The Heart of the Flint Tragedy

At the heart of the Flint tragedy is the unaccountability of corporate power. That power and that unaccountability were on display Sunday night in Flint when the two Democratic candidates for president vied to out-pander each other to the beleaguered Michigan city. The necessary condition for corporate power that is unaccountable, however, is a political


Will Peyton Manning’s “Sunset” Include Legal Woes?

Some legendary athletes only need first names: Michael, Magic, Pele, Tiger, Metta World…Well, Peyton Manning surely deserves to be on that list despite his surname being NFL royalty. By making his retirement official on Monday, he fulfills the words caught on NFL Films audio after January’s AFC Championship game, telling New England coach Bill Belichick


Best. NBA. Yard. Sale. Ever.

Believe it or not, there is another kind of “March Madness” in the world of basketball this year that doesn’t involve bubble teams, chalk, Cinderellas, or shining moments. As has become the rule rather than the exception in recent years, the overhyped February 18th, 3:00 PM NBA trade deadline came and went mostly to the


Upside Down: The Profit Motive’s Inversion of Values

What was once unspeakable is now being said. In pre-September 11th America, no president or politician could have so much as hinted at an all-encompassing electronic surveillance program, yet now the White House and intelligence leaders speak calmly about finding a “balance” between security and privacy. In 2007, George W. Bush’s attorney general, Alberto Gonzalez,


The Politics of Baserunning

Although Major League Baseball’s all-time hit king Pete Rose’s lifetime ban from the sport due to gambling is nearly as legendary as his play, he is also widely regarded as the game’s greatest competitor. One of Rose’s most famous moments involved his performance at the 1970 All-Star game in which his violent home plate collision


U.S. Launches ICBM’s in Show of Force

Insanity is at the wheel. The U.S. Air Force launched a Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last Thursday, the U.S.’s second ICBM launch in one week. The missile, fired from a bunker in California, was aimed at an area of ocean near the Marshall Islands.  The acknowledged purpose of the launches was intimidation of


Not all NCAA Tourney Bans are Created Equal

As Selection Sunday for the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament is now two weeks away, a handful of worthy teams have been declared ineligible for the event due to their programs’ violation of some portion of the NCAA’s complex system of rules. In recent years, these bans have included 2013 Final Four participant Syracuse for


Michigan Governor to Testify on Flint Water Scandal

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has been called to testify on the Flint water crisis before a House oversight committee at a hearing to be held March 17, the committee has announced. Snyder had not been among the witnesses called for a previous hearing held by the panel February 3, though more than one committee member


Despite International Referendum, Integrity of FIFA Remains in Jeopardy

Without hyperbole, one of the most important administrative actions in global sports history will likely take place on Friday in Zurich’s Hallenstadion entertainment complex. Officially dubbed the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress, representatives from 207 individual member states of world soccer’s governing body will vote not only on who will succeed the terminally corrupt Sepp Blatter


Why We Must Defend Encryption

You are allowed no secrets. The Obama administration announced Monday that an attorney representing unspecified victims of the December 5 San Bernardino mass shootings will, upon the administration’s request, file a brief supporting a court order to compel Apple Inc. to provide the government a “back door” to its iOS operating system. The Federal Bureau