The SoapBoxers

It will be an All-American final in women’s volleyball

Last night I sent a text to a friend of mine asking if he was watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh-Jennings in volleyball. Although I do not consider myself a volleyball aficionado, I do live in Nebraska where college volleyball is a big deal. This was a great match to watch with some great individual plays and long rallies. My buddy was pleading with me to not tell him the results as he had been waiting all day to watch this. Don’t worry Jonsey…I would never spoil the result for you.

Last week I wrote an article about the Olympics being ruined (in my opinion) by spoilers and social media. I guess my good friends don’t always check up on the articles on Facebook 🙂

I have tried to remain “true to my word” and follow my earlier statements, not reviewing websites and not listening to ESPN to catch any updates. I have been burned twice last week, as while in my car the “sports updates” let the cat out of the bag” and I found myself scrambling to change the dial quickly before I heard more. Darn radio….

Of course there are always big stories for the Olympics. I am looking past the Phelps and Douglas storylines to things that I have been more intrigued with personally.

We tend to focus on the stories that impact the people from our country more than others. Here are some of the things that I have found interesting.

Boxing – for the first time ever the U.S. Men’s boxing team is shut out of winning any medals. That is correct. NONE – when you think of all the greats, like Leonard, Ali, etc., that is a statistic that carries some real meaning

USA Basketball for both the Men and Women are boat-racing the competition. I still feel for the people last week at Ladbroke’s that had Nigeria and the unders in Team USA’s 156-73 drubbing of the Nigerian team. The troubling part for me is the fact that there was a lot of controversy about running up the score. Fact is, (if you watched the game like I did) it was like video game basketball, everything went in the hoop, and the end of the bench saw extensive action. This was a case where one team was far superior and having an extra good day of it on the hardwood.

Jordan Jovtchev (Previous event)

Jordan Jovtchev, the 39-year-old Olympian, qualified for the finals in the still rings. Read that again….39 year old gymnast. The guy has more gray hairs than Captain Kangaroo, but yet he is competing in his 6th Olympics in one of the most grueling events in gymnastics. Dude can ring it!

Usain Bolt repeats in the 100 meters for the 2nd straight games. He is trying for the double in the 200 meters. No one has ever pulled off the double – double.

And let’s give it up for the Jamaican women sprinters. – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, became the third woman to successfully defend her Olympic title by running 10.75 in the 100 meters.

Maybe even more impressive is Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown. She won Bronze in the 100 meters in the 2008 and 2012 games but the 200 meters is where the real action is. She is trying to complete the trifecta of winning the 200 meters in 2004, 2008 and now the 2012 Olympics. She would become the first woman in history to win an individual athletics crown in three consecutive Olympic Games if she can pull it off.

Oscar Pistorius (Previous event)

Most impressive to me thus far is the story of Oscar Pistorius. Unless you are hiding in a closet you will know this is the South African double-amputee nicknamed the “Blade Runner,” after his “J” shaped carbon fiber prosthetic blades.

He qualified for the semifinals this past weekend after running a fabulous 45.44 in his heat race for the 400 meters.

The runner’s legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a bone defect. His debut Saturday made him the first Paralympian to compete Olympic Games. Unfortunately he did not make it to the final, but still he will serve as a true inspiration to many with disabilities around the world.

To me, that is what the Olympics is all about. Inspiring others through goodwill, sportsmanship, and athletic excellence.

We still have another week of Olympic stories, legends and lore will continue to play out.

I for one can’t wait.

Until next time. Stay classy Johannesburg, South Africa

Mitt Romney

Harry Reid is saying that Mitt Romney didn’t pay taxes in past years.  Romney has released his 2010 tax return and will release the 2011 return when it is ready – but that’s a far cry from the 12 years of tax returns that his father released when George Romney ran for president.

Republican leaders are calling Reid a liar, and the result of the entire exchange is that there’s as much focus on Mitt Romney’s taxes as there is on how to solve the current unemployment problems.

That begs the question:

What is Mitt Romney hiding?

There are several possibilities.  Some are far more likely than others.

• Romney is not hiding anything – The returns from the last ten years may be near carbon copies of 2010, and Romney may be refusing to release the earlier returns on principle alone.  In my opinion, this would be a bad decision, as the failure to release earlier returns gives the definite appearance that he is hiding something.
• Romney is committing tax fraud – It’s also possible that Romney is committing outright fraud, either by failing to report income or by taking illegal deductions.  However, unless Romney and his legal tax are complete morons, this seems a pretty remote possibility.
• Romney was born in Kenya – Romney may be paying millions in taxes to the Kenyan treasury
• Romney paid $0 tax in some years – This is actually quite possible.  I’m sure that Mitt’s stock portfolio has taken a hit in several recent years.  It’s quite possible that he sold stock to lock in capital losses that would offset other income. 
• Romney had very high income – On the flip side, if Romney had a bad feeling about the market, he may have sold stock to lock in gains.  Are there years where Romney had $20, $50, or $100 million in income?  It’s definitely possible.  it’s even possible that he locked in huge gains as the market was plummeting.

Something to keep in mind is that a capital gain is often the result of many years or accumulation.  For the sake of argument, let’s say that Romney had a $100 million capital gain in 2008. The stocks in his portfolio may have appreciated over a span of 20 or 30 years, and a rate of a few million per years.  Sure, that’s a lot of money, but it’s not as if Romney opened an eTrade account one day and reaped a $100 profit the next.  The huge gain may have been recognized in 2008, but it was building up gradually over the years.

Likewise, if Romney locked in some capital gains in an effort to drop his income to $0, these losses may also have been building up for years or decades.

If you care about how much money politicians make, you really should be focusing on the average income over a long span of time, rather than cherry picking a handful of years.  If someone earns $50 million for each of five consecutive years, this is a higher total income that a person who has $0 in income the first four years and $150 million in the fifth year – even though the $150 million catches they eye.

Honestly, as long as Romney fairly reported income and deductions and paid the proper amount in taxes, I really don’t care how much he paid in taxes.  His effective rate is fairly low due to the fact that most of his earnings are capital gains.  That’s not Romney’s fault – that’s simply the way the tax code is written.

When writing about politics, realize up front that you will seldom change the mind or convictions of anyone who reads your work. Your effort will either reinforce previously held or be dismissed as irrelevant. Political writing is truly a self gratifying activity. You may find that you have a wide readership that can be very rewarding. In this case, your ability to write well will determine your ability to grow that readership and possibly establish yourself as a respectable (or detested) commentator.

Most long political works are been praised and panned based almost only on the political stance of the author. Books written by political leaders have the most divisive effect. They are the one type of book that can be found in the discount resale book stores.

The purpose of political writing is to establish your point of view as the correct path to follow for the greater population. Sometimes it is to effect near term elections, sometimes to effect legislation through public opinion. Sometimes it is to explain away ill effects of actions taken or events that have occurred.

These books are not new. There have been plenty of recent works that could be discussed for accuracy, writing style, and purpose. Few of these works will be remembered in 20 years. The real political writings of worth emerge with time. Few people remember Barry Goldwater’s book Conscience of a Conservative or John F. Kennedy’s Why England Slept. They are both politically motivated books, both were written or re-released during a campaign.

But what about longer lasting political books? These require some historical grandness to stand the test of time. A modern example is Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. Would it have been famous if he had never risen to power? There is also Das Kapital by Karl Marx. If the Russian revolution had failed, would anyone outside academia have cared? If we look further back, Julius Caesar wrote The Conquest of Gaul to justify disobeying orders and expanding a war for his own benefit.

You will notice that the books that remain are from writers who followed through having major historical impact. These examples are books that have survived because of brutal regimes, but that is not always the case.  The Federalist Papers were written to define the Untied States during its infancy.

Regardless of your motive, writing about politics can raise a lot of attention. The better you can express your ideas, the stronger those reactions can be. If you consistently write and can defend your opinions, you do have a small chance of swaying someone else.
 

Do Christians Have Civil Rights?

Civil rights is a phrase whose origin can be traced back to the early 1700’s. The concept of individual civil rights can be traced back to England’s bill of rights in the 1600’s. Civil rights concept is almost perfectly interchangeable with constitutional rights. Constitutional rights typically refer to all of a US citizen’s rights protected by the US Constitution. Civil rights include constitutional rights while specifically referring to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and plethora of anti-discrimination laws. Civil rights are enforceable laws protecting rights and privileges of individuals in a group.

Do Christians have civil rights? I think we can all agree that Christians are a group. I think we can all agree the First Amendment prevents limiting the free exercise of religion. Constitutional rights certainly protect Christians and other religions. This still leaves it a little murky as to whether Christians has civil rights. When we look at the most famous civil rights legislation in the 20th century, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, we have our answer. This civil rights act (there were plenty more before this one) protects “all individuals”. In addition Title II, III, IV, and most of the eleven titles place religion as a protected class right along with race. Christians and other religious people without a doubt have as many civil rights as other groups.

What is religious discrimination? Religious discrimination is the unfavorable treatment or different treatment of an individual because of the individual’s religious beliefs. This includes sincerely held religious and moral beliefs. For example, if a Christian owned a business and was denied zoning, building permit or anything else that was needed to participate in the economy solely based on their religious belief is discrimination. It is a violation of their civil rights.

Let us consider other groups in the same situation. Imagine Mayor Thomas Manino, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, alderman Joe Mareno, or city councilwoman Christine Quinn opposed an establishment of business based solely on their race! Instead imagine those same people opposing female business owners. It would be a crime and equally so if discrimination was based on religion.

If you’re still not convinced then consider President Obama’s position on civil rights as stated on his webpage.

“…He knows that our country grows stronger when all Americans have access to opportunity and are able to participate fully in our economy…” [emphasis added]

The religious discrimination in our nation seems to steadily increase. A couple of high profile incidents come to mind. In 2008 McCain – Palin lost the election yet Gov. Palin’s church was set on fire. In 2010 the Cross in the Mohave Desert dedicated to WWII vets was stolen. Now most recently officials in Chicago, Boston, and NY have intimidated and threatened Chick-Fil-A because of the religious and moral beliefs of the franchise owners. President Obama should be appalled. Attorney General Holder should be investigating. The Civil Rights Commission should launch a parallel investigation.

The franchise owners and private owners of Chick-Fil-A restaurants have had their civil rights violated. You won’t find the Rainbow Coalition protesting. The Black Panthers don’t have a $10k bounty on anyone. What is going on is a peaceful expression of support for free speech and civil rights by being a patron of the Chick-Fil-A. This is powerful movement that any civil rights leader could envy. I’m feeling like chicken.

Clara Schumann

It takes a good author to get me to read a book on a topic that doesn’t particularly interest me.  Louise Marley accomplishes this feat with her book The Brahms Deception.  While my eclectic music collection does contain a handful of album of classical music, it’s usually an afterthought – and when I do listen to classical, it’s generally Tchaikovsky.  Marley got me to read – and enjoy – a book featuring Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann.  For a reason that eludes me, Amazon thought I’d like the book and recommended it to me.  The price – $2.99 – was right, and I like the summary, so I bought the book.

The plot

The basic plot is that a company has found a way to transport people into the past … sort of.  Participants can hear and see what is going on in a particular place and time in the past, but they can’t interact with the people.  It’s a great way do to academic research on a topic – researchers can get information from directly observing the subject of their interest.

Then, during one such voyage, something completely unexpected happens – and it threatens to alter the fragile timeline.  Kristian North is called in to try to help resolve the situation.  Kristian quickly find the problem – but solving it is a far more complex endeavor.

I love time travel stories that are well done, so this element convinced me to buy the book.

Characters

Kristian is the main character in the book.  He’s definitely a flawed character, but it’s still really easy to cheer for him.  He tries to do what he feels is right, even if others may disagree with him.

Many of the other modern day characters are females.  In general, Kristian’s life is largely influenced by the women in his life – his sister, his former lover, the barmaid at the place where he plays piano, and others.  It’s notable how few men make any sort of impression in his life.

Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann are also a big part of the book.  I hadn’t even heard or Schumann before I read The Brahms Deception, and I knew very little about Brahms.  I ended up hitting Wikipedia a few times as I read through the book, seeking bits of information about Brahms and Schumann.  Not only does this book educate, but it entertains.

Other

The characters moves around through a few different geographic locations.  A considerable amount of the action occurs in Italy.  Some of it in 1861 Italy and some of it in current day Italy.  Considerable attention is given to the sights and sounds of 1861 Italy.  There’s also more focus on the food than you typically see in a book.

While music is a focal point of the book, it doesn’t completely overwhelm the plot.  You can enjoy this book even if you don’t have a considerable amount of musical knowledge – as was my case.

There are also a few instances of foreign language being used – some German and some Italian.  Most of this can be figured out based on the context.

Verdict

I loved the book and immediately wished there was a sequel.  I tried to figure out the twists and turns, but more often than not I guessed wrong.  I really like the way that Marley handled many of the aspects of time travel, including the always troubling issue of how a change in the past ripples forward into the future.

You could say this is a suspense novel, a romance novel, or a novel about music.  Whichever you enjoy, there’s a good chance you’ll like The Brahms Deception.

My only complaint about the Olympics is that they happen once every 4 years (or technically once every two years if you figure the alternating winter and summer games….but who is counting)

The games are well underway now in London, with many medals already handed out.

NBC has 7 different stations on my television availability to view differing venues from the Olympics. These dwindle throughout the day, as the events on these stations by and large are shown live as they happen. NBC in an attempt to maximize viewers and advertising revenue does however hold back not showing some of the events and keeps those aside for the telecast every night on the “main” network channel.

The time difference depending on what part of the United States you live is a minimum of 5 hours. That means by the time you are seeing any of the events in prime time television, the athletes are already asleep for the night. (Assuming they are not partying it up in the Olympic Village that is)

Many question in this age of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, if this is necessary. The athletes competing in the events posting pictures and sharing results immediately as things happen. Most all of the major web bases news sites – USA Today, Yahoo, Fox Sports, etc. all report the action as it happens, meaning anyone looking at their computer at work throughout the day is already going to know the outcome before they get home for the evening.

While many may like to know the results as they occur… I am too old school. I remember the excitement of watching the 1980 Men’s Hockey Team, seeing Bruce Jenner finish the mile and Nadia landing a perfect ten on our family’s less than perfect grainy console television set back in 1976.

These events were long done and over, but unless you had someone calling you from the event, or had a real fast carrier pigeon, you didn’t know any better until you watched in on television that night.

For that reason, I take a 17 day hiatus from any of the internet sites with the sole purpose of keeping it surprise for me and my family as we watch the coverage after dinner each evening.

I prefer to yell at the TV as if I am part of the action. I swear those swimmers can hear me in the crowd.

Speaking of yelling….

Was Jordyn Wieber robbed of a spot in the all-around finals?

One of the best interviews I have seen on Olympic coverage is Bela Karolyi being very outspoken about the fact that only two gymnasts are allowed from each country to qualify for the gymnastic all around finals. 24 gymnasts qualify to the all- around but only two are allowed from country. This on the heels of reigning world all- around champion Jordyn Weiber being knocked out by two of her other teammates,

“What a travesty!” Karolyi said in an interview. “How someone can afford to cut one of the best gymnasts?”

“But that is not the reason. How can it be a reason?” Karolyi, who coached teams from Romania and the U.S. to Olympic gold, said of the rule. “To eliminate somebody because a teammate beat her. Still among the first four gymnasts in the world, and still you’re eliminated?”

Bob Costas did his best to keep Karolyi from leaping out of his chair, but Bela is entertaining regardless if you agree with him or not.

Costas used the line to compare the “two per country” limit as not allowing the third best team in the ACC to make the NCCA tournament.

Maybe a bit of a stretch in terms of an analogy, but it is about the best I have heard.

Bottom line every Olympic Games has winners and losers. Great stories and colossal disappointments. Out of adversity many good things happen.

The remaining days of the 30th Olympiad are sure to bring us that if nothing else.

Until Next Time, Stay classy Jordyn Wieber!!!

Last time we discussed knowing your audience based primarily on age and concentrated on interactions within relationships and complexity of story. For this installment, the focus will be on action and the various groups (in general) that will appreciate levels and types of action.

When writing an action scene, try to picture it within your own mind. How would it play out on the movie screen? Is it graphic, or suspenseful? Will your character (and audience) be exhausted or relieved at the end of the action? Is this the end of some element of your story, perhaps even the life of a character? As with relationships and complex story lines, action is extremely age and gender specific.

Teenage boys will (in general) look for the impossible situation where survival is not likely (i.e. zombies and vampires, not the sparkly ones). Survival is not required and the action has to be hard hitting and continuous. Older men will gravitate towards action that requires the protection of innocents such as war or spy themes. Here survival of the character is optional, as long as the greater good is protected. Older women seem to love the mystery, whether a detective story or complex romance where the solution brings happy endings. For young readers, the action can be fast, but usually rather tame. These stories will generally have to show that following rules (listening to parents for example) saves the day.

If we take just a singe type of scene to dissect as an example the presentation can be demonstrated relatively clearly. The setting is D-Day of World War II. The main characters are Canadian soldiers who have just landed on the continent.

For young readers, the focus must be on why they are there. Members of the crew can be shown to be hurt, but death and the destructive power of the weapons will have to be downplayed. For the teenage boys, the death and destruction is exactly what is emphasized. For older men, the higher purpose is the goal. For this, the inner thought of the men, remembering their families, fear and camaraderie are the details that must be included. For older women, the aftermath and return will be the most important part. Reuniting with the loved ones who inspired the great and heroic deeds will be the high point of the story for them.

This is only one example. If the scene is a chase, even the type of chase will have to be carefully chosen. For younger readers, the vehicle of choice would be bicycles. For teenager, it could be high speed car, airplanes or even a foot race if it involves the undead. Older readers will want more realism. There will have to be a non-superhero reason for escape.

As we get ready for our children to go back to school, we are presented with great opportunities to write. That is of course after we complete the clean up of having the kids home all summer.

Many of your know that I’ve been working on a serial killer novel for a while now (and it’s very far from finished).  Until this point, I’ve shared the writing with almost nobody.  However, today I’ll tease you with the prologue for my novel, Casting Stones.

Prologue: Practice

When she regained consciousness this time, she was blinded by the early morning sun spilling in through the open door. She quickly closed her eyes to block out the light. Her brain slowly processed the information. The door was open.

She scrambled to her feet, her sneakers struggling to find purchase on the straw-covered floor. When she felt her foot finally touch down on the grass, she knew that freedom was within her grasp. Run like the wind, she told herself. She was quickly twenty yards away from the barn, then fifty yards … racing toward her freedom.

Her heart sank when she saw him angling toward her from the left. She forced herself to channel her adrenaline and pushed forward with a burst of speed. She was still twenty yards ahead of him when she reached the fence. The woven wire buckled slightly under her weight as she scrambled over the fence. As her feet hit the ground, she felt his arm encircle her chest. He pulled her roughly back over the fence, and the barbed wire that topped the fence sliced into her.

He straddled her as he yanked the knife from the sheath. She felt the blade prick her skin as he sliced open her dress. She saw droplets of blood on the knife as he held it to her throat with his right hand while groping her breast with his free hand. His sweat dropped onto her face as she struggled for her freedom. No! No! This can’t be happening to me.

His left hand released her breast and moved under her dress. She felt him yank down her panties, and she was filled with disgust as he entered her.

The blade cut into her neck with each movement, but she fought through the pain. She would not submit to this monster – ever. Her attacker responded to her struggles angrily, slapping her roughly across the face. He moved his face within inches of hers and snarled. He sounded more like an animal than a man.

She smashed her head into his and heard him grunt from the force of the impact. She wrenched the knife from his hands and plunged it blindly into his body. He howled as the blade punctured his flesh. She left him on the ground, grasping for the handle of the knife.

As she raced for her freedom a second time, he struggled to his feet and pulled the gun from his waist band. A single shot brought the exercise to a halt.

He hefted her body back toward the burial trench. He threw her next to the others and covered her corpse with fresh, black earth.

Another failure. Once again unable to restrain and kill with the knife. Forced once again to use the impersonal weapon to prevent an escape. He needed more practice. He would spend a few days recovering from his wounds and would then troll the highway again, seeking another hitchhiker – a disposable victim to serve as his sparring partner. The game would soon begin, and Je’Mien needed to hone his skills.

As we get closer now to convention time, when the Presidential candidates will officially start the race for the White House it is time to look at the landscape that is actually going to determine the outcome of the election. That landscape is the Electoral College, where 270 is the number you need to achieve to win the election. So who has the best shot to win the election? There are certainly at this point in time the certain locked up states for each side, so you can tell from there what ground needs to be made up to get to the magical number.

Let’s take a look at The Rombot’s locked up states and how many electors they hold for him. You might as well chalk up Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana and West Virginia for the Republican nominee. So that is 186 electors in those 22 states that Mitt has in the bag right now.

Now let’s take a look at Obama’s locked up vote. You can count on Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, D.C. for the Democratic nominee at this time. This accounts for 227 electors for Obama in these 18 states and one Federal District that is onboard with the reelection bid.

So that brings us to what is going to determine the election and all the coverage we will continue to see from now until election day, the battleground states. Now some of what is left is more likely to go to one candidate or the other but they are close enough at this point to describe them as where the battle will be waged in this election. There is one state in particular that four electors are with the Republicans already. That state is Nebraska, one of two states that divided their electors by congressional districts. So right now figuring that in Romney’s current number is 190. So going into the battleground states Romney needs to compile at least 80 more electors to win the election. The President on the other hand needs just 43 more electors to get a second term.

So lets look At this battleground with the electoral votes for each state in parentheses. We have the one elector available in Nebraska that I mentioned already, then we have Nevada (6), Colorado (9), Iowa (6), Ohio (18), Pennsylvania (20), New Hampshire (4), Virginia (13), North Carolina (15) and Florida (29). Obviously with only 43 electors needed to win, the President has the easiest road to get to the victory here, but lets break it down state by state with the current polling info from Real Clear Politics.

Nevada: RCP Average 5/22-7/18 Obama 48.8 Romney 44.3
Colorado RCP Average 6/6-7/13 Obama 46.5 Romney 43.5
Iowa: RCP Average 5/22-7/15 Obama 45.8 Romney 44.5
Ohio: RCP Average 6/19-7/18 Obama 47.3 Romney 43.0
Pennsylvania: RCP Average 6/19-7/23 Obama 47.3 Romney 41.5
New Hampshire: RCP Average 6/20-7/15 Obama 47.3 Romney 44.3
Virginia: RCP Average 6/25-7/17 Obama 46.0 Romney 44.8
North Carolina: RCP Average 6/24-7/18 Romney 47.0 Obama 46.6
Florida: RCP Average 6/19-7/19 Obama 45.8 Romney 44.7

I could not find any real polling data on the Nebraska 2nd District electoral vote up for grabs, but if I were to make a guess it is pretty much a complete toss up. So as you see in the current polling landscape of the battleground, Obama leads in all but one state. The leads are stronger in others but at this point with needing only 43 electoral votes to get the win it is a nice situation to be in. So lets break things down from how I think things will go on the battleground states. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Romney’s pretty much complete lack of support from the latino community not named Marco Rubio that Nevada and its six electors will go to Obama. So that makes it 233-190. Then we have Colorado, I think Obama will win Colorado but it is close, so for argument’s sake here I will put that as well as Iowa, which I also feel Obama will squeak out a win to Romney. That makes the updated tally 233-205. Now it is considered a battleground, but I do not think it really will be, I say chalk up Pennsylvania for Obama. That makes it 253-205.

Now I think Obama will take Virginia and Romney will take North Carolina when all is said and done, so that makes it 266-220. That means Obama is a mere four electors away from wrapping up his reelection bid. You take into consideration that my own previous express sentiments that Obama will win in Colorado and Iowa and he would already have the election wrapped up here with three more battle states still left here to discuss. We will play on for the sake of things with the current count being 266-220. In the end I feel Florida goes to Romney 266-249. So at this point we have Ohio and New Hampshire left and winning just New Hampshire would give Obama the win I think Obama wins there and will win in Ohio as well. I think Obama will take the NE 2nd so one more vote there. So there you have it in my scenario here it is a pretty nice path right now to reelection for President Obama on the Electoral College landscape with a 289-249 victory.

There are also many ways that this things comes down to a tie, and they could be very likely. The outcome of that could bring you President Romney and Vice President Biden. Let’s pray for the best though that it does not need to come down to that, but in my humble opinion that will be the only way that Mittens will become President is that if the House has to appoint him. We will see how things go there still are a few more months left of this seemingly never ending campaign.

Mike McQueary  (red hair) was the quarterback the last tiem the Nittany Lions won a game.

There has been plenty of chatter about the punishment the NCAA meted out on Penn State.  Did it go too far – or not far enough?  There are strong opinions on both sides.  I won’t get into that discussion in this article (although the topic is likely to be raised in the comments section) but will focus on what the actual penalties were.

$60 million fine – The money will be used to fund programs that helps victims of child sexual abuse.  If there was going to be a financial aspect to the penalty, then this is a logical use of the money.

Four year post-season ban – Penn State will not be allowed to participate in a bowl game for the next four years.  After the NCAA’s announcement, the Big 10 conference announced two related sanctions from the conference.  First, Penn State would not be allowed to participate in the conference title game (the winner of that game gets a berth to a BCS game).  Additionally, Penn State will not receive a share of Big 10 bowl revenue for the next four years.  The conference is taking that money and giving it to charities.

Allowing players to transfer freely – The NCAA will allow any current Penn State player or incoming freshman to transfer to another school and become immediately eligible.  In almost all cases, a student-athlete must sit out a year before becoming eligible at a new school.  This wasn’t announced as a penalty, but realistically it is, as it will likely cause many players to bolt.

Schools that take a Penn State “refugee” are allowed to exceed the scholarship cap (85) in 2012 as long as they reduce 2013 scholarships by the same number.  In other words, if you take 2 Penn State players to boost total scholarships to 87, you can only have 83 scholarships in 2013.  No doubt some top schools will cherry pick the best talent, but this could also be a chance for a mid-level school to make a one year splash.  A team could add some good depth by taking on 10 of Penn State’s players, for example.  They’d be taking the field with 95 scholarship players in 2012, whereas their opponents would have 85.  Sure, they’d be forced to cut back to 75 in 2013, but it might be worth it.  Instead of being 6-6 both years, maybe the team could go 9-3 and get a bowl win this year, and then fall back to 4-8 next year.

Reduction in scholarships – For the 2013-2016 seasons, Penn State will not being to exceed 65 total scholarships (85 is standard), nor can they offer more than 15 new scholarships (25 is standard).  Penn State will probably wish that this penalty started in 2012, as the number of defections may leave them below this number.  My advice to Penn State this year – if you have extra scholarships left due to people leaving the program, reward some of the senior walk-ons with a scholarship.

Vacated wins – All wins between 1998 and 2011 are vacated.  This is a total of 112 wins, 111 of which were Joe Paterno’s wins.  Paterno is no longer the all-time winningest coach.

Penn State is also on five years probation and must work with the NCAA on corrective actives to ensure that this never happens again.