- Getting people to care about hockey in the United States is a monumental accomplishment in and of itself. Even convincing people to track down an NHL game on Versus is a major undertaking, let alone trying to talk a person into giving a damn about hockey at its lower levels. That’s what makes the $88 million to Penn State University to establish Division I men's and women's ice hockey programs to begin play in the 2012-13 season by Terry and Kim Pegula even more amazing than an $88 million gift - the largest private gift in university history - already would be. The gift is large enough that it can actually bring two college hockey programs to life. Where does the money come from? Terry Pegula is the founder and former president of the energy company East Resources Inc., a key component of the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation sold to Royal Dutch Shell PLC for $4.7 billion earlier this year. I’d guess that Pegula picked up a nice chunk of change from that transaction and with strong ties to PSU, he clearly knew what he wanted to do with his newfound boost of wealth. As a result, the university’s longstanding club hockey team will become a full-fledged member of the Division I athletic ranks and will now be housed in a new multipurpose arena to be built near the Jordan Center. "So maybe some day in these hills of Pennsylvania, we're going to find a Pennsylvania [Sidney] Crosby," Pegula said at the trustees' meeting in announcing his donation. "Hopefully, he'll play hockey for Penn State, and I think that's awesome." On behalf of indifferent American sports fans everywhere and also the Icers (the aforementioned club team at PSU), thanks for the cash, Terry P. Now, the Icers won't have to play their games in a 1,500-seat arena where no one comes to see them and can instead play in a larger arena where no one will come to see them. “This is the fulfillment of a dream for many that have been longtime advocates and supporters of Penn State hockey," athletic director Tim Curley said in a statement. "As with all of our programs, we will expect both the men's and women's teams to compete for championships and achieve at a high level." The addition of Penn State as a Division I program could also spur the creation of a Big Ten hockey league, as five of the conference’s teams already play hockey and Nebraska will join the league beginning with the 2011-12 school year. And yet, something tells me that the sports public at large still could not possibly care less about hockey………..
- Ironically, the very idea that Adam Lambert’s musical career exists makes me want to assault someone, namely Lambert himself. But aside from having a chance to punch that hack American Karaoke-er in the face for ever recording a single song, I’ll have to settle for that Elton John rip-off being accused of battering a photographer in Miami Beach Thursday night. There’s even a police report to document what (allegedly) happened and everything. According to police documents, the drag queen Lambert allegedly “wrestled [the photographer] to the ground forcefully” because a paparazzi was snapping pictures of him enjoying his night out on the town. Perhaps underscoring how little grasp he has of how to handle any sort of confrontation or alleged crime, Lambert couldn’t wait to bang out a Tweet regarding the skirmish, writing, “Battery? Nope. I attempted to grab a camera, no punches were thrown and no one was on the ground…. It was literally harmless. If embarrassment is a crime- thats all I’m guilty of.” My man, since you clearly do not have a qualified attorney to advise you (at least not a good one), allow me to inform you how to handle these matters. First and foremost, don’t say anything - not on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, your Web site, to a news magazine show, to a radio show or anyone else. Deflect any queries with a, “No comment.” Allow your agent and/or lawyer to handle the entire situation and more likely than not, the case will be dismissed or some sort of deal can be worked out where you have to do little more than issue an apology and move forward. Trying to make your case on Twitter isn’t going to help anyone and at a minimum, it reminds everyone reading it how much they hate you and your music, not that we needed any reminder on that……….
- A little quid pro quo is in order, Pakistan. If you want billions of dollars to recover from this summer's floods that have ravaged your country, then you need to help yourself as well. Those you’re asking for a handout want to see evidence that you’re doing everything you can to help yourself. That includes revamping your dysfunctional tax system, which collects very little money, especially from the rich. The United States will help you because, well, we give handouts to most everyone, but even the U.S. has warned Pakistan that the world will only be able to fund a quarter of the tens of billions of dollars it will take to rebuild. The U.S. has also explain to Pakistan that American taxpayers aren’t going to be too enthused about helping it Pakistanis aren’t taking up their share of the burden. Of course, making those threats and following through on them are two different things and there’s a solid chance the U.S. will cave in and pay anyhow. Having said that, here’s hoping that this crisis will convince Pakistan to reform a tax system that has one of the lowest effective tax rates in the world, equal to about 9 percent of the value of the country's economy. Just for comparison’s sake, the U.S. equivalent is more than three times as high at about 28 percent. A key issue with Pakistan’s system is that so many people skate on their taxes and there are no repercussions. In fact, fewer than 2 percent of the country's 175 million citizens pay any income tax and some sectors of the economy like agriculture are totally exempt from tax. "A small elite comprised of the military, land owners, and the rising urban upper and middle classes, is loath to give up any of its wealth (some of which is illegally accumulated)," said one report on the system. An informal estimate of the potential impact for better enforcement of current tax policies by Ishrat Hussain, former head of the Pakistan central bank, postulated that such changes should produce an effective tax rate of 15 percent — generating nearly $10 billion in additional revenue per year. Maybe it’s just my untrained economic brain, but methinks that $10 billion would go a long way toward helping right the country in the wake of the floods that affected more than 18 million people and damaged and destroyed over 1.8 million homes. Unless Pakistan is willing to fix its own broken system, why should the world be willing to bail it out and not ask any questions? Tying aid to tax reform would be a solid choice. Besides, it’s not as if the U.S. and other world powers are completely holding out on Iran because the international community has already donated around $1 billion for emergency relief, and international financial institutions have provided about $2.5 billion in emergency loans. Now, the International Monetary Fund did decide earlier this month to hold back more than $1 billion of funding because Pakistan had not met a number of economic criteria, including reforming its tax system. Still, calling for reform seems like a solid idea for a nation that is in ruins and in need of a major financial makeover………
- Conservatives had their day in the nation’s capital when ass-hatted, über-conservative talking head Glenn Beck held his "Restoring Honor" rally on the National Mall and attempted to cram his own point of view further down America’s collective throat, so the rest of the political spectrum should have its own chance to speak and Comedy Central funnymen Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will apparently be the ones leading that push. In response to Beck’s rally in which he urged the crowd to "turn back to God" and return America to the values on which it was founded, Stewart laid out plans for a "Rally to Restore Sanity" and called his event a "clarion call for rationality." He insisted that the event was no hoax and set Oct. 30 as the date for the rally as he announced it on Thursday night's airing of his show. "See you October 30 on the National Mall to spread the timeless message, 'Take it down a notch for America,'" he said. "A million Moderate march, where we take to the streets to send a message to our leaders and our national media that says, 'We are here! We... are only here until six though, because we have a sitter.'" Colbert, whose show "The Colbert Report" which airs immediately after Stewart's show, retaliated with a big announcement of his own: his "March to Keep Fear Alive." Colbert, who satirically portrays an extremely conservative point of view on his show, made the intent of his rally clear (and funny). "Now is not the time to take it down a notch. Now is the time for all good men to freak out for freedom," Colbert said. Critics and doubters will obviously wonder how legit these two events are, but Stewart insisted on his Thursday show that he had reserved a spot on the National Mall, saying, "the forms have been filled out, the checks have been written." Colbert has already shown a willingness to reach beyond the confines of his studio and become actively involved in causes, including filing papers to run for president in South Carolina and shaving his head while taping his show in Iraq to show support for troops. Just remember, "March to Keep Fear Alive" supporters, as the event’s site reminds you, “Never forget -- 'Reason' is just one letter away from 'Treason.' Coincidence? Reasonable people would say it is, but American can't afford to take that chance." I say march on, Stewart and Colbert followers, and make your voices heard just like Beck and his sycophants have done……..
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