Occupy Baby Daddy and Baby Mama had weapons and explosives in their Greenwich Village apartment

12/31/12, "Greenwich Village couple busted with cache of weapons, bombmaking explosives: sources," NY Post, Schram, Antenucci, McNulty

"The privileged daughter of a prominent city doctor, and her boyfriend — a Harvard grad and Occupy Wall Street activist — have been busted for allegedly having a cache of weapons and a bombmaking explosive in their Greenwich Village apartment.

Morgan Gliedman — who is nine-months pregnant — and her baby daddy, Aaron Greene, 31, also had instructions on making bombs, including a stack of papers with a cover sheet titled, “The Terrorist Encyclopedia,’’ sources told The Post yesterday.

People who know Greene say his political views are “extreme,” the sources said.

Cops found the stash in the couple’s West Ninth Street home Saturday when they went there to look for Gliedman, 27, who was wanted for alleged credit-card theft.

A detective discovered a plastic container with seven grams of a white chemical powder called HMTD, which is so powerful, cops evacuated several nearby buildings.

Police also found a flare launcher, which is a commercial replica of a grenade launcher; a modified 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun; ammo; and nine high-capacity rifle magazines, the sources said."...via Free Republic

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13 story lines for 2013 baseball season, #8, Dodgers are the new Bombers-Klapisch

12/30/12, Klapisch: 13 things to watch in 2013" Bob Klapish, NorthJersey.com

"Baseball is at the doorstep of a cultural revolution, the likes of which haven’t been duplicated since the start of the Yankees’ renaissance in 1996. But the era of big-money dominance in the Bronx has been fading for years, until now. Finally, the next frontier is upon us — the New West.

That’s where the dollars are flowing. That’s where a generation of superstars are putting down roots. And that’s where the game’s most compelling rivalries are emerging: Dodgers-Giants and Angels-Rangers, and if you’re looking for the Yankees’ greatest obstacle to the postseason, it’s not just the Blue Jays, but the A’s as well.

This isn’t to say the Bombers have been left behind – they’re still a competitive team, albeit old with an unbalanced roster. But the trend line isn’t encouraging. In fact, there are some executives who believe the Bombers could slip from 95 wins in 2012 to missing the playoffs altogether in ’13.

It’s a draconian assessment, hardly widespread, but indicative of the game’s new algorithms. Here are 13 story lines worth following in the coming season.

• 1. The Yankees' age problem...
• 2. Justin Verlander's innings...
• 3. Josh Johnson's transition to the AL...
• 4. John Hamilton's assimilation to Southern California...
• 5. The Orioles' search for offense...
• 6. The Rangers' heavy reliance on A. J. Pierzynski...
• 7. The Giants' island of calm. Talk about stability...
• 8. Don Mattingly's personal pressure cooker....The Dodgers are, in effect, the new Bombers, about to become the sport’s most expensive team....
• 9. Jon Niese's maturation
• 10. Zack Greinke's role as a wing man in LA...
• 11. The courtship of Giancarlo Stanton
• 12. Robinson Cano's walk year...
• 13. The Yankees' revenue stream..."

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Big Lead sports blog and LoHud Yankee blog owned by Gannett, same parent co. as Journal News, publisher of personal information about gun permit holders. Journal News reporter who endangered innocent people has a nice house. Here's a picture

12/29/12, "NY newspaper plans to publish more gun owner names," Legal Insurrection, William A. Jacobson

"The publication of the names of gun permit holders by the NY Lower Hudson Journal News sparked controversy, including publication by a blogger (additional here) of equally personal yet publically available information about the editors and writers of the Journal News.

Now the Journal News is raising the stakes, announcing that it is compiling similar information for neighboring counties.

Reuters via HuffPo...: 

"A suburban New York newspaper  that sparked an uproar among gun enthusiasts by publishing names  and addresses of residents holding pistol permits is now  planning to publish even more identities of permit-toting  locals. 

Further names and addresses will be added as they become  available to a map originally published on Dec. 24 in the White  Plains, New York-based Journal News, the newspaper said.

The original map listed thousands of pistol permit holders in suburban Westchester and Rockland counties just north of New  York City.

Along with an article entitled “The gun owner next door:  What you don’t know about the weapons in your neighborhood,” the  map was compiled in response to the Dec. 14 shooting deaths of  26 children and adults in Newtown, Connecticut, editors of the  Gannett Corp.-owned newspaper said.

The next batch of names will be permit holders in suburban  Putnam County, New York, where the county clerk told the  newspaper it is still compiling information."

The Journal News thinks it’s good journalism to put people in danger, and to reveal personal details about people’s lives even though they have done nothing wrong.  And they’re going to do it again."...

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Gannett.com

Among "Publishing" properties listed is The Big Lead

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Journal News owns Yankee blog:

"The Yankees LoHud blog"

"A New York Yankees blog by Chad Jennings and the staff of The Journal News"

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12/27/12, "What You Don’t Know About the Agenda-Driven Journalists in Your Neighborhood," Rockland County Times, Dylan Skriloff

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12/27/12, "Where The Journal News went wrong in publishing names, addresses of gun owners," Poynter.org, Al Tompkins

"Alternatives The Journal News could have considered"

"Here are some stories any newsroom could explore as part of publishing some version of a gun permit database.

If journalists could show flaws in the gun permitting system, that would be newsworthy. Or, for example, if gun owners were exempted from permits because of political connections, then journalists could better justify the privacy invasion.

If the data showed the relationship between the number of permits issued and the crime rates, that serves a public purpose. You would have to also look at income, population density, housing patterns, policing policies and more to really understand what is going on and why.

If a news org compared permit owners with a database of felony offenders in local counties, that could be a public service. Years ago I recall a Minneapolis TV station doing this and they found the state issuing hunting licenses to felons.

But none of those stories would require the journalist to name the names and include the home addresses of every permit holder. The mapping might be done by ZIP code or even by street.

I am not a big fan of the maps that show sex offenders, but at least there is a logical reason for posting them, even though the offenders often no longer live where the maps show them to be. And even when they do, how much risk do they pose? The maps can’t know that. The difference between the sex offender maps and the gun permit maps is that sex offenders have been convicted of a crime. The permit holders are accused of nothing."...

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"Reporter who penned the story:

Dwight R. Worley, 23006 139 Ave
Springfield Gardens, NY 11413
718-527-0832"

photo via Free Republic

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Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium Sat. 12/29, Syracuse v West Virginia, Empire St. Bldg. to be orange, blue and gold Fri. 12/28

Empire State Building will be lit with Syracuse Orange and West Virginia blue and gold Fri., 12/28

Sat., Dec. 29, 2012, Syracuse v West Virginia New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium

"This year marks the third annual bowl game at Yankee Stadium. In 2010, the Syracuse Orange defeated the Kansas State Wildcats, 36-34, in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. And last year, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights defeated the Iowa State Cyclones, 27-13. Prior to the inception of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in 2010, the last college football bowl game had been played in the Bronx in 1962, when Nebraska edged Miami (Fla.), 36-34, in the Gotham Bowl at the original Yankee Stadium."...

Army game at Yankee Stadium, pinstripebowl.com

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In response to Gannett's Journal News publishing names and addresses of registered gun owners in the area, blogger publishes names and address of Journal News employees--it's only fair

12/26/12, "Blogger Creates Interactive Map of Employees of Paper Which Published Names and Addresses of Pistol Permit Holders," NewsBusters, Tom Blumer

"In response to Gannett's Journal News headquartered in White Plains, New York publishing an interactive map containing the names and addresses of all pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland Counties (previous related posts are here and here), blogger Robert Cox at NewRochelleTalk.com (HT Instapundit) has produced an interactive map at a post entitled "Where are the Journal News employees in your neighborhood?"

It contains names, addresses, and various forms of Internet presence. Some of his narrative follows:...

"The map indicates the addresses of all Journal News Employees in the New York Tri-State area. Each dot represents an individual Journal News employee -- a reporter, editor or staffer. The data does not include freelancers — reporters or photographers — which can be hired without being an employee. Being included in this map does not mean the individual at a specific location is a responsible reporter or editor, just that they are a reporter or editor.

Data for all categories is included, but certain information is not available on an individual basis.
To create the map, Talk of the Sound submitted Google searches for the names and addresses of all Journal News employees in the New York Tri-State area. By state law, the information is public record."

To the inevitable objection that Cox has gone over the top, I would suggest that the Journal News obviously started this nonsense -- and if they didn't anticipate that blowback such as this might happen, they should have.

Sorry, Journal News, but you can't just walk all over the privacy rights of thousands of individuals and families and endanger everyone in your reading area in a blatant attempt to, by your own admission, capitalize on a school shooting tragedy -- gun owners who might see their weapons stolen and non-owners who can now be considered "soft targets" -- while automatically assuming that there will be no consequences." via Free Republic

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12/26/12, "NY paper treats citizens with gun permits like sex offenders," Legal Insurrection, B. Jacoutot

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Ed. note: Unpleasant white background placed behind part of this post was put there by an illegal hacker who dislikes free speech.

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Remembering Charles Durning in Dog Day Afternoon, a film about New York City in the summer

Durning in the street bargaining for hostages with Al Pacino in the 1975 film, "Dog Day Afternoon." Durning played "Detective Sergeant Eugene Moretti"

2 photos above, "Best shot Dog Day Afternoon," okinawaassault

"On three occasions, Lumet allowed Pacino and Charles Durning to improvise on camera, resulting in Pacino roaring “Attica, Attica!” to the crowd."...Pacino below leading into his "Attica" rant, "10 films that reek of summer"

Left, Durning eating sandwich on street while negotiating for hostages held in bank by Pacino character. tnttorrent.info

"Opening September 1975 in the U.S., Dog Day Afternoon was embraced by critics. Writing in the New Yorker, Pauline Kael called it “One of the best ‘New York’ movies ever made.”"...

Below clip of Pacino and Durning "Attica" ad lib:

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Christianity close to extinction in Middle East

12/23/12, "Christianity 'close to extinction' in Middle East," UK Telegraph, Edward Malnick

"Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers....



 "The study warns that Christians suffer greater hostility across the world than any other religious group.

And it claims politicians have been “blind” to the extent of violence faced by Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says, claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a fear that criticism will be seen as “racism”.

It warns that converts from Islam face being killed in Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Iran and risk severe legal penalties in other countries across the Middle East. The report, by the think tank Civitas, says: “It is generally accepted that many faith-based groups face discrimination or persecution to some degree. 

"A far less widely grasped fact is that Christians are targeted more than any other body of believers.”
It cites estimates that 200 million Christians, or 10 per cent of Christians worldwide, are “socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for their beliefs.”

“Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political priorities across large areas of the world. That this is not the case tells us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood,” says the author, Rupert Shortt, a journalist and visiting fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.

He adds: “The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom is the canary in the mine for human rights generally.”

The report, entitled Christianophobia, highlights a fear among oppressive regimes that Christianity is a “Western creed” which can be used to undermine them.

State hostility towards Christianity is particularly rife in China, where more Christians are imprisoned than in any other country in the world, according to the report....

The “lion’s share” of persecution faced by Christians arises in countries where Islam is the dominant faith, the report says, quoting estimates that between a half and two-thirds of Christians in the Middle East have left the region or been killed in the past century.

“There is now a serious risk that Christianity will disappear from its biblical heartlands,” it claims.
The report shows that “Muslim-majority” states make up 12 of the 20 countries judged to be “unfree” on the grounds of religious tolerance by Freedom House, the human rights think tank.

It catalogues hundreds of attacks on Christians by religious fanatics over recent years, focusing on seven countries: Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria, India, Burma and China.

It claims George Bush’s use of the word “crusade” after the September 11 attacks on New York created the impression for Muslims in the Middle East of a “Christian assault on the Muslim world”....

The 2003 invasion of Iraq left Iraqi Christians “more vulnerable than ever”, highlighted by the 2006 beheading of a kidnapped Orthodox priest, Fr Boulos Iskander, and the kidnapping of 17 further priests and two bishops between 2006 and 2010.

“In most cases, those responsible declared that they wanted all Christians to be expelled from the country,” the report says."...via Atlas Shrugs

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Ed. note: Forced extinction is also known as genocide.

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12/22/12, "Cooper, Huffman and Adlerstein: The Most Persecuted Religion," Wall St. Journal opinion.

"Christians are targeted—by independent groups or governments—in some 131 countries world-wide."

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The Little Drummer Boy

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Why are kids going crazy and shooting up schools? 'For the last 20 yrs. kids have been taught the planet is dying, they're the cause, that they must act, must manipulate their parents. Kids are being driven insane in schools'-Rosa Koire

12/18/12, "The World Happiness Index and Mass Murder," Democrats Against UN Agenda 21, Rosa Koire

"This is a graphic expression of one of the many Happiness Indexes floating around on the web.  Green is happy, red is miserable.   Looks like the Central Americans, Ecuadorans, and Mexicans have the lock on happiness from this map...  Have they had any school shootings? Or just wars and drug violence?

Everyone is asking 'Why are these kids going crazy and shooting up schools?' 

Let's consider some potential reasons.

For the last 20 years, with increasing frequency and intensity, children have been taught that the planet is dying and that they are the cause.

They're also taught that they have the power to save the planet.

Considering the fact that children are the most powerless of all people, this is an irresponsible thing to teach a child.  The pressure and responsibility of saving the planet is fierce.  

Children are fearful, stressed, and learning non-violent communication at the same time that they are playing violent computer games.  They are told that everyone is equal but that they are bad (unfair) if they have more than someone else. 

They're taught that bullying is bad and then they're uncertain about exactly what they can say and what they can't.  Children are taught to trust community, and are also told that there are people who would steal them away--strangers who look just like everyone else.

Children are taught sustainable development principles from the time that they're in kindergarten.  These principles are in every course and continue on until post-graduate school.  I was sent a book that is used in third grade: Rethinking Mathematics.  This book teaches students that every point of view is valid and should be considered, even when it is mathematically incorrect.  Is two plus two equal to five?  Let's give that some consideration because no one should be made to feel wrong.  What this does is to destroy certainty.  Mathematics is beautiful because no matter how many times you do a calculation, if it's done correctly you'll get the same answer every time.  Certainty.  The joy of certainty is destroyed for children, and 

rigidity is substituted in its place.  

Rigidity in thinking 'sustainably.' 
 
Just like most people, children are on drugs.  Mind altering, psychotropic drugs that many of them expect to be on for the rest of their lives.  Many of these anxiety drugs have 'side-effects.'  What is a side effect? The risk that psychological collateral damage may result from taking something to make you feel better---it's a mind-altering Russian roulette. 

And sometimes the guns are real.

The world is a dangerous place. Artificial scarcity, panic over global warming, fear that farmland and water sources are disappearing--all of this is UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development.  

Fear is a vital element of this plan.  

Panic is necessary to block your ability to think clearly and to question.  You must act.  How can you be happy when you're taught that children are starving in Ethiopia and baby wolves are being killed and it's because you're using too much water when you're brushing your teeth? Children are being used as levers to change society and manipulate their parents.

UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development is the green mask--the vision of the glorious future.  The joy of future sustainability--how beautiful it will be when we all ride bikes and take the train and live in apartments on the train line and work at non-profits that operate on the Triple Bottom Line: Planet, People, Profit.  We will no longer think about gross national product; we will think about our Gross National Happiness. Oh, glorious day when we will beat our swords into plowshares and return to peasantry.  Oh, the Neo-Feudal state we will enjoy when 'education' is openly and totally about behavioral modification and training.   

We are there.  This is the state of the 'educational system' now with Direct Instruction, Common Core, Mastery Learning, Outcome Based Education.  Children are being manipulated. 

Their open and impressionable minds are being taught to think in consensus, to be manageable and measurable and predictable and to answer the question the right way and to value sustainability above all else or the planet will die.   They must be HAPPY.  It's the New Poverty!  It's the Peace on Earth!  You must analyze every feeling and then share it with everyone in your class, children, because how will we know that you're HAPPY?    
 
Children are being driven insane in schools."...
   

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Some WFAN staff moving to CBS Sports Radio-NY Radio Message Bd.

12/22/12, "Some WFAN staff moving to CBS Sports Radio," NY Radio Message Board

"Posted by RichardW on December 22, 2012 at 01:15:25:

If I got it correct, Steve Somers mentioned on Friday night that the producers of his show were moving to Mike's show as the producers of Mike's show are moving to the new CBS Sports Radio Network Morning show.

Does this mean the CBS Sports Radio Network is going to be based out of CBS Radio studios in NYC?"

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"Posted by Paul Chelchowski on December 22, 2012 at 02:54:21:

In Reply to: Some WFAN staff moving to CBS Sports Radio posted by RichardW on December 22, 2012 at 01:15:25:

>>Does this mean the CBS Sports Radio Network is going to be based out of CBS Radio studios in NYC?<<

Yes. In the CBS press release announcing the Brandon Tierney/Tiki Barber/Dana Jacobson national morning show, it was mentioned that the show would be emanating from the Hudson Square studios where all of the CBS Radio New York properties currently reside.

In fact, in preparation for the new network, over this past week there have been new audio systems being installed in the studio where most of the WFAN hosts do their shows besides Mike Francesa (YES Network) and Boomer + Carton (MSG Network); those hosts have custom-made TV-radio combo studios. This has temporarily bumped some hosts into the Francesa/Boomer + Carton studios and also caused temporary audio glitches on 660 AM/101.9 FM.

Steve Somers also mentioned on Thursday evening 12/20 while working alongside current WFAN update anchor Rich Ackerman that Ackerman would be moving to the new sports network."

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11/26/12, "TIKI BARBER, BRANDON TIERNEY AND DANA JACOBSON TO HOST CBS SPORTS RADIO’S WEEKDAY MORNING SHOW," CBS Radio press release

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After Columbine school killings Pres. Bill Clinton funded "COPs in School" program placing police officers in schools. Why no screaming media hate against Clinton for this in 2000 but media screams hate against the idea in 2012?

4/16/2000, President Bill "Clinton Pledges Funds to Add Police to Schools," AP via LA Times

"Marking the first anniversary of the shooting deaths at Columbine High School, President Clinton announced $120 million in new federal grants Saturday to place more police officers in schools and help even the youngest kids cope with their problems.

"In our national struggle against youth violence we must not fail our children; our future depends on it," the president said in his weekly radio address....Other subjects will include the risks, challenges and anxieties faced by young people today and what can be done to avoid dangerous or risky behavior.

"We need to talk about safety and security in every house in America," Clinton said....

Clinton also unveiled the $60-million fifth round of funding for "COPS in School," a Justice Department program that helps pay the costs of placing police officers in schools to help make them safer for students and teachers. The money will be used to provide 452 officers in schools in more than 220 communities.

"Already, it has placed 2,200 officers in more than 1,000 communities across our nation, where they are heightening school safety as well as coaching sports and acting as mentors and mediators for kids in need," Clinton said....

"As we prepare next week to mark the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Columbine High School, our thoughts turn to the safety of our communities, schools and children," Clinton said. "All of us--parents, schools, communities and government--share responsibility to keep kids safe."

On April 20, 1999, two students at Columbine High in Littleton, Colo., fatally shot 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves." via Real Science

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12/22/12, "After the Columbine shooting, Bill Clinton wanted to put police in schools – and it was good.  

Now that the NRA has proposed the same thing, the idea is evil." Steven Goddard

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Above, NY Daily News front page, Tues., Dec.18, 2012

.














Above, NY Daily News front page, Sat., Dec. 22, 2012
Pictured is president of NRA, Wayne La Pierre

===================================

12/22/12, "Wayne LaPierre's Newtown statement pilloried by US newspapers," UK Guardian, Matt Williams

"New York Times and Hartford Courant among publications to denounce NRA leader's response as 'almost deranged'"

============================== 

12/24/12, "Yes, Columbine Had Armed Guards—And They Saved Lives," IBD editorial

"As we have pointed out, the shooter at the theater in Aurora, Colo., had other theaters between his home and his ultimate target that he could have chosen. Yet, the one he picked was the one that publicly proclaimed itself gun-free.

We've also observed that in other school shooting incidents, such as at a high school in Pearl, Miss., the shooter's spree was cut short by the presence of an armed citizen able to shoot back.

Yes, the critics respond, and there was an armed security guard at Columbine High School in 1999.

Yet, 12 students and a teacher were killed by two armed intruders, as if that disqualified the solution of placing armed guards, possibly unemployed army veterans, at each of our nation's 100,000-plus schools.

Yes, there was, and it was the guard's presence and the resistance he and others offered that kept the carnage less than it might have been.

On April 20, 1999, Neil Gardner, an armed sheriff's deputy who had been policing the school for almost two years, was eating lunch when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold arrived at Columbine with their deadly arsenal and deadlier intentions.

Gardner said he got a call from a custodian that he was needed in the school's back parking lot. A few minutes later, he encountered Harris, and the two exchanged gunfire. The exchange with Harris lasted for an extended period of time, during which Harris' gun jammed.

The deputy and the backup he immediately called for exchanged fire with the shooters a second time and helped begin the evacuation of students, all before SWAT teams arrived, and before Harris and Klebold eventually killed themselves in the library.

Harris and Klebold also carried improvised explosive devices, some that detonated, others that didn't. One thing is certain — the armed resistance of Gardner and his backup bought time and saved lives.

There is no way of knowing how many lives were saved that day by an armed sheriff's deputy, and how many would have been slaughtered if nobody had been there with a gun at all.

We have noted that days before Sandy Hook, an armed citizen stopped a shooter threatening a massacre at a mall in Clackamas, Ore. It echoed what happened in 2007 during a rampage in Trolley Square, Utah, which was put to an end after an officer who was on a date with his wife, confronted the shooter and kept the 18-year-old shooter pinned down until more police arrived and killed the shooter.

Some would argue that turning our schools into so-called armed camps is not the answer. But until we find a way to address the common thread of mental illness in these shootings mixed in a deadly cocktail of video games and mass entertainment, a world in which deaths have no consequence and lives no meaning, having good guys with guns confront bad guys with guns is a workable solution that has save countless lives.

It even worked at Columbine." via Free Republic

 

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Former NY Gov. Paterson moving on from WOR radio gig

12/21/12, "Former Gov. Patterson canned from radio hosting gig," NY Post, Erik Kriss

"Former Gov. David Paterson is looking for a new job — again.

Clear Channel canned him yesterday as the 4-6 p.m. weekday talk show host on WOR-AM 710 radio – less than two years after he was out of work following his tumultuous and abbreviated tenure at the state’s helm.

“As governor, he was oftentimes in position to dish it out, so he is certainly someone who can take it,” Paterson spokesman Sean Darcy said, adding the state’s first black chief exec “has been exploring a number of different options both in and out of the media.”

Paterson decided against running for governor in 2010 after ascending to the job when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer quit in March 2008 over a hooker scandal.

He landed the WOR gig in September 2011, but Clear Channel bought the station earlier this year and the conglomerate began layoffs this week.

Paterson had told Post columnist Fredric U. Dicker on his own radio show on Albany’s Talk 1300 AM recently that his job wasn’t a sure thing.

Paterson’s face and name were gone from the WOR web site’s “personalities” section yesterday, and the site’s schedule had no listing for his normal show time.

Execs for the station and Clear Channel could not be reached for comment."

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• photo NY Post, Lovegrove, 2009 World Series game 1. 

6/3/12, "Former NY Gov. David Paterson calls WFAN to chat about 'his beloved Mets'"

----------------------------------------------------
NY Radio Message Board discussion of "WOR Pink Slips"

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Former MLB pitcher John Rocker writes that California is funding racism

12/17/12, "California goes bankrupt funding racism," John Rocker, former MLB pitcher, World Net Daily

"Exclusive: John Rocker tells of college student punished for confronting Aztlan prof."

"Most people know that college campuses are the home-field turf of the radical left. What they don’t know is that their funds are going to support not just tomorrow’s version of Joe Biden, but radical activists who want to destroy this country.

Oh, I know what some of you are thinking. Here goes John Rocker sounding off again, blowing everything out of proportion.

Well, prepare to be shocked.

Neil O’Brien is a conservative student activist at Fresno State University and is carved from the same mold I am. He doesn’t have time for pretenses and speaks the truth as he sees it without regard for whether or not it’s politically correct.

Neil became persona non grata among the far left-radicals at Fresno State after he exposed the student body president and outspoken Dream Act advocate Pedro Ramirez as an illegal alien.

Neil didn’t stop there.

Fresno State is home to an entire Chicano Studies Department that seems to be crawling with radical left-wing activists who think the American Southwest belongs to Mexico.

The department sponsors a newspaper called “La Voz de Aztlan,” which translates to the Voice of Atzlan. For those not in the know, Aztlan is a mythical homeland of the ancient Mayans. Radical Chicano nationalists use the name Aztlan to describe a future homeland that would be carved from parts of the American Southwest.

La Voz de Aztlan published a poem by a student named Luis Sanchez entitled “America.” The ironically titled poem is an anti-American diatribe that claims this country was “robbed by the white savage” and is the land of the “biggest genocide” and “glorified killers.”

Neil read the poem and, like any patriotic American, was upset. He tried to speak directly with two of the professors who are faculty advisers for La Voz de Aztlan, but they refused to comment to him about the poem. Obviously realizing there was no reasoning with people like this, Neil promptly left.

This is where it gets interesting.

A video Neil took captured the encounter. Neil is slightly more polite than I could have managed with individuals sanctioning hateful rhetoric like that.

The next thing Neil knew he was getting calls from the campus police who said the professors had filed harassment complaints against him.

Neil went to the police station and showed them the video. The authorities decided there was no basis for the harassment claims and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

This wasn’t good enough for the radicals at Fresno State, however. The professors filed a complaint with the school, and administrators summoned Neil to a disciplinary hearing to discuss the incident.

From what I’ve read, the hearing sounded like a dog-and-pony show to scold Neil and teach him a lesson. The administrators refused to allow him to bring in his lawyer and would not watch the video of the incident. I guess evidence isn’t important to Fresno administrators. It makes sense considering that their real goal is apparently to shut down dissenters and protect people who absolutely hate this country.

Neil was formally reprimanded with probation and restricted from going within 100 feet of the Chicano Studies Department or its professors. Even with his punishment, O’Brien was still harassed by liberal professors and administrators at Fresno.

Fortunately, Neil is filing a lawsuit against the professors and school administrators involved in this entire ordeal.

Think about it. These professors published a racially offensive poem, and when a student went to ask them about it, administrators charged him with harassment.

Remember, Fresno State is a public school, so the fine taxpayers of California are funding this drivel along with the individuals who advocate it. I guess the hardworking people of California can at least rest assured knowing that their state is going bankrupt to support racist anti-American activities on state college campuses.

The real question here is, why aren’t more people standing up to this type of abuse? Why are people so willing to just sit down and take it?

At least when the history books are written about the former paradise known as California, Neil will know he wasn’t one of the sitters. And maybe, just maybe, his example will inspire others to stand up as well." via Free Republic

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Phil Mickelson withdraws ownership stake in San Diego Padres

12/19/12, "Phil Mickelson Withdraws Ownership Stake in Baseball’s Padres," Bloomberg, Michael Buteau

"Professional golfer Phil Mickelson has withdrawn his ownership interest in Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres, a spokesman for the golfer said.

Mickelson, 42, said yesterday that he wasn’t able to make a long-term commitment to the team, which was recently purchased for $800 million by a group including beer distributor Ron Fowler and the family of former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

T.R. Reinman, a spokesman for Mickelson, confirmed the report in an e-mail. He declined to comment on Mickelson’s reason for the decision. Mickelson, a San Diego resident who ranks ninth in U.S. PGA Tour history with 40 wins, was to hold a minority stake in the team."

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Baseballs autographed by Yankee greats stolen from posh downtown apartment during Sandy evacuation

12/10/12, "Thieves swiped valuables from posh apartments following Sandy evacuations," NY Post

"Stealthy thieves swiped valuables from luxury apartments at ritzy 2 Gold St. in the Financial District after residents there were forced to vacate because of Hurricane Sandy, The Post has learned.
The looters slinked into the empty pads at the 52-story high-rise and stole pricey watches, bundles of cash, a cherished baseball collection and assorted jewelry after the building was left without power — and, therefore, had no working security cameras to record the capers, law-enforcement sources said.

In each incident, there were no signs of forced entry or unlocked doors, the sources said. The building’s management firm, TF Cornerstone, had given workers keys to the tower’s 839 units in order to clean rotting food from refrigerators and for safety inspections.

“They took 15 [of my] baseballs autographed by the best Yankees still living,” said furious resident Chris Mirabile, founder of hotlist.com, a popular social-planning app. “It was a Christmas gift last year from an investor. It had a lot of sentimental value and, obviously, financial value.”

The collection included balls signed by such pinstriped greats as Yogi Berra, Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Whitey Ford and Mariano Rivera and was kept in a wooden case. Also stolen was Mirabile’s $12,000 Rolex....

Mirabile was in his apartment the night of the storm but had to leave in the days afterward when the swank tower, which boasts such amenities as landscaped decks, a swimming pool and a rooftop solarium with a fireplace, was deemed unsafe by the city.

“The boiler exploded due to the basement flooding, and something like 20,000 gallons of oil leaked,” Mirabile said. “The whole building smelled like gasoline, and it still does, to a degree.”
Mirabile was crashing on a couch at a friend’s pad in Midtown when he saw a Facebook group created by several residents called “2 Gold Street Unite” that said tenants were being allowed back in.

“When I got there, I went directly to my dresser, and the baseballs were gone,” he said of his return home Nov. 9. “I said to myself, ‘You gotta be kidding me here.’ I looked in every drawer, every closet, under the bed, in the kitchen, thinking I hid it, but, nope, I was robbed.”

When Mirabile, who is now living at his parents’ home on Long Island, reported the crime to TF Cornerstone, they assured him of their security measures.

“They were telling me to calm down, but it just seems like they are covering up some missteps, especially when it comes to people like me,” he said."...

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Final 2012 Major League Baseball payrolls-AP

12/18/12, "2012 Final Baseball Payrolls," AP

"Final 2012 payrolls for the 30 major league teams, according to information received by clubs from the commissioner's office. Figures are for 40-man rosters and include salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions. In some cases, parts of salaries that are deferred are discounted to reflect present-day values."...

12/18/12, "Yankees pay $19.3 million in luxury tax," AP via Newsday
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Very nice online Christmas card

12/18/12, "A nice online Christmas card," navysealdad
 
http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/card.html ^

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RG III has single season jersey sales record in 6 yrs. of NFL tracking-ESPN

12/17/12, "RG III has best-selling jersey," Darren Rovell, ESPN

"Robert Griffin III is not only impressing on the field, he's also making an impression off it. The Washington Redskins rookie quarterback's No. 10 jersey has sold more than any other player's in a single season since the NFL started keeping track six years ago, league spokeswoman Joanna Hunter told ESPN.com.

The metric is based on sales of jerseys on the league's official Internet store, NFLshop.com."

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WABC Musicradio 77 was the greatest Top 40 radio station of all time-Allan Sniffen

"Introduction to the Musicradio WABC Website," Allan M. Sniffen 

"How do you capture lightning in a bottle? Is it possible to grasp a piece of your past that captures your feelings about a time now gone? For some, it might be a visit to a baseball game or maybe a high school reunion. For me, that lightning is Musicradio 77, WABC.

This is a webpage dedicated to the greatest Top 40 music radio station of all time: WABC New York. From December 7, 1960 to May 10, 1982 WABC was the definition of Top 40 radio. It was the most influential music radio station of its day and had the power to make a hit record by simply playing it on a hunch. With its 50,000 watt clear channel AM signal at 770 kHz it covered the nation’s most populated region like a blanket and at night could be heard throughout the eastern half of the U.S. on a transistor radio. WABC was even occasionally heard as far away from New York as Hawaii.

But that’s not what made me a Musicradio WABC fan. I grew up in the New York Metropolitan area so all of this meant little to me then. What really was great about Musicradio WABC was that it always sounded like fun. From the music that played to the disc jockeys who played it, there was always the feeling that this was the single most fun thing anyone could possibly be doing. It seemed to me that working at WABC must be the easiest, most enjoyable thing any adult could ever want to do. Of course, I later realized how much planning, work and talent it took to create that sound. But to the listener, it could not have seemed more exciting.

This is not to say that there was anything about WABC’s sound that was left to chance by its program director, the late Rick Sklar. In fact, everything was tightly controlled from its music to its promotions. The magic was in making it all sound spontaneous."...

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Allan M. Sniffen is also the owner of NY Radio Message Board.

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Comments about state of baseball in Mexico and Puerto Rico on thread about Mets Spanish language radio moving from WQBU to ESPN Deportes

12/14/12, "Mets to 1050 ESPN Desportes," NY Radio Message Board

"Posted by David Gleason on December 14, 2012 at 12:21:08:

In Reply to: Mets to 1050 ESPN Desportes posted by Nick P on December 14, 2012 at 05:41:02:

Baseball is only a moderately significant sport in several of the northern states of Mexico. It is neither followed nor popular in the remaining 80% of the country. Soccer is by far the national sport of Mexico.

The Greater Antilles plus Nicaragua are the only places in Latin America where soccer is not significant. In Puerto Rico, basketball draws much larger crowds than baseball, which is considered an older person's sport. Baseball has some following in Venezuela, but, again, soccer dominates.

It's "ESPN Deportes" not "desportes.""

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"DavidGleason.com" describes extensive experience in Spanish speaking radio. It may or may not be the same "Dave Gleason" above.

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12/14/12, "Mets to 1050 ESPN Desportes," NY Radio Message Board

"Posted by Nick P on December 14, 2012 at 05:41:02:

"The Mets Spanish language radio rights are going to ESPN Desportes. They had been on 92.3 WQBU for the past three seasons (and for the previous 15 or so years on WADO). This raises three points:

Is this a prelude to the English language rights moving to ESPN when the WFAN contract expires? I guess that ESPN hopes it gives them an advantage. I suspect that the Mets would prefer to stay at WFAN if possible and if the money is close.

Also, is it as important for a Spanish language sports team to have professional sports radio rights as it is for an English language station?

Finally, I understand from reading this board (I've tried but my Spanish isn't good enough to follow ESPN Desportes) that ESPN Desportes is more oriented to Mexican sports. While baseball is popular among people of Mexican background, those of Dominican background (in general) are much more passionate. Does this mean anything about reorienting the focus about ESPN Desportes locally (does the station have local hosts)?

• Adam Rubin's Blog"

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Final out of San Francisco Giants 2012 World Series win in a crowded local radio booth was gratefully called by Dave Flemming

11/25/12, Ben Fong-Torres: "If you heard the World Series on KNBR [radio in San Francisco] and wondered why it was young Dave Flemming, and not lead play-by-play man Jon Miller, who called the final out, here's your answer. With all four Giants announcers (including mainly TV guys Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper) doing radio, the broadcast booth in Detroit was crowded, and Flemming got only one inning (the 6th), with the understanding that

•  if a game went into extras, he'd do the 10th. 

And so it was. But after the Giants scored a run in the top of the inning, he offered Miller the microphone for the potential final out. "He's the voice of the Giants," said Flemming, "and was working for national radio (ESPN) in 2010, so he didn't do the final call for our broadcast that year." (Kuiper did.) Flemming continued: "Jon never flinched; just said, 'No, you do it.' I got a chance to do what very few broadcasters have done. Jon gave me a moment I won't forget. And I'd like to think I made a good call."

Actually, he hit it outta here! {sbox}" (p. 2)

11/25/12, "'Okay, Okay, I Wrote the Book' on Top 40," Ben Fong-Torres, SFGate.com

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Yankees receive luxury tax bill for $18.9 million bringing their total for the past decade to $224.2 million. Marlins to have lowest payroll in 2013. UPDATED, Yanks 2012 revised up, now owe $19.3 million

UPDATED: 12/18/12, "Yankees pay $19.3 million in luxury tax," AP via Newsday

"The New York Yankees' luxury tax bill for this year has gone up by nearly $400,000. Major League Baseball sent a revised accounting to the team Tuesday, raising New York's payment to $19,311,642 from $18,917,994. The change reflected how one player's salary was accounted for."...
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12/14/12, "Yankees hit with $18.9M luxury tax,"AP

"The New York Yankees were hit with an $18.9 million luxury tax by Major League Baseball, the 10th consecutive year they will pay a penalty for their spending.

The team finished with a $222.5 million payroll for purposes of the tax, according to figures sent to teams Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press.

Following its payroll-shedding trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer, Boston finished just $47,177 under the $178 million threshold. The Los Angeles Angels wound up at $176.7 million and Philadelphia at $174.5 million.

Figures include average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters, earned bonuses and escalators, adjustments for cash in trades and $10.8 million per team in benefits.

New York has run up a luxury tax bill of $224.2 million over the past decade, with the fee increasing from $13.9 million last year. The Yankees' tax rate rose from 40 percent to 42.5 percent this year and figures to climb to 50 percent next season. But they hope to get under the threshold in 2014, when it rises to $189 million. Dropping under the threshold would lower their potential tax rate in 2015 to 17.5 percent.

"It affects my decision-making process, my communication about the pressure points we have," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, adding that market rates for free agents also impact his choices.

For the regular payroll calculation - 2012 income plus prorated shares of signing bonuses - spending by the 30 big league teams broke $3 billion for the first time at $3.15 billion after falling $43,000 short of the milestone last year.

The Yankees finished at a record $223.3 million, their 14th consecutive year as the biggest spender and topping their previous mark of $222.5 million in 2008.

However, the Dodgers could break that mark next year following a summer and autumn of acquisitions. Los Angeles currently is at $207.9 million for 21 signed players, including adjustments for the August trade with Boston that brought Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers. The Yankees are at $182 million for 14 players, including a deal with Ichiro Suzuki that hasn't been finalized.

"You don't get a trophy for having the highest payroll," Cashman said. "I'm not going to feel weird either way, if we're the highest or we're not the highest. That's not the issue. Just want to be the best."
Philadelphia was second at $169.7 million, followed by Boston ($168.6 million), the Angels ($160.1 million), AL champion Detroit ($140.7 million) and World Series champion San Francisco ($138.1 million).

Even while shedding some stars during the season, Miami rose from $61.9 million to $89.9 million.

The Marlins figure to drop to the bottom of spending next year after trading nearly all their veterans.

Among the big slashers were the New York Mets (from $142.2 million in 2011 to $103.7 million) and the Chicago Cubs (from $140.6 million to $107.7 million).

Oakland won the AL West despite the lowest payroll in the major leagues at $59.5 million. The division rival Angels rose from $143.1 million to $160.1 million yet still missed the playoffs. They added slugger Josh Hamilton this week with a $125 million, five-year deal set to be announced Saturday.

The Dodgers, sold during the season to a group headed by Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson, climbed from $109.9 million in 2011 to $129.1 million. In the last week they added pitchers Zack Greinke ($147 million over six years) and Ryu Hyun-jin ($36 million over six years).

The commissioner's office computed the average salary at a record 3,104,563, up 2.2 percent from last year's $3,039,161, The players' association, which uses a slightly different method, pegged the average at $3,213,479, up 3.8 percent.

Payroll figures are for 40-man rosters and include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions, such as money included in trades. In some cases, parts of salaries that are deferred are discounted to reflect present-day values.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, checks to pay the luxury tax must be sent to the commissioner's office by Jan. 21."

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LA Angels converting press box to luxury seating, radio and tv broadcast booths to remain behind home plate

12/13/12, "Angels converting press box to luxury seating," LA Times, Mike DiGiovanna

"The Angels are in the process of converting their press box to a luxury seating area that will feature upgraded dining opportunities and amenities for about 80 fans, a move that will push writers covering the team to a new press box down the right-field line in Angel Stadium.

There will be no changes to the radio and television broadcast booths, which will remain on the club level behind home plate, or in the Diamond Club restaurant and seating areas on the lower level behind home plate.

“It really boils down to building revenue streams and finding as many ways as possible to grow,” said Tim Mead, Angels vice president of communications. “In talking to other teams, the seating behind home plate is a prime area to do things.”

A similar move several years ago by the Chicago White Sox,  who pushed writers far down the right-field line and up a level, was met with resistance by the media there, but the configuration has remained despite some objection from Commissioner Bud Selig.

Asked if the Angels had received permission from Major League Baseball to make the switch, Mead said, “This is not something we have to seek approval for.” Mead did talk to White Sox officials before deciding on the move.

“I know how things went there,” Mead said. “There were new sight lines, but people adjusted after a while. We’re going to try to make it as comfortable as possible for everyone.”" via Marc Carig twitter

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11/26/12, "Angels Move Press Box Beyond RF Foul Pole," halosheaven.com, Rev. Halofan

"The writing is on the wall, or better yet... in the email... as the Angels have suddenly begun selling some amazing ten-game suite packages in the most enviable seats in the entire stadium - the press box... or make that the FORMER press box.

It appears that the new suites the Angels are selling are located smack dab above the Diamond Club where for decades the scribes of Anaheim have worshipped the Run Batted In while keeping the innovative bloggers at the gates. The press, less needed than ever with the self-promoting MLB Advanced Media (aka, the team websites) is being sent to the cheap seats.

In converting the press box to high-dollar seating inventory, is team President John "Buttercup" Carpino sending a message to the dinosaurs of the local Southern California media that they either play ball with the needs of the team or they get sent to the proverbial seating Siberia?

Have the Angels retaliated against the OC Register's Mark Whicker for his lame MVP Vote by moving their historic press box from behind home plate to far out beyond the right field foul pole near the Knothole Club?

Whicker voted for Miguel Cabrera for American League Most Valuable Player over Angels rookie sensation - and obvious choice for the award - Mike Trout.

History will not be kind to the Whickers of the world as fans adapt to new stats that better perceive the grand old game, but Carpino and his crony Dennis Kuhl don't appear to be waiting for history to mete out the punishment to the local media.

Instead of sucking up to the latest Tim Mead intern for a free seat right next to Arte Moreno's personal game box, now journalistic wannabees, bloggers, message board mavens and the old inkstained RBI-lovin' print crew like the ever-obese Whicker will all have to be satisfied with one of the worst seats in the house, far from the action, the seat of power and the good plumbing of in-basepath lavatories. Meanwhile, Albert Pujols and perhaps even Zack Greinke will have their contracts financed by perhaps the single best seating views for a baseball game on the West Coast.

Don't let those rubbery, room-temperature Knothole Club nachos spoil your season, Whicker." photo US Presswire via halosheaven

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There was even talk that RGIII the black quarterback was a Republican-Parker, ESPN

12/13/12, "Rob Parker on RGIII’s blackness," Washington Post, Dan Steinberg

"This led to a Thursday discussion on First Take, ESPN’s abysmal debate program. Panelist Rob Parker was asked, ‘What does this say about RGIII?”

“This is an interesting topic,” Parker said. “For me, personally, just me, this throws up a red flag, what I keep hearing. And I don’t know who’s asking the questions, but we’ve heard a couple of times now of a black guy kind of distancing himself away from black people.

“I understand the whole story of I just want to be the best,” Parker continued. “Nobody’s out on the field saying to themselves, I want to be the best black quarterback. You’re just playing football, right? You want to be the best, you want to throw the most touchdowns and have the most yards and win the most games. Nobody is [thinking] that.

“But time and time we keep hearing this, so it just makes me wonder deeper about him,” Parker went on. “And I’ve talked to some people down in Washington D.C., friends of mine, who are around and at some of the press conferences, people I’ve known for a long time. But my question, which is just a straight honest question. Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?”...

Why is that your question, Parker was asked.

“Well, because I want to find out about him,” Parker said. “I don’t know, because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancée. There was all this talk about he’s a Republican, which, there’s no information [about that] at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper as to why he has an issue. Because we did find out with Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods was like I’ve got black skin but don’t call me black. So people got to wondering about Tiger Woods early on.”...

Then Stephen A. Smith was asked for his take. He exhaled deeply.

“Well first of all let me say this: I’m uncomfortable with where we just went,” Smith said. “RGIII, the ethnicity, the color of his fiancée is none of our business. It’s irrelevant. He can live his life any way he chooses. The braids that he has in his hair, that’s his business, that’s his life. I don’t judge someone’s blackness based on those kind of things. I just don’t do that. I’m not that kind of guy."...via Mark Levin show
 

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Bob Costas had it exactly backwards-Alicia Colon

12/12/12, "The Dumbing Down Of Americans," Alicia Colon, Irish Examiner

"Then (Bob) Costas went on the O'Reilly Factor and continued to show his ignorance about the gun control issue. He expressed gratitude that no one else in that Aurora Colorado theatre was armed or there would have been additional carnage.

If Costas had done any research on how guns save lives, he would have known that in April this year in that same town of Aurora, a gunman shot and killed a woman in a crowded church and was stopped by a licensed gun owner before he could kill again.

Superficial thinking has made many Americans vulnerable to demagogues, thieves and just plain liars. Unfortunately, the media and our government are full of the latter."...via Lucianne

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Miami Marlins could learn from Tampa Bay Rays-Miami Herald

12/11/12, "Linda Robertson: Marlins could learn from Rays," Miami Herald

"About 300 miles up the road, within the former Major League Baseball wasteland known as Florida, there is a team managed by people who know what they're doing and where they're going. Vision, in other words. A plan.

The Tampa Bay Rays proved again that nothing beats brainpower by completing a trade stocked with foresight. They reduced their surplus of pitching in exchange for Kansas City's Wil Myers, 22, the best hitting prospect in baseball. They gave up durable starter James Shields and reliever Wade Davis for highly regarded right-handed prospect Jake Odorizzi, plus lefty Mike Montgomery and minor-league third baseman Patrick Leonard. Pay attention, Miami Marlins.

The Royals, seeking an immediate return to relevancy after 27 years missing from the playoffs, got a pretty good pitching upgrade. The Rays got talent for the future to complement what they have at present at prices they can afford. They keep adjusting their building blocks while the Marlins tear down and stack from scratch.

You think 2012 was bad in Miami, with the last-place record, the fire sale of recognizable names, the axing of yet another manager? Next season could be worse, because it will be loss upon loss without the novella entertainment value.

No free agents could possibly want to join the Marlins, not with Mark Buerhle and Jose Reyes - jettisoned to Toronto - whispering in their ears. The stars who remain want a ticket out.

So, as a model of sense and cents-ability, look at the Marlins' marine-creature counterpart. While the Rays swim along, smoothly and steadily, Miami's flashy fighting fish are flailing at the end of a line being jerked by owner Jeffrey Loria.

Tampa is no baseball paradise. The franchise was conceived in chaos, endured doormat years and is still housed inside unappealing Tropicana Field. The small-market Rays have a limited payroll, and they play in the same division as the rich and popular Yankees and Red Sox.

But within three years of progressive new ownership taking over, the Rays were in the 2008 World Series. The Marlins won the 2003 World Series but have not returned to the playoffs since.

Loria went for the big splash to coincide with the opening of his half-a-billion-dollar stadium, 75 percent of which was publicly financed. But his $161 million in free agent signings - his personal choices - didn't pan out, Ozzie Guillen got off on the wrong foot by sticking his foot in his mouth, and a succession of poor drafts plus an unproductive farm system caught up with the franchise.
Result: A big flop.

The Rays spent lavishly in 1999 and finished 69-92. They, too, were ruled by a dictatorial, miserly, meddling owner, Vince Naimoli, who alienated fans, businessmen and employees. According to Jonah Keri, author of The Extra 2 Percent: How Wall Street Strategies Took A Major League Baseball Team From Worst to First , Naimoli invited a high school band to play the national anthem, but insisted they buy tickets. He ordered ushers to throw out a diabetic lady who brought "outside food" in a Ziploc bag into the stadium. He had his general manager sign declining veterans and trade promising youngsters. Then there's the story of the scout who told the Rays to sign a kid named Albert Pujols. He was ignored.

Under owner Stuart Sternberg, president Matthew Silverman and general manager Andrew Friedman - all former Wall Street moneymen - the team and its image were retooled. They removed the Devil from Devil Rays. They retrained service workers at Disney World. The held a campout and concerts for fans inside Tropicana. Offered free parking. Installed a suggestion box. Hired manager Joe Maddon, also an innovator.

They run the team with the financial industry philosophy of buy low, sell high, seek value, find small advantages.

"We are constantly working to balance the present and future, and trying to thread the needle," Friedman said. "As an organization, we rely more on the contributions of our young players than basically anyone else in baseball. With this trade we're hoping to replenish our system and add a lot of players we feel can help us sustain this run of success we've had the last five years."

Meanwhile, Marlins management is tone deaf to the concept of public relations. They need a voice other than David Samson's, because who trusts him or Loria? They wildly overestimated attendance for 2012 given their history of treating fans like chumps. The "neighborhood revitalization" that was to occur around the stadium is a joke.

Keri, a Montreal native writing an Expos book, recalled how Loria was a white knight when he bought the Expos, "but when things went downhill, the shady merry-go-round started, there was an incredible backlash, and the way he left town was unsavory," Keri said.

As for constructing a winner, Loria and Larry Beinfest are all over the map.

Look at the potential starting lineup: pitcher Ricky Nolasco, catcher Rob Brantly, first baseman Logan Morrison, second baseman Donovan Solano, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, third baseman Greg Dobbs, left fielder Juan Pierre, center fielder Justin Ruggiano, right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. Care to guess the team home run total?

Only two homegrown players, and no faith that they'll be here if and when the Marlins turn things around.

Baseball is an inexact science, but the Rays took a deep breath and embraced positive change. These ex-Goldman Sachs guys want to make a profit as badly as anybody, but they understand the perpetual link between success on the field and in the stands. If Marlins executives care, they better pay attention."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/11/v-fullstory/3137795/linda-robertson-marlins-could.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/11/v-fullstory/3137795/linda-robertson-marlins-could.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/11/v-fullstory/3137795/linda-robertson-marlins-could.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/11/v-fullstory/3137795/linda-robertson-marlins-could.html#storylink=cpy

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