Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Quick Hits: Volume LXXVIII

-I can't help but be disgusted and shocked at the cruel treatment Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito heaped upon teammate and fellow lineman Jonathan Martin via a voice mail message.

"Hey, wassup, you half n----- piece of s---. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s--- in your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F--- you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you."

Sources tell ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that officials from both the NFL and the Dolphins have heard the tape and have copies of the message.

Sources familiar with the tapes say these are terms Incognito used over time and were not isolated incidents, including the use of the racial epithet multiple times.

Sources also say Martin received a series of texts that included derogatory terms referring to the female anatomy and sexual orientation.

Incognito was suspended indefinitely by the Dolphins on Sunday night for conduct detrimental to the team. Meanwhile, the Miami Herald reported Monday that the team plans to cut ties with him.

"He's done," a team source told the newspaper. "There are procedures in place, and everyone wants to be fair. The NFL is involved. But from a club perspective he'll never play another game here."

Before this interaction with Incgonito was reported, Martin left the Dolphins after an incident in the team lunchroom. Martin had also missed some time in OTAs this past spring due to general unhappiness. I think we can now surmise the source of that unhappiness.

If indeed Dolphins teammates, coaches and team officials were unaware of the harassment, Martin was in a rather precarious position regarding how to handle this. If he chose to fight Incognito (who is 6'3", 319 pounds and can bench press close to 600 lbs.), it could wind up with someone getting seriously hurt (Martin himself is 6'5", 312). If Martin opted to report Incognito to head coach Joe Philbin, he'd be looked at as a snitch and retribution from teammates would certainly follow. So Martin chose the least "sucky" option: he walked away.

The NFL is conducting an investigation into this incident. I have a bad feeling that there's much more to this (i.e. others being aware of Incognito's behavior but doing nothing) than is being reported right now.


-Toronto mayor Rob Ford finally came clean (in a manner of speaking) to allegations of crack use. But he insisted that it only happened once and that it occurred while in a "drunken stupor." 

I have a feeling that "I smoked crack while in a drunken stupor" is the new "I smoked marijuana once but I didn't inhale." 


-Chris Christie has been reelected governor of New Jersey. That comes as no surprise. But the fact he won garnering close to 60% of the vote is astounding. No Republican since George H. W. Bush in the 1988 Presidential race has won a state wide race in New Jersey with at least 50% of the vote.

With this resounding victory, speculation abounds about Christie's 2016 Presidential prospects. And while the media and their leftist cohorts lauded Christie and his accolades for President Obama on the handling of last year's Superstorm Sandy, it's a whole different ballgame if Christie has a chance to defeat the Democrat presidential nominee in '16.

While Christie has governed New Jersey as a fiscal conservative, he was an advocate for New Jersey's tight gun control laws, which included an assault weapons ban and magazine capacity restrictions. He also supported alternative energy such as wind and solar power, both of which have been an abject failures when there have been attempts to implement them. Christie has also been sucked in to the humans-cause-global-warming bit. With that background, one can hardly peg Christie as a solid conservative. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing when it pertains to a GOP Presidential candidate. I'm not sure it's the best idea to strive for an ideologue as our nominee. But, that's another post for another day. 

Look for the drumbeat of "Chris Christie is no moderate" to continue on over the next couple of years, specifically from leftist publications. The mindset among leftists is that Americans might be able to stomach a Republican if he's a "moderate" but a conservative boogeyman may well bring an end to our republic. 

As always, my friend and AM 1280 The Patriot colleague Mitch Berg nails it via one of "Berg's Laws." 

The McCain Corollary To Berg’s Eleventh Law: If (a) respected conservative ever develops a chance of getting elected, that “respect” will turn to blind unreasoning hatred overnight.

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