Common Knowledge

Fairness through retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act

"Even when laws are written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered."

--Aristotle--

"The strictest laws often causes the most serious wrong."

--Cicero--

"It is the spirit and not the form of the law that keeps justice alive."

--Earl Warren--

 

A couple of cases that challenged the issue of whether the Fair Sentencing Act ("FSA") applies to defendants in crack cases where their actions occurred prior to the FSA being passed but were not sentenced until after the FSA went into effect were granted cert to the United States Supreme Court last week.  The interesting development in those cases is that the Solicitor General for the United States may agree with the defense in both cases and argue that the FSA applies retroactively to cases where the defendant was not sentenced until after it went into effect.

This issue may not seem like a "big deal" to the average person but it makes a huge difference to many defendants and families of defendants in federal cases involving the sell or possession of crack cocaine. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines punished defendants involved in crack cocaine cases much harsher than defendants involved in powder cocaine cases without any real policy justification.  Due to the unjust and unfair distinction between the cases the current Presidential Administration and Congress passed the FSA in 2010 to address much (but not all) of the unfair disparities.  However, the FSA did not contain an obvious and explicit retroactive clause, hence the reason for the cases around the country and the need for the United States Supreme Court to step in.

As a criminal defense attorney I must admit that I am biased and I am hoping for a ruling from the United States Supreme that the FSA is retroactive.  I guess only time will tell.

 

Substance Abuse

"It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen."

--Oliver Wendell Holmes--

"Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo."

--H.G. Wells--

"The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge."

--Elbert Hubbard--

 

Last week much was said and written about the comments made by Dr. Cornell West about President Obama.  Blogs were written taking sides, the incident was discussed on WVON, and Dr. West was interviewed by Roland Martin on Washington Watch.  The blogs, radio show, and Sunday program all did great jobs of discussing whether Dr. West's comments were based on sincerity or jealousy and whether the African-American community protects President Obama even when he is wrong.  No one discussed the pimp game.

I want to be very clear that I do not think that is what Dr. West did when he made his comments about President Obama.  While I do not agree with Dr. West equating the interests of the entire African-American community with what the liberal, wealthy, academia thinks will help the poor and working class, I respect his courage and integrity to hold President Obama accountable just like any other politician.  

I have to be blunt.  There are pimps among us.  We have too many people with microphones, book deals, and media programs that claim to speak for Black America, but in reality they speak for their own egos, pocket books, personal power and privilege.  They hold on to their power by being the judge of who is the friend or foe of the African-American community.  

These pimps are not always easy to spot.  They sell the lie that the African-American community thinks with one mind and is only interested in a couple of issues.  They are long on rhetoric and short on accomplishments that actually help the poor or working class.  They are quick to claim to be the champion of the poor even though as their wealth increase the plight of the poor remains the same.  They routinely sell the poor and/or desperate the lie that the government can solve all their problems and all they need to do is vote the way the pimps want.  If these pimps have regular access to the Obama Administration then they will support the President.  If they do not have regular access then they will attack him, but in either case they will rarely do so on real, succinct, tangible policy decisions.

In order to have real debates that can lead to solutions then we as a community must require more substance from our leaders.  It is not acceptable for an alleged leader to just name problems without having a suggestion or suggestions about solutions.  And the only way to solve any problem is to break it down into manageable, succinct, and measurable issues.  If a leader can not or will not do that then we should tune him/her out.

The incident between Dr. West and President Obama will be forgotten very soon but the problem of the pimps that continue to clog the dialogue in our community with slogans instead of substance will remain until more people are willing to call them out and then tune them out.

The King Has No Clothes

"In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which one of those is the more annoying."

--Bertrand Russell--

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of overcoming it."

--Helen Keller--

"Character can not be developed in ease and quiet.  Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition be inspired, and success be achieved."

--Helen Keller--

I applaud Dan Gilbert.  His letter that he wrote on Thursday after LeBron James had announced he was going to Miami was a much needed breath of fresh honesty.  Was his letter honest?  Yes.  Was his letter polished?  No.  Was it politically correct?  No.  Did he take the "high road?"  No.  He took the direct, honest, and true road (with the exception of his championship guarantee).  Dan Gilbert spoke as a human being. Dan Gilbert spoke as a fan.  And he does not and should never apologize to LeBron James for his honesty.

The sports media has been quick to make excuses for LeBron James.  Yes.  Lebron James has every right to go where ever he wants.  Yes.  James has every right to announce it in any manner that he wants.  But, just because you have a right to do something does not mean you should do it.  LeBron James owed the city of Cleveland the common courtesy of letting them know he was not coming back before he announced his decision on national television.  He didn't just change teams, he abandoned his hometown (at least that is how it looks since he never gave the city a proper explanation and farewell). 

The media has been quick to point out that athletes have to look out for their careers, their families, and themselves.  This is true.  The media has been quick to point out that it is a business and that as fans we should understand.  It is also true that it is a business.  The media (and some athletes) don't get it.  We don't have to understand.  It is our time, money, and emotions.  If we feel that an athlete (especially an alleged hometown hero) turned his back on the hometown team then we also have every right to be angry.  We also have every right to burn his jersey (as long as no laws are broken), we also have every right to boo him, we also have every right to cheer against him, and we also have every right to never buy anything that has his name attached to it.

I am not a Cavaliers fan.  I am a Bulls fan.  I do not live in Cleveland.  I live in Chicago.  Yet I do feel for Cleveland.  According to the media, Cleveland stands to lose a significant amount of revenue due to Lebron's decision to go to Miami.  Well, I think everyone who feel that LeBron was wrong in how he handled his announcement should help out Cleveland.  We should all make an effort to go to Cleveland and eat at a restaurant, drink at a bar, or buy a sports item (of course of your own team) in Cleveland so that the people of Cleveland do not have to suffer because of Lebron's decision to abandon them.  I will be the first to commit to going to Cleveland for a weekend.  Will you join me?  What do you say America?  Let's show the world that the King no longer exist!  

If you decide to join me here are a few places you might want to check out:

http://caddyshacklounge.com/caddyshacklounge/

http://www.bobgolics.com/

http://www.divebarcleveland.com/

Time For Action

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions.  All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make the better."

 --Ralph Waldo Emerson--

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure ... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

--Theodore Roosevelt--

Okay.  I am going to go in a different direction than what I usually write about on my blog.  I am going to write about sports.  Sorry.  I can't help it.  I am a second generation Bulls fan and like most Bulls fans I am completely on board with the dream of landing either Dwyane Wade or LeBron James (although I would prefer Wade).  Conventional wisdoms says that the key to getting either one is by landing Chris Bosh.  I think the opposite may be true if the only way to get Bosh is through a sign and trade deal.

If the number one factor for Wade or James is the desire to win then the allure of the Bulls is Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.   The Bulls were a good defensive team last year in large part due to Noah's physical play and shot blocking ability.  That is why the Bulls are better off signing Carlos Boozer than they would be if they worked out a deal to get Chris Bosh, because getting Bosh means saying good bye to Noah and possible Taj Gibson.  I know.  I know.  Most of you out there are probably thinking that I am either ignorant, stupid, or both.  While that may very well be true, there is a method to my apparent madness.

Seven beats five.  Five beats three.  You need a complete team to win.  Noah is not a star but he fits the needs of the Bulls.  Most teams that win championships have three characteristics.  They usually have a superstar/star combo, they have a good supporting cast, and they play good team defense. The Bulls have the star, the beginnings of a good supporting cast, and they have a good defense.  Noah is a big part of that defense.  Now they just need the superstar.  They do not need to subtract in order to add.  Bosh is a good defensive player but he is not interested in playing physical.  Although basketball is not hockey, every team that fancies themselves as a championship contender will have to be prepared to play physical during the playoffs.  I am not sure Bosh is equipped for that job.  Noah is ready, willing and able.

Ultimately, it would be a big gamble to go after Boozer instead of pursuing a trade to get Bosh, but it could be worth it.  It is not about whether Bosh is a better power forward than Boozer because in almost every category such as health, age, length, scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, etc. Bosh is better than Boozer (although I could argue that Boozer is a more physical player with more recent playoff experience).  The real question is whether Bosh and two minimum salary players at the center and backup power forward positions are better than Boozer, Noah, and maybe Gibson.  I would say no ( like Niemi).  The Bulls may be able to get Boozer at a good enough price to go after a good shooting guard that can come off of the bench.  

There is an old saying that "if you want the fruit off of a tree, you must go out on a limb."  Maybe it is time that the Bulls really do something daring and who knows what kind of fruit it might bring.  I am particularly fond of the NBA Championship flavor myself. 

Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exist or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy."

  -- Ernest Benn--

"He only employs his passion who can make no use for his reason."

  -- Cicero--

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed.  Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

  --Arthur Schopenhauer--

I believe in the power of prayer so I pray that one day we as a nation will no longer go for the ookie-doke from politicians and start working together as a community/nation/people to honestly and effectively address problems.  Some days I am filled with hope that I will live long enough to see that day and then there are days when I am dragged back to reality.  Last week was one of those days.  Last week when I heard about the Arizona Immigration Law, SB 1070, I was reminded that a honest, productive, intelligent debate geared toward formulating a real, viable, and tangible solution to a national problem becomes impossible when passion sparked by fear is injected into the country's psyche.

It is obvious by now that I am not a big fan of SB 1070.  I am not a fan of a law that in my opinion ignores the root cause of a problem and instead tries to chip away at one of the symptoms.  SB 1070 will not make people stop coming to our country or even Arizona illegally.  All it will do is subject some law abiding citizens to unnecessary harassment, stir up a bunch of commotion, and eventually be struck down by the United States Supreme Court.  That is not what I would call a solution.  That is what I would call a distraction.

I am sick and tired of politicians, pundits, and the press dancing around the obvious.  Some people fear illegal immigrants, but businesses make money by exploiting them.  The most effective way to stop a group of people that risk injury, prosecution, rape, and even death to come to this country in hopes of getting a job that paid better than what they had back home is to eliminate the reason why they come here.  Yes.  It is true that illegal immigration is a problem that we as a nation must address.  Yes.  It is also true that people that come here illegally are breaking the law.  What I do not understand is why so many people who claim to want to solve the problem always ignore the biggest cause of this problem . . . people who employ illegal immigrants.  The basic truth is that if we spent more of our resources as a nation enforcing the immigration laws against those people, we would see a huge decrease in illegal immigration in a short period of time because we will have removed one of the biggest reasons for people to come here.

People come here from all parts of the world (If you do not believe me look at the illegal entry cases in Chicago.  It is a true rainbow coalition).  Many come here for a better opportunity, which usually means a job.  If the government makes it too dangerous (i.e. also put people in jail who employ illegal immigrants) and expensive (fines, forfeiture, etc) to employers who hire illegal immigrant labor then many of the people will stop coming.  I am no fool.  I understand there are other reasons why people come here illegally and those issues must be addressed differently.  However, the great bulk of the people that come here illegally do so because of monetary reasons.  Once those reasons are removed many may no longer come here.  I want to be clear.  I am not condoning or making excuses for people that break the law by coming to this country illegally.  I just want an immigration law to have a legitimate chance of doing what it is supposed to do and that is stop or at least severely slow down illegal immigration instead of just racially profiling people.

I understand that it is much easier to just look at the illegal immigrant with contempt and ignore the business or individual that makes money off of the Illegal immigrant.  The bottom line is that either we do what comes easy by letting ourselves be washed up in a wave of emotion and blinded to what is likely to solve our problem or we can do what is hard by walking away from fear and taking an objective, reasoned, and measured looked at a real solution.  Sometimes the hardest road leads to the best solution.

Stop. Look and Listen.

"There are people who, instead of listening to what is being said to them, they are already listening to what they are going to say themselves."

--Albert Guinon--

"To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation."

--Francois de La Rochefoucauld--

"It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen."

--Oliver Wendell Holmes--

The incident on July 16, 2009, that involved Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has set off a flash fire in the media. It has all the ingredients for a sexy, popular, attention grabbing story.  It involves the next best subject to sex for instant ratings; it involves race!  The problem is that all it has done is created two passionately opposed camps that are more interested in shouting at one another than using this incident as a "learning moment" as Professor Gates has suggested.  The main reason such a moment will not occur is both sides are doing a lot off yelling, no listening, and therefore no learning.  

Had anyone involved been listening they would realize that what is called for is not an egghead discussion of race over high tea, a latte, or dinner with wine.  What is needed is an independent process to make certain that all allegations of police misconduct will be properly investigated and, if necessary, prosecuted swiftly, effectively, and fairly.  This will make certain that both citizens and police will be required to adhere to the law.

Police brutality towards African-Americans, particularly African-American males have been around for over a century.  That is nothing new.  The politics of race have been around since African-American men received the vote in the late 1860s.  Racial tension has been around since at least the mid twentieth century.  And race baiting opportunist have been around since the turn of the twentieth century.  Why is this important?  All of these historical realities make every story of police misconduct or police brutality into a powder keg with a quick short fuse and no chance of disarming it before it explodes.  

Police misconduct/brutality stories usually creates two sides.  On one side there are liberals and minorities that have real life experience with police officers that they feel acted unprofessionally or violently toward them.  Then there is the other side that automatically comes to the defense of the police without knowing what really happened.  Both groups are quick to embrace victim hood and rush to judgment before either group has all of the facts and neither side is willing to listen to the concerns of the other.  In addition, both sides are more than happy to make the smallest, slightest, and most minute incident into a grand example of why the other is the problem not realizing that they themselves are also a part of the problem.  That is why the media asked President Obama about an incident that he did not witness nor was within his jurisdiction since it was a local matter.

Many of these type of incidents could be effectively resolved by making sure there is a credible investigative body of the police.  This organization or body must make the protection of the citizens and due process and fairness to the accused its top priority.  That is what is usually missing from most cities, villages, and towns around the country.  Most cities, villages, and towns have an internal affairs or police review boards but many of those organizations seem to be more concerned with maintaining the status quo than maintaining a neutral, unbiased, and credible organization.  That is why every time there is a story about allegations of racial profiling and/or police misconduct it turns into a powder keg because all of the old frustrations from both sides come boiling up to the surface with no positive, effective, and productive method to direct the energy.

The bottom line is either the police or Professor Gates is wrong.  Either the police officers in the July 16, 2009, incident acted completely professionally and within their authority, Professor Gates is telling the truth and the police overstepped their authority, or what happened on July 16, 2009 was something in between the two stories.  None of us will ever know for certain because we were not there.  That is why an unbiased, credible investigative agency is needed in situations like this because regardless of what happened there will be people in the liberal and African-American communities that will assume the police were in the wrong without taking the time to find out all the facts.  And regardless of what happened there will be fellow police officers and people who automatically support the police who will assume that Professor Gates was the instigator of the incident without taking the time to find out all of the facts. The media will not provide most of the facts so an investigation by a credible independent agency is needed to try to find out what really happened so it can be properly addressed.

If there is an investigation by a credible government agency that is more concerned with the truth than substantiating old frustrations then there can be a "learning moment."  Government can not remove hatred, bigotry, or small mindedness from people, but it can set and maintain standards of behavior in public by its citizens and its police.  If there is not an investigation by a credible agency or there is no credible agency to investigate the incident then this small incident will be just another step towards an explosion that is due to occur because no one is willing to stop, look, listen and hopefully learn.

To Err is Human and to Forgive is Divine

"The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

--Mahatma Gandhi--

"The hatred you are carrying is a live coal in your heart - far more damaging to yourself than them."

--Lawana Blackwell--

"The stupid never forgive or forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."

--Thomas Szasz--

Michael Vick will be a free man on Monday.  His home incarceration will be officially over and he will be allowed to re-enter society.  That is when the drama may begin.  

Michael Vick may have many talents that the general public do not know about.  However, he has one talent that many people do know about and that is a talent for playing football.  His actions after he was drafted and given millions of dollars by the Atlanta Falcons have cost him a small fortune, his freedom, and possibly his career.  The actions I am referring to was his involvement in a dog fighting ring that lead to his federal indictment, guilty plea, and incarceration.  Michael Vick has paid a lot for his involvement in dog fighting.  He should have paid a lot because there is no excuse or reason for him to have been involved in something as heartless and barbaric as dog fighting.  Yet, the bottom line is that Michael Vick will either demonstrate through his actions that he is worthy of a second chance or he will show that he is not.  In any case, he should be given an opportunity to show which category he belongs.

There are probably several teams that are willing to give Michael Vick an opportunity to show that he is still a very good football player, which means Michael Vick still has a chance to salvage his name, reputation, and financial future.  When and if he is given that opportunity, he must work hard to show he is still a NFL star and he also must work hard to educate people (especially young men) about the barbarity of dog fighting and how it is not worth the potential costs.  The only thing that may stand in his way is whether organizations like PETA will stage protests of team(s) that may give him a chance.   The ironic thing about that is that any protests by PETA or any other animal rights organization or activist may pose more of a risk for that organization(s) than it will for Michael Vick.  

Any animal rights organization or activist that tries to keep Michael Vick out of the NFL runs the risk of being marginalized.  PETA has to be careful with how they react to Michael Vick.   If PETA or people that are members of PETA or people that are members of an animal rights organization decide to make it their mission to keep Michael Vick out of the NFL by staging protests of any team that gives him a chance they may find that that strategy will back fire on them.  Their protests could swing public opinion in favor of Michael Vick and against them.  They could appear to be a bunch of liberals that are so out of touch with the rest of the world that they value the life of an animal above a human's.  Their best course of action is to wait and see how Michael Vick conducts himself after Monday. 

PETA has a golden opportunity to bring animal abuse (i.e. dog fighting) to the forefront of the American collective consciousness.  They can use the story of Michael Vick as a cautionary tale to let men and women (especially young men) know that dog fighting is a cruel act that is beneath any human being and that the price anyone will pay for engaging in such a cruel act is not worth it.  They can also use the Michael Vick news story to enlighten America know about the dangers to animals and humans that dog fighting presents and how often it occurs in neighborhoods throughout the country.  But most of all PETA can present itself to the rest of America as a reasonable, thoughtful, compassionate organization that is comprised of intelligent, caring, and reasonable people instead of coming off as mean, spiteful, and spoiled zealots that is hell bent on revenge and care more about animals than humans.

It may be in PETA's, other animal rights organizations', and animals rights activists' best interest to forgive Michael Vick but that does not mean that they must forget.

Trust is Always Earned and Never Just Given

"The most erroneous stories are those we think we know the best - and therefore never scrutinize or question."

--Stephen Jay Gould--

"Anyone who goes through life trusting people without making sure that they are worthy of trust is a fool."

--Elizabeth Aston--

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

--Abraham Lincoln--

There are few things scarier to experience than to run into a thug late at night that has a problem with you and is hell bent on starting a fight or some sort of physical confrontation.  It is even more scary when that thug is accompanied by one or more of his "boys" that are ready, willing, and able to back the thug up no matter what happens.  And it is even scarier when that thug is wearing a gun and a badge.  Unfortunately, that situation happens from time to time and the main reason it does continue to happen is that we allow it.

I want to be crystal clear.  The purpose of this article is not to trash the overwhelming number of good, decent, and fair police officers that do their jobs everyday without incident.  Nor is the purpose of this article to hang a police officer that may have made a mistake due to a momentary lapse of judgment.  It is to bring the root issue out in the open and to deal with it.

A few weeks ago two cases where police officers who were accused of abusing their authority or flat out just breaking the law the officers were either acquitted or were found guilty but given no jail time. In the one case, the officers were acquitted because the judge (it was a bench trial so there was no jury) took the police officers' word over the several alleged victims in the case.  In the other case, the judge decided that the justice would not be best served by sending the police officer to prison since it was his first felony conviction.

I am not going to go on record saying that either case was decided wrong or sentenced incorrectly. Unlike many pundits with a political agenda or a philosophical bias, I accept the decision of the court -- especially since there is nothing that I know about the case that would indicate the court got it wrong. However, both cases are illustrative of the root cause of police brutality in Cook County.  It is blind, wishful, or negligent trust.

As a criminal defense attorney, I have tried my share of cases where the evidence against my client was essentially the police officer's word against my client's word.  The prosecutor, judge, and jury typically assume that the police have no reason to lie so they take his/her word as gospel truth.  I am not naive or deluded enough to assert that every client I have represented told me the truth or was innocent.  However, I have seen on more than one occasion cases that rested solely on the word of a police officer that was marginal at best and a bad piece of fiction at worst.  Yet, in those rare cases the prosecutor still went ahead with the case just as vehemently as they did in cases where the evidence was not so suspect.  And what is even more disturbing, members of the jury and judges here in Cook County tend to be like the prosecutors in that they tend to believe whatever the police say.

This is a problem because it sets police officers and the public up for failure.  Police officers are human, which means that most will fall into the old saying that "power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely."  We should grant police officers power with limits, instead of limitless power until they mess with the politically connected or economically advantaged.  

We as a society want rough, tough, no nonsense people to be police officers.  We want men and women that are not afraid or hesitant to "mix it up" if that is what is required.  However, we want the police to only behave that way towards criminals.  When we interact with the police we want sound judgment, restraint, and patience.  Well, there is another saying that "virtue is a product of habit."

What happens when the police act human -- meaning that they (like the vast majority of human beings) have biases against certain groups of people or they have a bad day and take it out on someone or what if they can not tell the guilty from the innocent?  What happens then?  Bad things happen.  Therefore instead of them being addressed right away when they may be small incidents or minor inconveniences they go unaddressed and covered up because we as citizens want to place blind, wishful, or negligent trust in the police.  This leads the police officer, who is only human, to believe that he/she can do anything and get away with it so by the time they are held accountable it is due to a big, nasty, and potentially tragic incident.

The African-American community is no different than any other community.  We would like to turn a blind eye to police brutality.  We would like to place blind, wishful, and negligent trust in every police officer we meet.  But we do not get to live in a fantasy world because to many of us, our family members, or our friends have experienced a police officer that has abused his/her power and created an unjust, unfair, or uncomfortable situation.

However, there is a solution to the problem.  It is called accountability.  We must require or mayors, city council members, aldermen, the governor, etc. to create and/or maintain an independent and credible agency that watches the police and holds them accountable.  We also must not allow politicians and judges to hide behind the myth that the only way to demonstrate their commitment to law and order is to be an unconditional crony of the Fraternal Order of the Police or to always side with the police regardless of the situation -- just as we must not allow politicians, preacher politicians, and racial opportunists to always use the police as scape goats in order to get a couple of seconds of air time on TV.

It is time to take the blinders off.  Trust is always earned.  It is never given.  It is about time we the people started thinking for ourselves and required our public servants (i.e. the police and politicians) to maintain an environment of trust through accountability.

That is my view.  What is yours?  Submit your response to avgbrother@yahoo.com.  I will post the best response to this article on Thursday evening.  Or you can post a comment.

New Day

"So many new ideas are at first strange and horrible, though ultimately valuable that a very heavy responsibility rests upon those who would prevent their dissemination."

--J.B.S. Haldane--

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas.  I am frightened of the old ones."

--John Cage--

"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."

--Oliver Wendell Holmes--

It is over due for me to say this.  We in the African-American community are suffering.  We are not just suffering from a lack of economic opportunities.  We are not just suffering from the effects of discrimination.  We are not just suffering from black on black crime or the destruction of drug addiction or high drop out rates or teenage pregnancy.  We are suffering from the lack of voices other than the usual suspects, which ultimately means we are suffering from a lack of new and different ideas.

We, like much of America, have many issues that we need to deal with in our community.  There may be many different ways of dealing with those issues, but we may never get to those suggestions as long as many new and valuable voices in our community are muted and ignored.  Although we currently live in the age of the internet where anyone and everyone can add their "two cents," there are way to few voices being heard in our community.  This is a problem because it has lead to stagnation in our community. That must end.

It is for this reason that this blog will attempt to raise different, and maybe at times controversial view points of old and new issues.  I am not promising that every view raised in this blog is the only view worth listening to or that the views that will be raised will be right or wrong or at times completely novel, but it will be honest.  I am not making any promises, except a genuine goal to confront topics with a desire to change things for the better.  Let's see what happens . . . 

Look Before You Leap

"It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated?"

--Alec Bourne--

"There is a big difference between being educated as opposed to being certified.  One is a lifelong pursuit.  The other is done at graduation."

--Bart E. Beals--

There has been a lot of debate since the high school basketball player announced that he was going to leave school before his senior year in order to play basketball in Europe.  The debate has raged about whether an athlete should leave high school before his senior year in order to pursue the money and play ball in Europe.  One side asserts that it makes the most sense to go after the money while it is available. The other side asserts that the athlete loses something by not getting his education.  Both sides miss the point.  The real question is what is education?  And is a diploma or degree always the result of getting an education?

In my opinion an education is a lifelong experience that is the result of an endless hunger for understanding about oneself, one's surroundings, and one's existence.  The only tools that are required to help satisfy that hunger is an intellectual curiosity and the skill of critical thinking.  There is a big difference between someone that knows how to fix a couple of problems on a car and a mechanic.  The one person can only fix what they have seen or done before because he/she does not really know how a car works.  The mechanic can fix most problems regardless of whether he/she has seen it before because they know how a car works and can use the skill of critical thinking to diagnose then solve the problem. Since critical thinking is a skill it is like wine.  It gets better with time and practice.

In my opinion the answer to the second question is no.  You do not need a degree to be educated.  You may need a degree to prove you are educated.  A diploma or degree is just a certification that a person has completed a designated number of courses depending on the discipline.  It does not guarantee that the person is intellectually curious or a critical thinker.  It does not certify that the person is a problem solver.  So . . . what does this have to do with whether an athlete should leave high school before his senior year to turn pro?  The answer is in the analysis.

Typically I do not oppose athletes choosing to postpone or even forgo college if a rare opportunity to become a first round draft choice and possibly a star professional athlete presents itself.  Since education is a lifelong process and you do not need a diploma or degree to be educated, I think there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of that rare opportunity when it presents itself.  However, that is not the end of the analysis.  In the case of an American Athlete leaving his country and culture and losing his/her college eligibility to go to a different country with a different language and culture, I think the risks greatly outweigh the rewards so it is not a good idea.

If an athlete is already good enough before he even graduates from high school to play in Europe then that athlete has the potential to be something very special in the pros here in the United States where he can make even more money.  He would only need to use the next two years developing his athletic skills before receiving a very large initial payday with many more to come.  The bottom line is why risk his big bank for a little bank?

Special talents come along once and a while.  Look at Michael, LeBron, and Kobe.  The athlete would be better suited working on his sports skills and his image so that once he does turn pro he can win on the field of play and in court of public appeal.  The former will get the athlete into the hall of fame.  The latter will allow the athlete to make money long after his playing days are over.  Once the athlete is done playing for an owner he could have the net worth to become an owner.  The real question is why settle for a few millions when there is the possibility to make nearly half a billion?  You don't need a degree in math to know which one is better.