Juan Williams Justifiably Taking Heat For Ignorant Comments Cutting Down First Lady Michelle Obama

Juan Williams, bought and paid for by Fox News, is now defending his comments he made portraying Michelle Obama, the wife of President Barack Obama, as the angry black woman (feeding an ignorant and stupid stereotype that perhaps appeals to the viewership of Bill O’Reilly and other Fox News hosts) and comparing her to Stokely Carmichael. Williams’exact words were (during a segment on the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor”):

On Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor” on Monday night, Williams said of the first lady, “She’s got this Stokely Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going. If she starts talking . . . her instinct is to start with this blame America, you know, I’m the victim. If that stuff starts to coming out, people will go bananas and she’ll go from being the new Jackie O. to being something of an albatross.”

Again, as I wrote earlier, Williams earned his pay throughout the campaign season by negatively portraying Michelle Obama as a militant and as an angry black woman who hates her country and who hated her country until her husband made it so deep into the presidential election. Williams was brought on to talk about the Obamas, over and over again, because he was a person of color who was willing to badmouth Barack and Michelle … essentially on demand. But, it seems Williams was out to defend himself against what has been an appropriate level of backlash from most fair-minded people who abhor nasty and unfounded stereotypes of people. Here are some comments, as cited by online columnist Richard Prince (from a person who has known Williams for some time) I found particularly interesting:

“Now, I’ve known Juan for more than 30 years,” David Nicholson, a former Washington journalist who considers himself a fellow iconoclast, wrote on his blog. “We were students at Haverford College (he was several years behind me) and colleagues at The Washington Post. When Juan started as an intern at the paper in the mid-’70s (I was a copy-boy on the Metro Desk), he stayed at my apartment while he looked for a place to live. Over the years, we’ve wound up in the same neighborhoods — first Washington’s Bloomingdale-Le Droit Park and then Takoma, D.C, where we’d see each other walking our dogs or hanging out with our kids.

“So I’ve known Juan for a while. But apart from the need to be provocative so he can continue as Fox News’ HNIC (Google the term if you’ve never heard it), what the hell was he thinking?”

Williams was not thinking about anything other than appeasing the extremist right-wing element that holds pretty much everything said on Fox News as sacred. It just goes to show he has long since sold his soul and objectivity for “fame” on Fox News. Juan Williams has disgraced himself. But, it’s not the first time and I highly doubt it will be the last.

Richard Prince:
http://www.mije.org/richardprince/talkin-bout-blues-breaks-ice

Fox News Host Gretchen Carlson Makes Idiotic Claim To Slam President Barack Obama … Praise Rush Limbaugh

Fox News, the network of patriots (except when we have a Democrat as president), is at it again attacking our president/commander-in-chief while basically praising conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh. Fox News co-host Gretchen Carlson at least twice took shots at President Barack Obama while drooling over Limbaugh (who was a guest on the Fox News show “Fox and Friends”). Carlson and her co-hosts on the show spent the entire campaign season slamming President Obama about one thing or another while singing the praises of Sen. John McCain. Carlson and her cohorts also spent time talking about media bias against McCain while hypocritically showing media bias against Obama. The bias was so pervasive (to the point that they gleefully made baseless claims that turned out to be completely and sloppily false: That Obama had attended a madrassa, a Muslim school) that it calls into question what the motive behind the bias was for Carlson and her fellow shot hosts.

Here are two comments from Carlson (as documented by Media Matters):

CARLSON: But what I want to ask you when we come back is whether or not Barack Obama should be more concerned with things like the economy and maybe Al Qaeda — if in fact we still are in a war on terror — than you?

CARLSON: Before we went to break, I said something about the fact that in his first week in office, that Barack Obama chose you as his enemy, instead of, like, Al Qaeda, or possibly putting the economy on a higher platform. And so, we came up with this new photo. Did you know that you’re now on Mount Rushmore?

Tha is insulting and idiotic on the part of Carlson (who completely ignores the context of the president’s comment) to even make such a suggestion. But, it does go to the point that she is taking her Republican talking points (this garbage notion that Democrats won’t keep our country safe) and executing them to perfection with Fox News as her platform. What an appalling comment from Carlson, who obviously is trying to appeal to the lowest element in the diversity-challenged (in many different ways even beyond race) and tolerance-challenged Republican Party/conservative community. Carlson is trying to imply Obama somehow is not focused on the enemies of the United States of America and it is an insulting insinuation. But, how could we not expect this from Fox News?

Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200901290023?f=h_latest

Michael Savage Is An Idiot … So Are People Who Follow Him

Extremist right-wing talk show host Michael Savage is one of the biggest hacks on the air. A hater who is hostile to pretty much anything that isn’t lily white or far right on the political spectrum, is a disgrace to the airwaves. But, just as Neo-Nazis like Hal Turner managed to find a following around the world, so too does a moron like Michael Savage. Why people would shave minutes and hours off their lives by listening to this moronic hater is puzzling, at best, and disgusting, at worst.

Intriguing Take On Whether There Is A Need For More Journalists Of Color

I was reading an interesting article that analyzed a Boston Globe column written concerning whether we need more journalists of color. I originally saw the title of the article )“Why Should a Journalist’s Race Matter?”) and kind of yawned. I expected a rather boring account of how race should not matter and we’re all part of the human race. In other words, I expected very little new being brought to the table for this discussion. But, the analysis of the column/editorial was fairly interesting to me. We do need more quality journalists (regardless of color), but we also need more journalists of color and from both genders to bring different perspectives to readers. The writer for the Racialicious article came away thinking something similar to what I thought after reading the column/editorial … some people simply do not like talking about racial issues. They fear discussions about race.

Racialicious:
http://www.racialicious.com/2009/01/28/the-boston-globe-asks-why-should-a-journalists-race-matter/#more-2190

Low-Class, Unrepentant Bigot Sean Hannity Once Again Smears President Barack Obama Using Anti-Muslim/Anti-Arab Racism

Fox New right-wing extremist Sean Hannity, a known bigot, takes great job in using anti-Muslim, anti-Arab racism to attack President Barack Obama. But, his tired new show helps prove that the man is going over the deep end in his hatred of the nation’s first black president. Now, Hannity would be a hater to any Democrat president (even if he was an old white guy), but the fact that we have a new, young and black president seems to have the man especially bitter and vicious in his attacks. News Hounds has a post that documents how Hannity is trying to bring back the Obama-is-a-Muslim thing that was tried throughout the presidential campaign. Obviously, this is something that Hannity will no doubt be using over and over again throughout the next four to eight years. Hannity had to be particularly irritated that Obama gave an important interview to an Arab channel and that he has the nerve to speak to people and attempt diplomacy with those who are not Americans. This, to Hannity (who continues to attack Obama over his associations while ignoring his own associations with racists like neo-Nazi Hal Turner) it seems, is improper. Remember when all of those liberals were being so tough on poor George W. Bush and they were being labeled as “anti-American” for not supporting the president? Is it anti-American of Sean Hannity to openly criticize our president (our commander-in-chief) for trying to work to bridge gaps between our country and Arabs and Muslims from around the world? Hannity’s new show is a pathetic shell of what it was when he was paired with Alan Colmes, who put in big-time work to make oftentimes hate-driven and conflict-obsessed Hannity a success on the airwaves. It’s sad to listen to Hannity still crying about Wright, Ayers, Farrakhan and others. Too bad he doesn’t spend as much time worrying about his nefarious associations with wicked racists like Turner.

News Hounds:
http://www.newshounds.us/2009/01/29/hannity_revives_suggestion_obama_may_be_muslim.php#more

Fox News Duo Of Bill O’Reilly And Laura Ingraham Already Attacking President Barack Obama

The Fox News twosome of Bill O’Reilly and Laura Ingraham, two right wingers, love attacking President Barack Obama and praising former president George W. Bush. This is especially true when it comes to the issue of national security. O’Reilly and Ingraham come from the school of thought that Bush has kept us safe for so many years. But, through the O’Reilly Ingraham Bush-colored sunglasses, the safety is sense the terrorist attacks of 9/11. To most conservatives those attacks do not count. Many conservatives try everything in their power to blame former president Bill Clinton for those attacks. It doesn’t fly. O’Reilly and Ingraham do not count the terrorism against our troops and loss of life in Iraq … a place we should never have been.

Listen to this from Ingraham:

We want to understand here, Bill, if America is safer today or less safe than she was on January 19. And I think anyobjective review of what’s being done — and you’re right, he promised to do these things and he’s doing them — shutting down the military tribunals temporarily, a 120-day pause, closing Gitmo by 2010, and doing away with [scare quotes] “harsh interrogation methods” — I think you can make a pretty compelling case that we’re less safe today. And Barack Obama apparently is willing to roll the dice on that. Because he made these promises and — he campaigned on them.

President Obama has been in office for less than two weeks and Ingraham is starting to claim that the country already is less safe. Obviously, conservatives like Ingraham are not cutting President Obama the same kind of slack they were cutting Bush. To say you can “make a pretty compelling case” is a stretch and should be even by her standards. Extremist conservatives laugh at most talk of diplomacy and seem to favor torture … excuse me “harsh interrogation methods” for prisoners and other detainees (methods that have severely damaged the reputation of the United States worldwide. This is why President Obama, when he was a candidate, was so well received all over the world … particularly in Germany. People want to see the United States of America re-assume the high moral authority ground to have that complement our military and economic prowess. President Obama is taking steps to make this a far more peaceful world where we’re all working together toward a common goal: peace.

Crooks and Liars:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/laura-ingraham-america-already-less-

Can You Say That Again?

Some things just make you shake your head and wonder. I ran across this article from Crooks and Liars about an opinion written and published in the Washington Postby Marc Thiessen, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush.

Here is a part that Crooks and Liars quotes:

President Obama has inherited a set of tools that successfully protected the country for 2,688 days — and he cannot dismantle those tools without risking catastrophic consequences. On Tuesday, George W. Bush told a cheering crowd in Midland, Tex., that his administration had left office without another terrorist attack. When Barack Obama returns to Chicago at the end of his time in office, will he be able to say the same?

OK, I get the fact that George W. Bush kept us safe for “2,688 days” as president. But, if he gets credit for that, then he must get blame for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Did Bush keep us safe after those terrorist attacks? You may be able to argue that. But, it still can’t erase the memories of 9/11. Thiessen’s last sentence is curious. He asks if Barack Obama will be able to say that he kept America safe for however many days when he returns to Chicago. Considering George W. Bush was president for the worst terrorist attack on U.S. mainland soil … that is really stretching the claim of how safe Bush kept America. You have to look at the whole picture and not cherry pick a specific period of time.

Crooks and Liars:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/laura-ingraham-america-already-less-

Call Jessica Alba “The Bus Driver” … Because She Took Fox News Host Bill O’Reilly To School

Fox News conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly (probably feeling like the cartoon character Charlie Brown) was upset that actress Jessica Alba referred to him as an “a-hole” recently. Being vindictive as we know O’Reilly is, he has been waiting for an opportunity to use his platform to attack the actress and exact his revenge. Of course, O’Reilly was a little too eager and mistakenly jumped the gun. He brought up Alba during his “Pinhead” segment when she asked a reporter about President Barack Obama and the reporter was reluctant to say anything positive about the new president. She then asked the reporter to say something and not be “Sweden” in an effort to be neutral. O’Reilly thought he had his opening to move in for the attack on Alba. He used his show, “The O’Reilly Factor” to attack Alba for using “Sweden” as a neutral country instead of “Switzerland.” Apparently, BillO does not realize that there is/was more than one country that embraced neutrality.

Crooks and Liars had this: Alba put it at her MySpace page:

I want to clear some things up that have been bothering me lately. I find it depressing that in the midst of perhaps the most salient time in our country’s history, individuals are taking it upon themselves to encourage negativity and stupidity. Last week, Mr. Bill O’Reilly and some really classy sites (i.e.TMZ) insinuated I was dumb by claiming Sweden was a neutral country. I appreciate the fact that he is a news anchor and that gossip sites are inundated with intelligent reporting, but seriously people…it’s so sad to me that you think the only neutral country during WWII was Switzerland. Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_during_World_War_II if you want to see what I was referring to. I appreciate the name calling and the accurate reporting. Keep it up!!

Bill O’Dummy apparently was asleep at the wheel again on “The O’Reilly Factor.” Perhaps now we can call Jessica Alba the bus driver since she clearly took Bill to school.

Crooks and Liars:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/whos-pinhead-bill-oreilly-pwned-jess

Racist E-Mails Are No Way To Respond To Coleman-Budinger Issue

University of Houston guard Aubrey Coleman has been the target of some apparently racist e-mails directed at him in the wake of his stepping on the face (I do personally believe it was intentional to step on him and I do believe he stepped on his face … the video is pretty damning evidence) of Arizona player Chase Budinger during a college basketball game recently. Apparently the FBI has gotten involved and was even present on the University of Houston campus. Racist e-mails are no way to respond to this incident. For the record, Coleman is black and Budinger is white. While Coleman was wrong for what he did, these e-mails show that racists love any opportunity to express their hatred. What has disturbed me, beyond the ugly racism apparently being experienced by Coleman, is the attitude of Houston coach Tom Penders. I realize Penders is in a position where he has to defend his player (to some extent), but he is doing everything he can to try and minimize a very ugly and unprovoked action by Coleman towards Budinger. Penders (and Coleman) have said:Coleman did not step on Budinger’s face, that Budinger had flopped, the video was edited in an unfair fashion, the video was being shown nationally, etc. Maybe Coleman was not trying to step on his face, but it sure seems like he was trying to step on him or (and this is kind of stretching it) in some other way step over him in some show of disrespect. Penders should either keep his mouth shut or admit what is obvious (like, for the most part, MSU hockey coach Rick Comley did when two of his players were involved in an ugly incident on the ice). It was bad, but it does not warrant racists coming out with racist e-mails toward the young man.

ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3867323

Stephen Colbert’s Exclusive Interview With Bill O’Reilly

This is must-see television. I must commend Stephen Colbert for securing this amazing studio-to-studio interview with the Big Papa Bill O’Reilly… a man (lord of the “no-spin zone” who does not believe in reporting rumors on his show (unless it is against a Democrat). Check out Huffington Post for this interview.

 Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/28/stephen-colbert-calls-out_n_161642.html

Congressman Mike Pence Feels Need To Defend Rush Limbaugh Against Racism Charge That Wasn’t Really Made

I was intrigued by a Think Progress article that was published related to conservative extremist Rush Limbaugh’s words against President Barack Obama. You may recall, Limbaugh infamously uttered these nasty words as he was being interviewed by another right-wing extremist (Sean Hannity of Fix Fox News): “We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this is the first black president.”Limbaugh, of course, said this (defaming our new president) because I really do feel he has some anger toward the reality that we do actually have a black president of the United States of America. Limbaugh has been working to try and minimize it by emphasizing that only President Obama’s father is black. Limbaugh loves bringing up the fact that President Obama is black and screaming defiantly against those he feels wants to bridge the gap and create a mutual respect and strong working relationship between the racesparties. Limbaugh, justifiably, has come under fire for his negative comments toward the new president (who has been in office a little over a week). This all brings me to an interview between Norah O’Donnell of MSNBC and Republican Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana.

This is from Think Progress:

O’DONNELL: On that specific thing, that we have to bend over because this is the first black president, why don’t you feel that you could denounce something like that? Are you so beholden to someone like Rush Limbaugh that you can’t say —

PENCE: Oh gosh, Norah —

O’DONNELL: — that’s not the type of rhetoric when America is trying to come together to do something for the unemployment rate — in your state of Indiana it’s 8.2 percent — is that the rhetoric we need?

PENCE: I don’t believe Rush Limbaugh has a racist bone in his body. If you’re suggesting that his statement had a racist element in it, I commend you to a greater understanding of the positions he’s taken. He’s a man about opportunity of all Americans, regardless of race, creed, or color. That’s why he’s so admired and appreciated across America.

O’Donnell didn’t really say Limbaugh was racist (and apparently no one in his office is able to perform a simple Google search to look up Limbaugh’s history of racist or racially-polarizing comments). She merely pointed out Limbaugh’s words to the congressman, who almost immediately started to defend Limbaugh against charges of racism that really were not even made. Maybe Pence ought to look at Limbaugh’s record of divisiveness a little more closely before using blind loyalty to defend the right-wing commentator. I know most Republicans feel the need to kiss his butt (Congressman Gingrey), but this is ridiculous. It’s also interesting to note that he flat ignored the comment about the high unemployment rate in his home state to rush (no pun intended) to the defense of Limbaugh. Apparently, Pence felt it was more important to defend Limbaugh than to speak on his state’s unemployment rate.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/28/pence-limbaugh/

Spanked Rep. Gingrey Gets Down On His Knees, Kisses Rush Limbaugh’s Feet, Begs For Forgiveness

OK, Rep. Phil Gingrey did not literally get down on his knees, kiss Rush Limbaugh’s feet and beg for forgiveness. But, he might as well have done so. Gingrey, after apparently getting orders that his recent negative comments about Rush Limbaugh (among others) was out of line, pulled a full reverse and took it the other way … begging for forgiveness from Limbaugh.

From Think Progress:

GINGREY: Rush, thank you so much. I thank you for the opportunity, of course this is not exactly the way to I wanted to come on. … Mainly, I want to express to you and all your listeners my very sincere regret for those comments I made yesterday to Politico. … I clearly ended up putting my foot in my mouth on some of those comments. … I regret those stupid comments.

LIMBAUGH: Well, look, I appreciate that. … I’m glad that you called.

Obviously, Limbaugh was feeling encouraged by having a United States congressman call into his show and apologize for telling the truth (which is apparently a bad thing for Republicans when it goes against what Rush Limbaugh wants). Apparently, Limbaugh is running the Republican party from his radio station studio. If this was a a “Pimps and Hos” part, we now know who the “pimp” is and who the “ho” is between these two.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/28/gingrey-limbaugh-forgiveness/

Even Some Republicans Are Beginning To Tire Of Rhetoric From Men Like Rush Limbaugh And Sean Hannity

I have to admit, I did chuckle just a little as I read a quote from Republican CongressmanPhil Gingrey as he was speaking about some controversial comments coming from the mouth of conservative extremist Rush Limbaugh. It’s clear that the Rush Limbaughs, the Sean Hannitys and the Michael Savages of the world have hijacked the the Republican Party to try and push an extremist agenda. Limbaugh recently said that he believes President Barack Obama is more afraid of him than he is of some high-ranking politicians in the Republican Party. I doubt that. I believe President Obama is sincere in his desire to pull together people from both sides of the aisle to build a true coalition. And, furthermore, I believe the president sees people like Limbaugh as people who prefer a divided America to push their own selfish agenda and feed their own bulging bank accounts by trumpeting controversy.

Here are some comments from Gingrey, as documented by Think Progress:

“I mean, it’s easy if you’re Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don’t have to try to do what’s best for your people and your party.You know you’re just on these talk shows and you’re living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn’t be or wouldn’t be good leaders, they’re not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell.”

The point is well taken. Conservative mouthpieces like Limbaugh and Hannity continue to spew what many people perceive as extremist (if not hateful) rhetoric that inflames. This kind of talk clearly has served to cripple the Republican Party and strip it of (among other things) any significant degree of racial/ethnic diversity. Also, the fact that these rich (fat cat) conservative guys have high-profile talk shows (on the radio and on television) pushes them forward as the face of the Republicans and the conservative movement. This is, in a lot of ways, good for Democrats as it shows the GOP to be, quite frankly, out of touch. But, it clearly is bad for Republicans who need to pull their party in line to more closely flow with mainstream America.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/28/gop-respond-limbaugh/

Detroit Free Press Columnist Michael Rosenberg Writes Mostly Good Column About Michigan State Hockey Attack, But …

Michael Rosenberg is a fine columnist for the Detroit Free Press and, generally speaking, is a columnist I tend to read more than some others. I was reading his column in today’s online version of the Free Press entitled “An inside look at ugly incident on and off the ice.” The column is in reference to the vicious on-ice attack of University of Michigan hockey player Steve Kampfer by a pair of Michigan State University hockey players (Corey Tropp and Andrew Conboy). Rosenberg, overall, does a nice job with the column although he does seem to attempt to play P.C. Police (writers in the state some days feel they need to in stories about U-M and MSU) and attempt to balance the incident out as much as possible (which isn’t an inherently bad thing since you should always attempt to give the other side of the story to make the overarching argument stronger). For the most part, I was kind of bobbing my head in agreement through much of the column … before I hit one minor speed bump.

Here is the small speed bump that slowed me up just a tad:

And then there is this: As wrong as Tropp was — as seriously, unequivocally wrong as he was — how come most of the media attention has been about Michigan State’s players and so little has been about the Michigan parent?

The players did what they did in the heat of the moment. Bruce Kampfer, a longtime hockey parent, had a few minutes to cool down before he got to the MSU locker room. Yet he still apparently went after Corey Tropp.

I don’t condone what Mr. Kampfer did, but I’d be lying if I didn’t confess that I might be tempted to want to do the same thing if I was in his position. But, Rosenberg’s point is that he feels the media attention has been less for the parent chasing after the MSU player. Michael, come on, of course there will be substantially more attention when you have an attack of that magnitude that is caught on tape and in a televised game. Rosenberg knows better than what he wrote in those two paragraphs. But, I do believe he was attempting to play P.C. Police to try and appease the Michigan State side of this ugly incident (a side that has to feel like it, and its reputation, is being beaten up by local and national media as a result of the incident). I would argue that Mr. Kampfer’s actions have been investigated not only by the media, but also by the police (I doubt neither Tropp nor Conboy will be investigated by the police, and I am not saying they should be). Also, unlike Tropp or Conboy (at least based on what I have seen, heard and read), Mr. Kampfer did issue an apology for his actions. I think Michael Rosenberg knows the answer (hints: YouTube, live broadcast on cable television) to his own question, and I think it’s rather obvious.

SIDE NOTE:

This was something positive about the incident that really caught my eye. I picked this up fron the Detroit News and it involves goaltender Jeff Lerg, a senior and the team captain of the Michigan State hockey squad. Lerg said that he and his teammates had signed a get-well card and sent it to Steve Kampfer. That is good to hear and hopefully the great hockey rivalry between the Wolverines and the Spartans will be back to good, clean and competitive hockey in the seasons to come.

Detroit News:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090128/SPORTS0202/901280344/1004/SPORTS

Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090128/COL22/901280378&s=d&page=2#pluckcomments

Bernie Goldberg Is A Right Wing Hack

Bernard Goldberg, a hardcore right winger mostly likely to be seen palling around with extremists from the right (like Bill O’Reilly of Fox News) is coming out with a book (a right-wing hit piece that we can’t confirm if it is being characterized as fiction or as non-fiction) whining about President Barack Obama winning the election to become the first black president of the United States of America. This is a typical response from the most outspoken of the right wingers who still can’t get over the fact that it put up two inferior candidates against one of the most brilliant campaigners in the history of presidential elections. The Bernie Goldbergs of the world are crying because Obama wasted John McCain and almost broke a sweat sending Sarah Palin back to Alaska. Goldberg is, of course, in the pocket of the right wing (as proven by his regular appearances on Bill O’Reilly’s show), and is publishing a book of manure designed to appeal to the lowest form of human beings in the Republican Party.

Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200901250008?f=h_top

As A Side Note To The Michigan State Hockey Attack

Bruce Kampfer, the angry father of injured player Steve Kampfer, apparently reached the locker room area of the Michigan State University team with a mind to confront some of the players or maybe some of the coaches. While I certainly can understand Mr. Kampfer’s anger (after watching his son attacked on the ice by two Michigan State players Corey Tropp and Andrew Conboy acting like a pair of thugs), I can’t condone any form of vigilantism because it only served to get him in trouble and didn’thelp his son’s situation. Mr. Kampfer (who according to the Ann Arbor News confronted Tropp, the guy who slashed at his son with a stick as Steve was face down and motionless on the ice) has to be better than the two young men who attacked his son. Hopefully he has learned from this unfortunate incident.

Ann Arbor News:
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/01/2_michigan_state_hockey_player.html

Part 2: No Place For This In Sports

I (like many other rational people) was absolutely disgusted by what I witnessed during a Central Collegiate Hockey Association game between long-time rivals Michigan and Michigan State during a contest that was played in U-M’s Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. Michigan State hockey players Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp assaulted Michigan player Steve Kampfer in an attack that probably would have gotten the two men charged if it had occurred on the streets (even the streets ofEast Lansing). Behaving like a gang of thugs, Conboy attacked Kampfer from behind as he clotheslined and then sucker punched him … knocking him down to the ice. If that wasn’t reprehensible enough, Tropp unbelievably comes in and, while Kampfer is face down and motionless on the ice, slashes him near the neckarea with his stick. Thankfully, MSU coach Rick Comley acted swiftly and decisively by suspending both players for the remainder of the season (hopefully he teaches these two young men what a privilege it is to play college hockey for a great school like Michigan State University). Comley is to be commended for his quick action that took place even before the CCHA could act. This is no good for the reputation of hockey (college or professional). College hockey is a sport that is growing and trying to become more mainstream in the United States. This may help get the sport attention, but it is not the kind of attention the sport should want. This is the kind of goonish behavior that has to be eradicated from college hockey. If you want revenge, lay a good clean hit on a guy. Don’t sucker-punch him from behind and then slash him while he is face down and motionless on the ice.

Ann Arbor News:
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/01/2_michigan_state_hockey_player.html

Part 1: No Place For This In Sports

It never ceases to amaze me the stupid things that people do these days in sports … in competition and outside of competition. The latest incident took place during a college basketball game between Arizona and Houston. A Houston player, Aubrey Coleman, was called for an offensive foul. He then walked over toward Arizona standout player Chase Budinger(who was on the ground) and literally stepped on his face. Budinger was understandably upset and had to be restrained by teammates and officials. Naturally, Coleman insisted it was an “accident” but I find that awfully difficult to believe. I’m not saying people should throw the book at this guy, but he should perhaps be further disciplined by his team. I don’t want to hear any excuses from coaches or administrators from Houston … what’s wrong is wrong and this young guy should be further punished. He doesn’t need to have a scholarship revoked (assuming he has one) or be kicked off the team, but he does not to truly understand what he did was wrong.