Posse Incitatus

Memorial Day 2012

My obsession this spring has been the spacious grounds of the recently upgraded ranch.  Weeding, mowing, pest eradication and minor landscaping have dominated my thoughts and intruded into my dreams.  Between that and a hectic work schedule, the onset of Memorial Day came almost as a surprise.  Tempus fugit and all that.

Taking a quiet moment to contemplate Memorial Day this year, I cannot help but feel a sense of loss and bitterness.  Long-time readers know that we have taken it as our honored duty to keep the memory alive of one of our friends - Capt. Sean Grimes - who fell in Iraq seven years ago this spring.

Looking at the disorderly way in which our forces were withdrawn - and the similar sense of urgency in leaving Afghanistan to its fate - it is hard not be bitter about what our military has sacrificed and what our leaders have thrown away.

War is an extension of policy by other means, as Clausewitz pointed out almost 200 years ago, and a rational person can admit that there are times when there is no other recourse than to its dreadful call.

But what if that policy is hopelessly muddled, willfully blind, or cynically driven?

Afghanistan and Iraq were both wars of necessity.  Afghanistan had sheltered our enemies and on Sept. 11, 2001, we saw just how deadly they could be.  Iraq was an ongoing strategic threat, tying down our forces and constantly attacking our aircraft (though without much effect).  Both required a military solution.

Both went well at first, but then bogged down into a foggy counterinsurgency.  We gained the upper hand and did so for comparatively little loss of life - far less than Korea, or Vietnam.  But then a new administration came in, one devoid of strategic vision and looking only to the next opinion poll.  And so we are in retreat.

What did the sacrifice of Sean and his comrades achieve?  What is his legacy?  They gave up all the tomorrows - for what?

A free Iraq?  A modern Afghanistan?

Both teeter on the brink.  And then there is Libya, which has spawned at least one civil war (in Mali) and may itself break up.

At this point, we cannot know.  I believe that Sean died in the opening round - the overture, if you will - of the clash of civilizations between the West and radical Islam.  His actions as a healer proved to those who would listen that there is a better way than one of Islamofascist hate - a path of forgiveness and compassion, of hope and eventual prosperity.

In a larger sense, his sacrifice transcends the political.  Like all of our fallen warriors, he was called to serve, and died for his nation.  It is the ultimate expression of selflessness.  Whatever happens in Iraq, he did not die in vain so long as we honor him, and uphold Freedom.

Remembering Our Fallen Heroes

Let us remember to take a few moments today to give thanks to the courageous men and women of valor who have sacrificed and served their country for over two centuries. Suffering — both physical and psychological — and death have been the fate of tens of thousands of selfless service members, and we must never forget. Their family members, too, have suffered with the loss of their loved ones, and in many sad cases, by living with the consequences of irreparable physical and psychological harm done to their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers.

To young people, "Freedom isn't Free" might sound like a platitude or cliche. But all one has to do is be around for a few years and witness the barbarity and horrors occurring daily in our world, and to absorb some of history's painful lessons, to recognize how accurate that statement is.

The fact is, oppression, tyranny and dictatorship in one form or another have been FAR more common in world history than freedom, individual rights, and respect for the dignity of life.

Yet in our often dysfunctional society, it's the athletes, rock stars and Hollywood types who get far more attention and adulation those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.

A poem that has made the rounds on the Internet points out that soldiers gave us freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, not journalists and organizers. And, irony of irony, soldiers who fought under the flag, and whose coffins were draped by the flag, have given protesters the freedom to burn that very same flag. It's shameful that some choose to do just that, but a testament to the character of those who serve and sacrifice for country. 

It stands to reason that the vast majority of our fallen war heroes would appreciate A) Our acknowledgement and appreciation of their suffering and sacrifice; and B) Our determination not to squander the hard-won freedoms we too often take for granted.

In addition to thanking a vet, visiting a military cemetery or contributing toward veterans organizations such as the Disabled American Veterans, one way we can honor those who gave their lives for our freedom is to make the most of that freedom, and do so with a grateful heart.

And the next time you start feeling sorry for yourself, or think you're having a rough day, just pause for a moment to ponder the anguish, horror and bloodshed of D-Day. That ought to put things in perspective.

 

 

 

Memories of a Deceased Uncle

My extended family just lost a peach of a man. My late father's 87-year-old brother, whose birth name was Marcel but who everyone called "Marcy," succumbed to lung cancer on May 17.

He was one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet. Although his political tendencies were decidedly to the left of my father and me, he never exhibited one iota of smug condescension or anger, like so many liberals do these days.

We didn't see our cousins, Uncle Marcy or his wife Aunt Dorothy very often, because they moved out to New Jersey when I was in first grade. But one memory that stands out to this day, nearly 40 years later, is the week we spent visiting our cousins, aunt and uncle in South Orange, New Jersey back in late May 1973, when I was 13 and my brother was 10. 

My dad's sister, her husband and two of their kids drove to our house from their home in suburban Chicago and spent the night, and the next morning we took off for New Jersey. It's possible to make the drive from central Michigan in one day, but it would be an extremely long day.  And with young kids in the station wagon, it would be daunting.

So we spent the night in a central Pennsylvania town and finished the journey the next morning. Coming from the flatlands of central Michigan, traveling through the mountains of Pennsylvania was a real treat. Being in a different region of the country, seeing cousins for the first time, and knowing we would get to visit New York City in a few days were oh, so exciting.

We got out of going to school for four days (Tuesday through Friday after Memorial Day), with our teachers agreeing to assign us homework for the days we would be gone.  But that wasn't the best part. The best part was the great people, including my Uncle Marcy and Aunt Dorothy and their children, with whom we spent time.

As a longtime lover of music, I find that certain tunes bring back powerful memories of chapters of my life. I hear a tune and it often reminds me of not just a year, but a season of that year.

"Daniel" by Elton John was a hit in May 1973. So were "You are the Sunshine of my Life" by Stevie Wonder and "My Love," one of Paul McCartney's better ballads. The Canadian group Skylark had its only hit, a ballad called "Wildflower" with a slow, psychedelic guitar solo.  And a couple of classic rock instrumentals were all over the airwaves in spring 1973: "Frankenstein" by the Edgar Winter Group, and "Hocus Pocus" by Focus (I believe they were a one-hit wonder group from somewhere in the hinterlands of western Europe).

I can still remember my cousins and I imitating that "Hocus Pocus" chorus: "La-de-da, la-de-da, la-de-da, la-de-da, aaaaaaaaaa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah... then jamming on the "air guitar..." And for some reason, we came up with some strange lyrics for "Daniel," incorporating our newly befriended relatives. For "Daniel," we facetiously sang, "I can see Marcy waving goodbye...Oh, I miss Marcy...Oh, I miss him so much..."

My cousins, John and Paul (NO, they didn't have brothers named George and Ringo), had to go to school those four days between Memorial Day and the next weekend. But it was tough for them, because each night when we were supposed to be going to sleep, we would be horsing around, cracking jokes and shooting the bull until....oh, who knows, midnight or 1 a.m.?  However late it was, it was too late for 11- and 13-year-olds who have to get up at 7 a.m.

To this day, my brother who will turn 50 in July and I like to imitate one of the older sisters of John and Paul waking them up early in the morning with her New Jersey accent: "Jawn and Pawul, it's seven o'clawak".... And Paul's response: "I'm FRIGGIN' TIRED!"

I guess this was a "you had to be there" type of memory.  But it's something my brother and I crack up about to this day. A year from now will be the 40th anniversary. One of the highlights of that trip was walking through Manhattan and heading up to the Empire State Building's open-air 86th floor observatory and the 102nd floor, enclosed observatory, which is pretty small when you get right down to it.

At a young age, I came to appreciate my Uncle Marcy's wry demeanor. He smoked a pipe, and seemed to delight in cracking subtle jokes with his dry sense of humor and gentle digs at others (no malice EVER intended!). We wished our uptight dad were that easy-going. (For what it's worth, we appreciate our dad a LOT more now than we did then.)

Little did I know that 15 years later I would get a job in New Jersey and spend some great weekends with my aunt, uncle and some of my cousins at their beautiful home at Highland Lakes. It was located on a lake in Sussex County near the New York border, a beautiful wooded and mountainous area. New Jersey, despite often enduring harsh and derisive criticism as a toxic waste dump, actaully has plenty of natural beauty and many pleasant cities with awesome architecture and true character.

The years roll on and we're all getting older. My brother and I now have worries we never considered back in 1973. But we also have wonderful memories. When I think of my late Uncle Marcy and his friendly presence, it's memories of loved ones, the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, great tunes on the radio, the tree-lined streets and Victorian homes of South Orange, NJ, and the bustling streets of Manhattan.

Memories are like a person's life: varied, multi-faceted, both good and bad, rich and vibrant. I am convinced that replaying and indulging in those memories is part of the process of accepting the death of a loved one.

 

The Lockstep Democrats

For all their talk about diversity (i.e., skin color and/or sexual preference), the Democrats are amazingly uniform. You won't see a pro life speaker at a Democrat convention; you are not likely to hear any Democrat pols advocate for vouchers or charter schools in front of their fellow Dems (mustn't upset the sacred teachers unions); and whenever one of their own gets in deep doo-doo for transgressions that would get a Republican run out of town on a rail, the Dems will faithfully circle the wagons and demonize the critics (see Bill Clinton, 1998).

This past weekend Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a sharp guy and pretty darned reasonable as Democrats go, spoke out against the demonization of Bain Capital and venture capitalists during his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."  Could it be because Newark is home to many financial firms that engage in investment banking? That probably has a lot to do with it, but it's also possible Booker is just not a malleable soldier of progressivism, willing to march to the beat of his party's drums.

Former Obama administration auto czar Steven Rattner, a veteran of Wall Street, also criticized the attacks against Romney for his Bain Capital involvement.

You'd have thought Booker and Rattner had come out and denounced FDR, heaped criticism on Social Security and vowed to help repeal Obamacare. The lockstep Democrats reacted with Orwellian efficiency, apparently pressuring them to publicly walk back their comments. Both did so on MSNBC, surprise surprise.

Former Democrat Congressman Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee, like Booker an occasional member of the "Meet the Press" roundtable whose views are far more moderate than those of most Democrats, has also been critical of the president's Romney/Bain attacks, but hasn't backtracked. Watch your back, Harold!

A few years ago, many leftists began using a derogatory term for conservative blacks — "house negro" —harkening back to the days of slavery when those who sucked up to their master got to cook, wash dishes, make the beds and do other housework, rather than perform the backbreaking work in the fields like the other slaves. It was the late black activist Malcolm X who coined the term back in the 1960s.

Amusingly, the hard-core leftists who despise conservative blacks are clueless about the irony of their metaphor. They see this as a black-white thing, with the blacks being the slaves in an oppressive system, and the whites being the masters.

It doesn't take an Einstein to realize that the Democrats are running the plantation of lockstep leftist thought, and blacks, be they conservatives like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas or Congressman Allen West, or liberals like Booker and Ford, often will dissent. They are, after all, human beings with a great deal of variety in philosophy, life experiences, temperament and personality. They are not just guaranteed leftist robots who will never ask questions and never give a moment's thought to voting for someone other than a Democrat.

It is truly insulting to demonize blacks who differ from Democrat party orthodoxy. Oh my GOSH, an educated, articulate and intelligent black man who DARES to speak out against the Democrats and liberalism? PERISH THE THOUGHT! This is an example of how warped liberalism is, and how paranoid liberals are of substantive dissent.

Just ask Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Senator Zell Miller, both Democrats, what happens when you wander off the plantation. The Democrats are a "big tent" party for special interest groups including environmentalists, gays, trial attorneys, labor unions, teachers' unions, the ACLU, NAACP, La Raza, et al. But they are a benevolent dictatorship when it comes to diversity of opinion and ideology.

Destructive Detroiters

I can't help but wonder if masochism is inherent in the typical Detroiter's mindset.

A few weeks ago, the Posse noted that Detroit narrowly avoided having an emergency financial manager appointed, and/or filing for bankruptcy, because the state of Michigan and city had entered into a consent agreement.

Now it looks like the city is having second thoughts and attempting to throw a monkey wrench into the process.

Krystal Crittendon, the city's top attorney, prepared a legal analysis of the consent agreement and sent a letter to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Treasurer Andy Dillon, calling the agreement "void and unenforceable" because the state allegedly owes the city an outstanding debt.

Detroit's new charter gives Crittendon the power to challenge the agreement without approval of the mayor's office or city council, and she is expected to file suit in a circuit court by next week. Crittendon's claim is that the state owes Detroit $4.75 million for a 2010 water bill and $224 million in state revenue sharing.  The state denies both alleged debts.

Once again, Detroit shoots itself in the foot with a boneheaded move that will cost taxpayers more money (a worse credit rating raises borrowing costs), delay implementation of a solid fiscal recovery, and possibly lead to bankruptcy (or at the very least, a state-imposed emergency manager).

The foolish "leaders" of Detroit are, to put it bluntly, like an ugly, painful boil that must be lanced. It is practically to the point where a total fiscal collapse, followed by absolute state control for an indefinite period would serve as the radical shock treatment this hidebound city needs.

Let the Democrats and their union patrons cry and wail to high Heaven. This is long past due, and Detroiters had better realize it.

But more important, wouldn't it be great if large numbers of heretofore loyal Democrats and liberals would rationally, logically and objectively assess this reality: Their side has had its way, uninterrupted, unimpeded, uninhibited, for FIVE DECADES in the Motor City, and look what the malignant tumor of progressivism has wrought. Liberalism is like Typhoid Mary on steroids.  The fact that tens of millions of Americans will vote for Barack Obama this November ought to be causing many of us to lose sleep.

Sympathy for the Fraud Five

The advent of warm weather has kept me far away from the computer – there is simply too much to do at the ranch.

However, I cannot let an article as perfect as this go by without comment:

Jalen Rose not 'bitter' over Michigan president's stance toward basketball era

What makes this article so beautiful is Rose’s utter lack of self-awareness.  He seems blissfully ignorant of the shame his actions and those of his teammates brought upon the University of Michigan, or why the university president may not want to celebrate his dubious “achievements.”

Rose was of course part of the “Fab Five,” a group of corrupt freshman basketball players who made it to the NCAA finals before losing at the last second to Duke.

Thus they failed to win either a conference or national title, but are still venerated in Ann Arbor because they wore baggy shorts.

The comments on the article are full of the usual sturm und drang, but once again I note that no one has fully addressed the real problem of the Fraud Five – that we do not know how far their corruption extended.

U-M “booster” and criminal mastermind Ed Martin died before the investigation was complete and many of his secrets died with him.  Martin was able to lavish money on the athletes thanks to the profits from his gambling operation and it is this element that Skunk Bear faithful never want to address.

You see, since Martin depended on profits from his gambling to pay the players, it would be a simple thing for one of them to shave a point here or there, or even offer a tip that a “sure thing” was not as sure as it looked.  One could even make money on the over-under or fail to make the spread on a blowout.  In short, there are lots of ways to “fix” a game short of throwing it.

I have no specific information, but it seems inconceivable to me that at some point one or more of these players did not try to compensate their benefactor by shaving a few points or otherwise boosting his haul from a bet.

Needless to say, none of the athletes would ever admit to this even now, as the damage to their reputation would be catastrophic.  Pete Rose remains banned from baseball for gambling and were it to emerge that any of the games of that era were even slightly influenced, a similar ban would likely be put in place, barring the Fraud Five not only from their alma mater, but also professional basketball as well.

The problem is that once one bears the taint of wrongdoing, no one is sure where it ends.

Jalen Rose has little credibility – and his teammates wisely are leaving the issue dormant.

Still, there is a case to be made for U-M restoring its squalid banners to the rafters of Crisler Arena.  After all, the Skunk Bears continue to tout themselves as the “winningest football program ever,” despite the fact that several of their early teams consisted entirely of non-student hirelings.

 A win is a win, and one could argue that the Wolverines would at least be consistent.

WANTED: Corporate Backbone Against Left-Wing McCarthyism

Of late there have been several liberal pressure groups buzzing around corporations like an annoying mosquito in your ear at 3 a.m. when you are trying to sleep. They threaten to organize boycotts against corporations that contribute money to conservative politicians and conservative causes.  

One of them, The Color of Change, is headed up by former Obama administration green jobs czar Van Jones. This organization has mounted a McCarthy-like free speech suppression campaign against companies and organizations that support the conservative-leaning American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

I was disgusted to learn that Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods and McDonald's agreed to end their membership in ALEC, bowing to the blackmail of these hard-core leftists who cannot tolerate dissent from their Orwellian-like ideology. Don't these corporations realize that if they fold like a cheap suit in the face of leftist blackmail, they will alienate and anger millions of conservative customers?  Well, if they don't yet, perhaps they will.

Another lefty outfit, Change to Win, has tried to strongarm numerous corporate boards to oust members who refuse to disclose their political spending, and/or, members who contribute to causes/candidates with whom the lefties disagree. Change to Win asked shareholders of managed care company WellPoint to vote against board members Julie Hill and Susan Bayh (wife of former Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh). Oh happy day: The two received 93 percent and 92 percent of the votes, respectively!

The WellPoint board also voted overwhelmingly against (84 percent) a proposal the would have required the company to increase disclosure of political contributions.

This reminds me of the feel-good campaigns against South African apartheid that took place WAY back in my high school and college days. Universities primped and preened about divesting themselves of companies that did business in South Africa (General Motors was one that I recall). It goes without saying that many of the self-righteous ivory towerites drove GM cars and used many other products made by companies doing business in South Africa. Oh, darn it, what a buzz killer I am!

Progressives are all about power, and they will be ruthless to gain it by expanding government, and hold onto it tightly once it's in their grasp.  It is wrong for them and their union/ environmental/ gay advocacy allies to pour billions into Democrat coffers, but to demonize those who support conservativism.  If Mitt Romney's campaign doesn't fight back fiercely against this crap, he deserves to lose.

And if corporations and small businesses alike do not want to see their freedom and independence sucked out of them by the vampire regulatory bureaucracy and its legions of useless paper pushers and lawyers, they'd better stand up and fight these small battles, or they'll eventually lose the war.

 

 

 

Rush's Cheap Hucksterism

I've been listening to Rush Limbaugh for over 20 years, but I am about finished with him.

For years I've defended him from the many ignorant critics who claim he's hateful, a bigot, and a dim bulb. He's actually highly intelligent, frequently prescient, and generally civil to callers who disagree with him, unless they get obnoxious.  And I have never found his anger or putdowns to be more than a tiny fraction of what you will hear from left-wing flamethrowers like Mike Malloy and Montel Williams. 

Still, Rush's act is wearing thin.  In recent years I have become increasingly annoyed at his crass hawking of products, from No Boundaries ties to Carbonite, to Lifelock to Two if By Tea.  It has gotten to the point where listening to the last 40 minutes of each show is a total waste, between Rush's bland hard-sell and the regular commercials/station breaks, it has very little value.

Earlier this week, I was appalled that Rush took two calls from suck-ups who were praising his line of iced tea, Two if by Tea, and of course, Rush shamelessly prolonged the conversations and milked them for all they're worth.  Talk about plants! And Rush is the one who frequently criticizes the liberal "seminar callers" who are trained by Democrat activist groups to call his show and give him a hard time about everything from green energy to gay rights to gun control to support for Barack Obama.

But today really took the cake. I never thought I'd see the day, but right at the top of the hour, prime time when Rush usually delivers a powerful monologue (or at least a humorous one), he spent about 7 minutes plugging Two if by Tea and some stupid special offer about ordering within 24 hours to be eligible for a prize. I'm not sure what it all entailed, because I removed my headphones (used so my liberal coworkers won't hear who I'm listening to) and set them down on the desk.

At about 2:15 p.m., I thought, well, I guess his spiel is winding down and he'll get back to business. But no, he was just wrapping up on his pitch, and took a break at the unprecedented early time of 2:15 p.m.

Rush also can be incredibly boorish (e.g. the Sandra Fluke fiasco of a few weeks ago) and too often his massive ego just rubs me the wrong way. Yes, it's partly something he plays up as part of his on-air persona, but it still gets old.

It happens to the greatest musicians, poets and writers: At some point, they're just tapped out. Their product is no longer fresh, creative and distinctive. Perhaps Rush is bored or just plain complacent. But whatever it is, he's about lost this formerly loyal listener.

Maybe you ought to hit the links and work on your golf game, buddy.

Back to Basics

Mitt Romney is eyeing a great big softball, right over the plate. He ought to swing hard and hit it out of the park.

But instead, he seems to be allowing the mainstream press to lead him down the liberal garden path regarding the issue of gay marriage.

President Obama came out and publicly stated what we knew all along, that he supports same-sex marriage, and suddenly the newspapers and political talk shows are spending an inordinate amount of time on what is, in most Americans' minds, a marginal issue.

Discussions and debates have included a potpourri of related and ancillary issues: the Defense of Marriage Act, the issue of whether there should be a federal same-sex marriage law or if it should be left up to the states; Obama's inconsistency since he usually favors federal dictates but in this case defers to the states; whether gay civil rights can be equated with racial civil rights; the 30-plus state referendums banning same-sex marriage; and the very question of whether we really can redefine the institution of marriage after thousands of years.

This is all fine and dandy if we had the luxury of wasting time and energy on this overblown issue. But the fact is, our economy is in a shambles, millions cannot find work, and despair, anger and disillusionment are corroding our national fiber. 

The economy. THAT is the softball I am talking about, and THAT is what Mitt Romney needs to focus on, even if it means talking right past the press, i.e., going over their heads and speaking directly to the American people. Ronald Reagan did that all the time — to great effect — in large part because there wasn't much conservative talk radio in those days, nor were Fox News or conservative bloggers around.

The press has focused some attention on the stubbornly high unemployment rate, high gasoline prices and the moribund housing market that has hemmed in tens of millions of consumers and suffocated our economy. But too often, the coverage comes with the lame qualifiers, e.g., "unexpectedly high number of filings for unemployment insurance," "worse than expected" jobless report, and stalled growth that has "surprised economists."

Too many of these journalists live in New York, L.A., or Washington, D.C., and are clueless about the level of hardship average Americans are enduring. And/or, they choose to live in their echo chamber and comfortable bubble and don't want to get out and rub elbows with the unwashed masses. So whatever reportage they do provide is watered down and sympathetic to The One. Americans are damned fed up with this crap.

Here's something else to consider when Obama's campaign machine shoves the Marxist-tinged "Forward" theme down our throats: We are heading FORWARD, albeit toward much higher taxes and draconian budget cuts.

Remember the so-called Deficit Supercommittee and the failure of Congress to cut a deal on trimming red ink?  The Budget Control Act of 2011 mandated that if Congress could not agree on a deficit-cutting plan, which was the case last summer, "sequestration" — automatic budget cuts — will be implemented annually to bring down deficit spending.

Well, those across-the-board cuts are scheduled to kick in come fiscal year 2013. The reduced defense spending will devastate many communities, increase unemployent and further diminish weak consumer demand in a sickly economy.

The Bush tax cuts are also scheduled to expire at the end of calendar year 2012. Even if they were extended, which is highly unlikely, the economy is going nowhere for the foreseeable future. But once these increases in income tax rates and the capital gains tax rate take effect, watch for further economic deterioration.

These fiscal and economic issues are on the minds of millions of concerned Americans, and they ought to be what Mitt Romney's campaign focuses on. The bogus "war on women" and same-sex marriage are just examples of Democrats furiously rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. And, in case this metaphor isn't clear enough, Barack Hussein Obama is the captain of the ship, and his economic policies are, in the immortal words of that navigator in the movie "Titanic": "ICEBERG - DEAD AHEAD!"

 

Reality strikes in Ann Arbor - Plus NCAA gets a clue

It is a rare thing for the Skunk Bear fan base to come to terms with reality before it actually smacks them in the face – even then, it doesn’t always happen. However this article takes a remarkably clear-sighted look at their upcoming season.

In the process – by dwelling on the fact that there are six road games rather than four, and they are against ranked opponents rather than sacrificial lambs – the author reinforces my argument that U-M’s prestige was inflated by an amazingly soft schedule.

It is worth noting that MSU’s schedule was much more difficult – road games at Notre Dame, Ohio State, Nebraska and Iowa last year, and at Ann Arbor, Northwestern, Iowa and Penn State the year before. In addition, MSU has had to face the Wisconsin juggernaut – a fate the Skunk Bears have managed to sidestep.

A key variable for both teams will be the quality of the Fighting Kellys. With the Irish return to form or is Brian Kelly really just an ill-tempered poseur with a resume built on harvesting the fruits of others’ labors? Kelly’s tenure has been controversial, from the death of videographer Declan Sullivan  to sideline theatrics and most recently returning quarterback Tommy Reese’s arrest .

Seems that Kelly has his back to the wall and is now in Ron Zook territory.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SPARTANS? Congratulations to the NCAA for making an obviously correct decision and allowing DeAnthony Arnett to take the field with MSU this fall. Normally, I would regard this as somewhat of a non-issue – he would lose no eligibility and an extra year in the system would be to his benefit and help MSU as well. However, his father is in poor health and the possibility that he might pass away without seeing his son play college football was a compelling reason to let him play right away. 

Memo to the NCAA: Remember when you worried more about students and less about rules and revenue?