflicts grind on day after day seemingly without end and without any kind of resolution. There are other times that in the midst of such conflicts events occur that are not routine. In the case of the Syrian revolt and civil war this was such a week.

For months, actually nearing two years the conflict in Syria has simmered. With each passing week the rebels have gained ground and support while the regime of Bashir Al Assad has engaged in ever more repressive and violent measures to stay in power.

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German Luftwaffe Patriot System

This was a significant week in the Syrian crisis as three NATO member nations, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States announced the deployment of the latest version of the Patriot Surface to Air Missile to Turkey in response to Turkey’s request for NATO assistance. Additionally it was announced that the United States has confirmed that Syria has fired its SCUD missiles against its own people even as the Russian Foreign Minister announced that it was possible that the Assad regime would not survive the revolt. In addition it has been reported that the Syrian regime is readying its chemical weapons for possible use.

The Patriot units being sent to Turkey are six full batteries manned of advanced Patriot PAC-3 missiles manned by close to 1200 troops. The PAC-3 missile is currently only in service with the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. Other NATO forces use the PAC-2 or PAC-2/GEM versions.

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Syrian SCUD Missile and Launcher

The events of the past week point to possible escalation of the Syrian conflict which has for some time threatened to involve Syria’s ancestral rival Turkey. There is little love between the Turk and the Syrian Arab dating back to the times of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey has done a remarkable job in giving sanctuary to Syrians fleeing the violence and has had to deal with Syrian artillery attacks as well as the shoot down of a Turkish Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the Mediterranean.

With American and other NATO troops on the ground in Turkey the chances that a Syrian attack on Turkey could directly involve the US and NATO in another war grows.

Praying for Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 14, 2012 · 23:59

A Cry in Newtown: Anguish after a Massacre

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“A cry was heard in Ramah–weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.” Matthew 2:18

It came suddenly and terribly as at 9:30 AM on Friday the 14th of December a 20 year old Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton Connecticut. It was unexpected. The town is considered one of the safest if not the safest cities in the country and in it people, like people across the country were preparing to celebrate Christmas or the last two days of Chanukah. It is a festive time when people, especially children should feel safe, but on this day the people of Newtown and many in the United States discovered the fragility of life and reality of evil walking in the midst of them.

While the investigation is still ongoing it appears that he killed his mother at their home and then went to the school where according to initial reports had at one time either worked or volunteered. New reports indicate that she was not associated with the school. Clad in black and wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying  multiple weapons. Lanza used a .223 caliber Bushmaster semi-automatic carbine, the civilian version of the M-4 carbine used by the military, and had two semi-automatic pistols and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, Lanza entered the school, and opened fire in the office. Bt the time he was done he had killed 20 children and 6 adults before killing himself. We know almost nothing about him, his older brother 24 year old Ryan Lanza of Hoboken New Jersey was initially identified as the killer as Adam was carrying his identification. According to some reports Ryan told police that his brother had a history of mental illness. His parents had divorced in 2009 and people that knew the family described Adam as “troubled” and his mother “rigid.” Some reports on Saturday say that Nancy Lanza was a gun enthusiast who took her sons shooting.

When the news came this morning and the full terrible extent of the massacre became known I was stunned.  It was like being kicked in the stomach. Like most people I cannot fathom the absolute evil, or madness that brings a young man to kill people, but even more specifically young children in such a brutal manner.  Reports from one of the medical examiners conducting the autopsies indicated that each of the children were shot 5-7 times each. I have seen the results of such violence. I have seen the bodies of children who have been killed or maimed by bullets fired by violent people. I have been with the mothers and fathers of these children, in the Emergency Rooms and ICUs of major medical centers as well as in Iraq. To see the mutilated bodies of the children and the grief of the families in that moment of loss where no words can take away the grief is something that I live with as a Priest and Chaplain.

As the news continued I thought of my brother and sister in law. He is a school administrator and she a elementary school teacher in Stockton California, one of the most dangerous cities in the country. My mother had spent nearly two decades as a teacher’s aide in another elementary school in the same city, while my wife’s first job in college was as an aide with deaf children there. As I thought of them I thought of another school shooting. This one in Stockton in 1989. It occurred on a school playground where a young man named Patrick Edward Purdy took an automatic rifle and killed 5 children and wounded 30 more on the same school playground were I played. My brother and I had both attended that school, Cleveland Elementary School and it was the same school that my wife held her first job. So for me the news brought waves of emotion and concern, as it did for most people. It is a terrible event.

Unfortunately there is little that most of us can do now other than to pray for the victims and if we are in a place to do so be there to care for the families and friends directly affected by this tragedy.

There were pundits, preachers and politicians across the political spectrum today advocating their specific agendas either for or against gun control, as well as throwing God and school prayer into the debate. Somehow it seems to me that those that mourn deserve better than such immediate outbursts of even well meaning partisan vitriol. There is a time for debate and action. However, I wish that people would have the good sense to give the survivors a chance to mourn and everyone a chance to absorb the magnitude of today’s tragedy.

Tonight the people of Newtown and surrounding communities gathered in churches and synagogues to mourn, to pray and to grieve, to seek comfort in God and as individuals and as a community. There will be much more of that to do in the coming days, weeks and months, but for many tonight there will be no comfort, for like the figure of Rachel comfort, at least for now is not possible, for their children are dead.

I think that the scripture quoted by President Obama is the most fitting to end with. It is time to comfort those that mourn and bind up their wounds.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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