They pounded another nail into the coffin that is traditional amateur athletics on Monday. “They” is an amorphous actor‚ to be sure‚ comprising athletes‚ power brokers‚ agents‚ the courts‚ the government‚ and general mucky-mucks dissatisfied with a model of amateur sports that has for a century provided athletes as well as a sports-crazed public the joy of competition on a stage “purer” than that of professionalism. READ MORE from Tom Raabe: Nick Saban Hangs Up His Straw Hat But the “they” in this case is a regional official from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) who ruled that the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team was composed not of student-athletes but of student-employees‚ and‚ as employees of Dartmouth‚ they could unionize. It is possible they will do so within the next week or two‚ and if they vote affirmatively‚ they will join other Dartmouth employees at Local 560 of the Service Employees International Union.  The official‚ NLRB regional director Laura Sacks‚ wrote in a 26-page ruling: Because Dartmouth has the right to control the work performed by the Dartmouth men’s varsity basketball team‚ and the players perform that work in exchange for compensation‚ the petitioned-for basketball players are employees within the meaning of the [National Labor Relations] Act. It didn’t matter to Sacks that Dartmouth doesn’t give athletic scholarships or that‚ unlike big-time athletic departments‚ the school’s sports teams don’t make money. Nor even that the “compensation” the Dartmouth jocks receive comprises not money but equipment‚ apparel‚ free tickets to home games‚ and shoes. To her‚ they are employees of the school and‚ as such‚ can unionize. What this means is that players will be able to negotiate over salaries‚ working hours‚ working conditions‚ and travel arrangements‚ among other matters. Players’ testimony during a hearing that‚ while NCAA rules limit athletes to 20 hours spent on their sport per week‚ they actually spend more than 40 hours per week may have influenced the director. Michael Hsu‚ a supporter of the Dartmouth suit‚ told Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports: The schools will have to pay the players. Minimum wage is what it is‚ minimum wage. Some players may make only minimum wage. Other ones‚ there will be a lot of competition over. This gives them a chance to use the athletic director’s budget to pay players. Dartmouth College promises to appeal the NLRB ruling. On the other side‚ an Ivy League Players Association for hoopsters is already being talked about. This is not the first unionization effort in college sports. In 2014‚ the Northwestern football team attempted to unionize‚ arguing that because they were given scholarships‚ they had the right to bargain collectively. Like the Dartmouth case‚ a regional director of the NLRB gave the players the go-ahead – ruling that the players were university employees – but after an election was held by the team‚ the full NLRB sided in 2015 with the university‚ and the ballots were destroyed. Chaos in College Sports The Northwestern decision went against unionization‚ but that was nine years ago‚ when sanity was in greater abundance in the college athletic world and the concept of the student-athlete was still a tenable idea‚ albeit marginally so. Now‚ in 2024‚ the landscape has changed. The college sports world has been turned upside down. Utter chaos has been the standard for the past three or so years on the big-college athletic scene. The NCAA’s effort to allow college athletes to reap monetary rewards for their name‚ image‚ and likeness (NIL) has turned into an all-out bidding war for top-notch talent. The big powers with wealthy boosters commandeer collectives — groups of donors independent of the universities that set up NIL deals for athletes — that end up offering athletes lucrative NIL deals (some in the millions of dollars). (RELATED from Tom Raabe: Congress Jumps Into the NIL Debate) While this gives a leg up to the well-bankrolled schools — the Texases‚ Alabamas‚ and Ohio States — it hurts the less wealthy schools in recruitment and threatens to demote them to ersatz mid-major status. Whereas once the football program at an Iowa State or Cal or Georgia Tech‚ to pick three‚ could compete in their conferences and sneak away with a championship on occasion‚ their lack of sports-generated finances may now relegate them to perpetual also-rans. Couple that with the relaxed transfer rules that allow athletes in the major sports to switch schools without penalty‚ and bidding wars for stud football and basketball players — and wholesale movement of players from team to team — have become an annual off-season ritual. Adding to the upheaval is a letter sent by the new NCAA president in December proposing the establishment of a new tier of schools that would be permitted to make their own rules‚ up to a point‚ apart from the rank-and-file Division I programs and to invest in their athletes directly. Charlie Baker‚ on the job only since last March‚ says schools in this new group would have to “invest at least $30‚000 per year into an enhanced educational trust fund for at least half of the school’s eligible student-athletes.” This is clearly directed toward football‚ college sports’ cash cow and financier of minor sports at all big colleges around the country. The idea is that the elite football powers — the upper ranks of the Football Bowl Subdivision — would be allowed to make their own rules about roster size‚ transfers‚ and NIL‚ among other issues. Add to that the numerous other actions‚ including lawsuits‚ presently afoot in the collegiate sporting world. The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia are in legal battle with the NCAA over the latter’s NIL rules‚ and the NLRB is pushing USC to reclassify its athletes as employees.  It is little wonder that the two mega-conferences — the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten‚ now comprising 16 and 18 schools‚ respectively — recently formed an advisory group to chart their way through a future that features not only an expanding NIL universe but also a seemingly unlimited and unregulated transfer portal — and now‚ to cap the craziness‚ the specter of college athletes forming unions and bargaining with their schools. Whatever emerges from all this will not be your daddy’s college sports. There are a lot of daddies unhappy about that.  The post College Jocks Given Green Light to Unionize appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Two hundred years ago‚ on Feb. 7‚ 1824‚ President James Monroe invited Revolutionary War hero Gen. Lafayette to the United States. Earlier‚ Lafayette had expressed his wish to visit this country for the first time since he had left it in 1785 at age 28. A joint congressional resolution was introduced on Jan. 12 and passed both houses on Jan. 29. That 1824 was an election year did not deter Monroe‚ whose term would end in a year‚ from making the invitation in anticipation of the Republic’s 50th anniversary of independence. (READ MORE: What Made Rome‚ Rome?) There were four presidential contenders: John Quincy Adams‚ Henry Clay‚ Andrew Jackson‚ and William Crawford. This was the election famous for being thrown into the House. Lafayette attended a dinner on the evening of Feb. 9‚ 1825‚ watched the House vote‚ and witnessed Adams and Jackson greet each other. Lafayette was painted in 1819 by Ary Scheffer‚ who made two replicas in 1822–23 and sent one to the speaker of the house in 1824‚ where it has hung since Jan. 20‚ 1825 (Ary Scheffer/Harvard Art Museums/Wikimedia Commons) After some delay and a month’s voyage‚ the man everyone now called “the Nation’s Guest” arrived on our shores on Aug. 15‚ 1824‚ intending to stay for four months. (The term “guest of the nation” first appeared in papers anywhere in the country in “Corporation Proceedings‚” Alexandria [Va.] Gazette‚ on June 26‚ 1824‚ and “Nation’s Guest” first appeared in Richmond Enquirer‚ July 27‚ 1824.) Lafayette extended his stay. From Aug. 15‚ 1824‚ until he departed on Sept. 7‚ 1825‚ he was feted each and every day of the 13 months. He was escorted from town to town by prominent townspeople. Carriages were built for the occasion (including one held by the Studebaker Museum in South Bend). He was lauded by speeches‚ poems‚ banquets‚ parades‚ and artillery salutes‚ governors‚ mayors‚ and elderly Revolutionary War veterans greeted him. People wore gloves and scarves bearing his image (800 of these objects are held by Lafayette College‚ Easton‚ Pennsylvania). (READ MORE: The Catholic Church Was Always Anti-Slavery: Listen to Paul Kengor Discuss on EWTN) During his visit‚ places and streets were named or renamed in his honor — places like Lafayette Square in Washington‚ D.C.‚ and Lafayette‚ Indiana. Papers throughout the country reported on all his doings and movements. In addition‚ papers reported on his life‚ especially his service during the Revolutionary War‚ and they published anecdotes of veterans. Readers were aghast at his imprisonment from 1792-1797 by French revolutionaries. A young Frenchman‚ Julian Icher‚ founder of the Lafayette Trail‚ has been working with the American Friends of Lafayette to erect historical markers at each of Lafayette’s stops. During this bicentennial‚ there will be a number of reenactments. For example‚ one woman is planning reenactments of his visit to Fort McHenry (Baltimore)‚ his address to the joint session of Congress‚ and his visits to Philadelphia and New York City. Another reenactment is planned in Lancaster‚ Pennsylvania. The Journey of Lafayette Lafayette arrived at age 67 and traveled 6‚000 miles by carriage and boat in his tour of all 24 states — the 13 original states and the 11 which had been admitted since: Vermont (1791)‚ Kentucky (1792)‚ Tennessee (1796)‚ Ohio (1803)‚ Louisiana (1812)‚ Indiana (1816)‚ Mississippi (1817)‚ Illinois (1818)‚ Alabama (1819)‚ Maine (1820)‚ and Missouri (1821). Lafayette’s stops are well-documented‚ but here is a less-than-comprehensive list: 1824 August: New York (New York City‚ Harlem‚ New Rochelle); Connecticut (Bridgeport‚ Greenwich‚ Stamford‚ Norwalk‚ Saugatuck‚ Fairfield‚ New Haven); Rhode Island (Providence); Massachusetts (Boston‚ Cambridge‚ Quincy‚ where he met with former President John Adams). September: New Hampshire (Portsmouth); Massachusetts (Boston‚ Concord‚ Lexington‚ Worcester); Connecticut (Harford); New York (New York City‚ Newburgh‚ West Point‚ he met with Janet Montgomery‚ widow of General Richard Montgomery at Montgomery Place‚ Poughkeepsie‚ Troy); Philadelphia. October: Wilmington‚ Baltimore‚ Washington‚ D.C.‚ Virginia (Mount Vernon‚ Yorktown‚ Norfolk‚ Richmond‚ Williamsburg). I stop for a moment here with a reverential pause. Lafayette was accompanied on his trip by his son George Washington Lafayette and his personal secretary Auguste Levasseur. Levasseur’s memoirs of the trip were published in French in 1828 and English in 1829. He wrote about Lafayette’s Oct. 17 visit to Washington’s tomb: The tomb is scarcely perceived amid the somber cypresses … Lafayette descended alone in the vault‚ and a few minutes thereafter reappeared‚ with his eyes overflowing with tears. He took his son and me by the hand‚ and led us into the tomb…. We knelt reverentially near his coffin‚ which we respectfully saluted with our lips; rising‚ we mingled our tears with his. Lafayette then gave the following remarks‚ using handwritten notes: The feelings‚ which on this awful moment oppress my heart don’t leave me the power of utterance. I can only thank you‚ my dear Custis [Washington’s adopted son‚ George Washington Parke Custis] for your precious gift [a sprig of cedar from the tomb] and pray a silent homage to the tomb of the greatest and best of men‚ my paternal friend. November: Washington‚ D.C.; Virginia (nine days at Monticello with Thomas Jefferson; five days at Montpelier with James and Dolley Madison; Fredericksburg). December: Washington‚ D.C. (Navy Yard; first commencement of Columbian College (now George Washington University)‚ addresses each house of Congress separately on December 10); Maryland (Annapolis (before the Naval Academy was founded in 1845)‚ Maryland State House‚ Frederick). 1825 January: Baltimore; Richmond; Harrisburg. February: Southern Virginia; North Carolina. March: North Carolina (Raleigh‚ Fayetteville‚ Charleston); Georgia (Savannah (laid cornerstone of a monument to Gen. Nathaniel Greene)‚ Augusta‚ capital Milledgeville‚ Macon); Alabama. April: Alabama (Montgomery‚ Selma‚ capital Cahaba‚ Mobile); Louisiana (New Orleans; site of 1815 battle; lodges in The Cabildo‚ site of the Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremonies of 1803‚ Baton Rouge); Mississippi (Natchez); Missouri (St. Louis); Illinois (Kaskaskia‚ former capital of Upper Louisiana) May: Tennessee (Nashville); steamboat sinks on Ohio River without loss of life; Indiana (Jeffersonville); Kentucky (Louisville‚ Frankfort‚ Lexington‚ Georgetown‚ Maysville); Ohio (Cincinnati‚ Gallipolis‚ Marietta); Virginia (Wheeling); Pennsylvania (Washington‚ Uniontown‚ Brownsville‚ Braddock‚ Pittsburgh). June: Pennsylvania (Butler‚ Erie); New York (Buffalo (traveling on unfinished Erie Canal)‚ Niagara Falls‚ Rochester‚ Syracuse‚ Schenectady‚ Albany); Massachusetts (Pittsfield; laid the cornerstone on the 50th anniversary of Bunker Hill Monument‚ Boston‚ Daniel Webster orator); New Hampshire (Dover); Maine (South Berwick‚ Saco‚ Biddeford‚ Scarborough‚ Portland‚ Concord‚ Hopkinton‚ Claremont); Vermont (Royalton‚ Montpelier‚ Burlington). July: New York (West Point); New Jersey (Morristown‚ Princeton‚ Trenton); Pennsylvania (Philadelphia‚ Germantown‚ Chestnut Hill‚ Chester‚ Battle of Brandywine‚ Lancaster); Maryland (Baltimore). August: Virginia (Mount Vernon‚ Fairfax‚ Leesburg‚ Charlottesville‚ Orange‚ Culpeper). September: Attended a farewell dinner with President John Quincy Adams; addressed a joint session of Congress; Mount Vernon. I wrote above that Lafayette was accompanied by his son and personal secretary. He also invited Frances Wright and her younger sister to join him. Frances was 28 and there were rumors — squelched — that they (a widower and an unmarried woman) were romantically involved. The Wright sisters traveled by a different boat to America and remained in this country after Lafayette returned to France. Frances Wright painting by Henry Inman‚ 1824 (Henry Inman/Wikimedia Commons) The sisters had been born in Scotland. They had toured the United States from 1818-1820 and Frances authored Views of Society and Manners in America (1821). She met Lafayette in France in 1821. She also authored A Few Days on Athens (1822) on Greek philosopher Epicurus. After her second tour of America‚ she authored A Plan for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in the United States Without Danger of Loss to the Citizens of the South (1825). Frances even corresponded with Lafayette‚ Wright‚ Madison‚ and Jefferson before‚ during‚ and after the 1824-1825 tour. The Tour’s Aftermath  In 1826‚ Samuel Morse‚ the portraitist who later invented the telegraph‚ completed his portrait of Lafayette. Samuel Morse’s Lafayette in America‚ finished in 1826 (Samuel Finley Breese Morse/Wikimedia Commons) As mentioned‚ Levasseur published his two-volume memoirs of the tour starting in 1828. In 1879‚ A.A. Parker wrote his 150-page Recollections of General Lafayette on His Visit‚ and a statue of Lafayette was erected in 1891 in Lafayette Square‚ Washington‚ D.C. The American flag has flown over Lafayette’s grave since an aide to Pershing visited it in 1917. Two years later‚ the frontispiece to the book With Lafayette in America by Octavia Roberts quoted the Illinois Intelligencer: “When Lafayette is forgotten our enthusiasm for the cause of liberty will have departed and the hour of our slavery will have arrived.” Edgar E. Brandon compiled his three-volume Lafayette‚ Guest of the Nation: A Contemporary Account of the “Triumphal Tour” of General Lafayette Through the United States in 1824-1825 during the years 1950 to 1957. There is a fourth‚ unpublished volume at Miami University‚ Oxford‚ Ohio. In 1989‚ Idzerda‚ Loveland‚ and Miller wrote their Lafayette‚ Hero of Two Worlds: The Art and Pageantry of His Farewell Tour of America‚ 1824-1825: Essays. The most-recent account of Lafayette’s trip‚ Marquis de Lafayette Returns: A Tour of America’s National Capital Region‚ was published this year by Elizabeth Reese‚ the chair of the American Friends of Lafayette Bicentennial Committee for Washington‚ D.C. In 2002‚ Congress conferred posthumous U.S. citizenship on Lafayette. On the 100th anniversary of Lafayette’s death on May 20‚ 1934‚ Secretary of State Cordell Hull said Lafayette’s farewell tour “inspired an enthusiasm becoming the people had resolved to be free.” Has there been any patriotic event in American history of similar magnitude — in the number of cities and duration — that has “inspired enthusiasm becoming the people’s resolve to be free”? Perhaps the 1976 Bicentennial celebrated from April 1‚ 1975‚ to July 4‚ 1976‚ or the funeral train for Lincoln for three weeks through seven states. What about the Union’s “Grand Review” of two days in May 1865; Pershing’s victory parades in New York and Washington; V-E and V-J Days‚ which‚ while in many countries by millions of people‚ were sort-lived; ticker-tape parades for John Glenn in 1962 and 1998; a ticker tape parade for Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11 in 1969; or celebrations of national championships for collegiate or professional sports teams? Although those events were large‚ I don’t think they’re in the same league. The post Pinnacle of Patriotism: Remembering Lafayette’s Tour of America appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

President Donald Trump‚ you can take it from me — Thurlow Weed‚ a gentleman sometimes called the “Wizard of the Lobby” of Republican party politics: The 2024 Republican primary is over and done. Now is the time for you to focus exclusively on the general campaign. President Joe Biden’s administration is collapsing under his own incompetence and infirmity. The economy is dreadful. The world is descending into chaos and barbarity because none of the foreign potentates actually fears the appeasing poltroon in the White House. READ MORE from Adam Turner: A Letter From Lincoln to Donald Trump Mr. Biden cannot reason‚ he cannot articulate‚ and he seemingly cannot even walk a straight line. He cannot‚ and should not‚ be the president in 2025. This is obvious to any casual observer. This reminds me of the situation in the United States in 1840. That year‚ we (myself and other eminent Whiggish gentlemen) aided Gen. William Henry Harrison against the sitting president‚ Democrat Martin Van Buren. The economy was in a frightful state. Hundreds of banks and businesses had failed‚ and thousands of men had lost their lands. The United States was wracked by the worst depression thus far in its history. And Mr. Van Buren — although a man of talent‚ experience‚ and tact — came across as an out-of-touch dandy who was in far over his head.  That election‚ we told Gen. Harrison to keep quiet‚ and to avoid hard stands on the issues during the campaign. We quoted to him that great saying by the French Emperor Napolean‚ who counseled men that they should never interrupt their enemy when he was making a mistake. Gen. Harrison kept mum that year and let Mr. Van Buren founder in the quicksand of his own making‚ and‚ in the end‚ he won.   Here‚ I am going to slightly modify this guidance that we gave to Gen. Harrison for your situation‚ Mr. Trump. As a former president‚ you have a pretty impressive record to contrast with that of Mr. Biden. I believe we should take advantage of it. The 2024 general election will be largely decided on account of the past‚ your prior term as president versus Mr. Biden’s term‚ and largely not on the future. So‚ rely entirely on debating your‚ and his‚ past. And‚ to borrow a turn of phrase from my good friend Mr. Nicholas Biddle‚ say not one single word‚ unless it is praise for your record or criticism of Mr. Biden’s economic record‚ his foreign policy foibles‚ his infirmity‚ or his rank corruption. Let no committee‚ no convention‚ no town meeting‚ no journalist‚ ever extract from you a single word about any other subject. Tell your people to let the use of pen and ink — and a computer keyboard — be wholly forbidden to you in regard to any other subject‚ as if you were the mad poet in Bedlam. On all things but these matters‚ be silent — absolutely and inflexibly silent. Anything else you say isn’t necessary and can only get you into trouble. So‚ that means you should not say it.  Mr. Trump‚ this means that you should no longer talk about the fact that the leading men of the Democratic Party rigged the 2020 election against you. Republican voters all know this to be accurate by now‚ and they are already motivated to vote‚ so there is no further use in belaboring this truth. Now‚ you are reaching out to appeal to some non-Republicans who are swinging your way but who simply do not want to believe this to be true. So‚ I believe you should let this issue go. Winning is what is important here. Besides‚ everyone knows how the American system works. The Democrats stole 2020 from you‚ fair and square. This is how they have always functioned in this country. It is especially how the party works in the state from which we both hale — New York. In the city‚ these gentlemen were called “Tammany Hall‚” and in the state itself‚ they were known as the “Albany Regency.” You are better off ignoring this now and concerning yourself with preventing the next rigging; but it is better to operate in silence here rather than to alert your enemy of your plans. Mr. Trump‚ you should also avoid responding to the desperate and extraneous attacks hurled by the Democrats. Lately‚ they have tried to pretend that you are as infirm as Mr. Biden. This is an outlandish charge‚ and it is easily refuted by your normal everyday actions and speeches. There is no need for you to otherwise address it. Which means that you should not be referring to a cognitive test in favor of your own competence. This is not helpful‚ and it is actually used as the butt of the joke for a modern television comedy series. (Yes‚ I watch a lot of your television. It keeps me busy.) I do not believe you should bother with it. Winners are men of decided ability who act strategically and smartly. I know that you are such a man because I saw you act as such before. You love to debate and joust with other candidates‚ but during this primary season you didn’t attend any of the Republican debates. You did this because it did not make any sense to allow your opponents‚ who were far behind you in support‚ to come after you‚ and because you knew that the things you would say in response would just exasperate these Republicans and their supporters‚ who you wanted to eventually support you. Thus‚ participating in the debates would not help you extend your lead in the primary polls or win the general election. Instead‚ you played it exactly as you should have and just attended town halls and other events where you said nothing particularly noteworthy that would turn off other Republicans or weaken you for the general campaign.  This is my advice to you‚ President Trump‚ that comes from my humble but long career in the American system of party politics. You may take it or leave it as you wish. But I believe that I know what I am talking about‚ and unlike those high-priced aides you employ‚ you won’t have to pay me millions of dollars for what I say. Where I am‚ I don’t need money. Edward Thurlow Weed was a long-time resident of New York‚ in these United States‚ from Nov. 15‚ 1797‚ to Nov. 22‚ 1882. He was a public official‚ a printer‚ a newspaper publisher‚ a Whig‚ and later‚ a Republican politician in New York state‚ where he was called the “Wizard of the Lobby” or the “wirepuller.” He was instrumental in the presidential campaigns of Whig Presidents William Henry Harrison (1840) and Zachary Taylor (1848) and the first Republican presidential nominee‚ John C. Frémont (1856). He later became a staunch supporter of (and adviser to) Abraham Lincoln‚ the first Republican president. The post The Ghost of Thurlow Weed Seeks Out Donald Trump appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Icke and Jones discuss artificial intelligence and Elon Musk's emerging transhumanist technologies. David Icke joins Alex Jones to debate the impact artificial intelligence will have on humanity‚ and whether Elon Musk is a genuine hero for mankind or a useful globalist puppet.

from Arcadia Economics:  TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Martin Armstrong‚ Armstrong Economics: The number of immigrants has surpassed 3 million immigrants entering the United States. That is more people than 5 State populations combined.  Immigrants crossing the border has been a rising issue in the United States‚ more so since the lift on section 42 in June of 2023‚ which brought us […]