tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66838678363651299372024-03-12T21:13:14.179-04:00Caminsky's WorldMusings from the often-absent mind of author Jeffrey CaminskyJeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-85793387704246925542019-04-01T17:48:00.000-04:002019-04-01T17:48:08.097-04:00March Madness: The Political Bracket<br />
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Excitement a-Plenty Along the Way...<br />and Now for the Grand Finale!</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6qmg0XJzCB0sBxOS-q3xX8lkktX8RbMcfuGcTrKIypUrmOKpqJFurmQR7-r-G0w2D5vL-Ust7YByO7GOWW80Xz9OMLQETsTrqt3qorPQS8itiJZ2mqtoEWTqyDVwgbR2uorPW_IavSA/s1600/Mueller+Madness+Bracket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6qmg0XJzCB0sBxOS-q3xX8lkktX8RbMcfuGcTrKIypUrmOKpqJFurmQR7-r-G0w2D5vL-Ust7YByO7GOWW80Xz9OMLQETsTrqt3qorPQS8itiJZ2mqtoEWTqyDVwgbR2uorPW_IavSA/s400/Mueller+Madness+Bracket.jpg" width="400" /></a>This year, the Final Four produced some exciting matches along the way, but few real surprises. Rachel Maddow from the Cable Regional will face off against Paul Krugman from the Print Regional in the first semi-final, and Stephen Colbert from the Network Regional will do battle with the Twitterati Champion, Laurence Tribe, in the nightcap<br />
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Frankly...I think the Maddow vs Krugman matchup would have made a great Final. I think they came from the two toughest regions...and the Cable Regional, in particular, was this season's "Group of Death," including such gritty competitors as John Oliver, Don Lemon, John Brennan, and the ever-dangerous "Morning Joe" Scarborough. It's also a shame that Joy Behar and Michael Avenatti faced off in the first round. Aventatti's upset win over an overconfident Behar seems to have taken a lot out of him, making him an easy mark for Colbert, who simply sailed through to the Final Four.<br />
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All in all, I think Maddow will take Krugman...though the latter's narrow win over Max Boot in the Sweet Sixteen prevented the Boot-Maddow matchup that so many fans were eagerly anticipating. And I think Colbert will be no match for Tribe, setting up an historic Maddow-Tribe Final...something Elizabeth Warren could only dream of.<br />
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And the winner...the one with the most egg on his (or her) face? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-89744609664274981722018-03-22T22:05:00.000-04:002018-03-23T15:59:48.215-04:00Ryland Farewell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk707vrbpYueFULd4aY0Nq5SmPYimPsHw02ca3kAer6zPCL8U8CFLs5plMbYyZOxG1q6zJBLC7cFm_6NgiwI6jFugnRPhVho0NEZzFmAeppEUEUTPX2fZIFOREhqeVnjatCAUyWklcfi0/s1600/2018-03-22+13.18.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk707vrbpYueFULd4aY0Nq5SmPYimPsHw02ca3kAer6zPCL8U8CFLs5plMbYyZOxG1q6zJBLC7cFm_6NgiwI6jFugnRPhVho0NEZzFmAeppEUEUTPX2fZIFOREhqeVnjatCAUyWklcfi0/s200/2018-03-22+13.18.34.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It's often hard to say goodbye. It's even harder when something has been with you for your entire life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXxW4GClJiC3AqqFkoyxA3uTtvWkJFTVNz_Z3EvpD4XAl8D5MjNpZl-0VYVbskE1-xNpsTHuZ7mZzkeLDEuGMzGh0hbFiesufxHzpZ-hBs5vz10nm5npwVzRUkcvZH5Gs7rCL6Oses9E/s1600/1959+or+so%252C+Hook+and+Pan+at+Halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="899" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXxW4GClJiC3AqqFkoyxA3uTtvWkJFTVNz_Z3EvpD4XAl8D5MjNpZl-0VYVbskE1-xNpsTHuZ7mZzkeLDEuGMzGh0hbFiesufxHzpZ-hBs5vz10nm5npwVzRUkcvZH5Gs7rCL6Oses9E/s200/1959+or+so%252C+Hook+and+Pan+at+Halloween.jpg" width="200" /></a>The closing on my parents' house on Ryland Street in Redford is tomorrow. Today, I took my last steps in the home that saw me grow up.<br />
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I wasn't really surprised at the wash of emotions that swept over me as I walked through the old house, and said my goodbyes to the shadows and memories that will always linger there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvTQTXOlNec0TF5Mq6jCwXH36sD7SdJW6PMfWFIZOxWfQvhJQM3ymQAe6red0dYgt_noidRc7mpy6nZjjHsKPjnxxPdwn6rMm4y5L_kzJEt6C3Ya5rfrnOUdjh3RoDWY9DH_D0OQlf7Y/s1600/1956-Jeff%2527s+First+Day+of+School.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="894" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvTQTXOlNec0TF5Mq6jCwXH36sD7SdJW6PMfWFIZOxWfQvhJQM3ymQAe6red0dYgt_noidRc7mpy6nZjjHsKPjnxxPdwn6rMm4y5L_kzJEt6C3Ya5rfrnOUdjh3RoDWY9DH_D0OQlf7Y/s200/1956-Jeff%2527s+First+Day+of+School.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Before leaving, I took my last walk to the field at Bulman, where my school once stood. I walked home one last time, then down to the old Topolewski house, where as a young boy I spent many treasured moments in the h<br />
ome of my oldest and dearest friend, before entering our old house one last time, walking through rooms filled with love and memories that live in every last corner.<br />
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Yesterday, my brother and I carved our names and initials into the beams and furnace-room walls, a sad reminder of the first family that lived there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkGbbxxUQfZCuDr44ArdMTFIPqQ2zTygWt9COwknAshtzBbWeCELdNdjiu6HBzxVK-bQNDPu9Lz4Tz888OzB-ywMx4I-2KLUamzfd5KYKHqUwrWOh2gxTW5oOS5kuA04o4lCVApj-2GI/s1600/2018-03-22+13.18.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkGbbxxUQfZCuDr44ArdMTFIPqQ2zTygWt9COwknAshtzBbWeCELdNdjiu6HBzxVK-bQNDPu9Lz4Tz888OzB-ywMx4I-2KLUamzfd5KYKHqUwrWOh2gxTW5oOS5kuA04o4lCVApj-2GI/s200/2018-03-22+13.18.19.jpg" width="150" /></a>Today, I said goodbye.<br />
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And tomorrow...the house will belong to another young family, whose children will get to explore the woods and fields that made the old neighborhood such a magical place to grow up. But to me, the Ryland house --- and the neighborhood that saw me grow from a boy to a man --- will always be home...and will have a special place in my heart until the day I die.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-49494582063879696382017-10-17T12:42:00.004-04:002017-10-17T12:45:35.033-04:00Becoming a Referee<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3U1fL7dVbmCEXtHXWzaFhXO9mIvxNnvjSviKYwxN9me2Kwp_ixx9TXWownefQraUgXfGJvKbK7VqkIKqXgn5s8KzQLAMtqwUmw93aPmXk7DvA5JUGVTDqYl5oTYi7W79IADDWjsKQbI/s1600/9780979010606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3U1fL7dVbmCEXtHXWzaFhXO9mIvxNnvjSviKYwxN9me2Kwp_ixx9TXWownefQraUgXfGJvKbK7VqkIKqXgn5s8KzQLAMtqwUmw93aPmXk7DvA5JUGVTDqYl5oTYi7W79IADDWjsKQbI/s200/9780979010606.jpg" width="133" /></a>For more than a century, soccer has captured the affection and imagination of the world. Simple to understand and inexpensive to play, it has grown from its roots in ancient times to a modern game with standardized rules and organized leagues that span our planet. After a slow beginning in this country, it is now growing by leaps and bounds. While informal games need only a ball and players, formal competitions also require a neutral decision-maker, in order to settle the unavoidable disagreements that come during the course of any athletic competition. By officiating, you advance the growth and understanding of this wonderful sport in ways that future generations of players will come to appreciate. The level of play in any part of the world is often determined by the skill of the officials, and without skilled and dedicated referees, American soccer cannot continue to grow, and American players cannot hope to compete with the best the rest of the world has to offer.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While becoming certified as a soccer referee is an important step toward developing a deeper understanding of the sport, in many ways it is only a beginning. Taking a referee class and passing the examination just gives you a badge and whistle, and lets you get paid while running about the soccer field. The task of becoming a referee will last as long as you officiate, for no matter how good you become, you will always be learning, constantly improving your understanding of the game and the people around you, and continually refining your skills. The moment you stop learning, you will stop growing as an official. And the moment you stop growing, whatever skills you have developed will begin to fade.<br />
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<b><br /></b><b>Why am I Here?</b><br />
One question each new referee needs to ask is “why do I want to be a referee?” The answers can be many and varied:<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some—particularly younger officials, for whom refereeing may be their first job—are mainly interested in earning some extra spending money.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some want to officiate because they love soccer, others because they want some exercise.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some referee other sports as well, and want to add soccer to their schedule.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some may want to help their local club, or be there to help their son or daughter officiate.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Others may like the thought of controlling events—or simply enjoy bossing other people around.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whatever the reason, you can succeed as a referee with effort and dedication. But honest self-assessment is something every official needs, and your motivation for beginning a career as a paid referee may give you clues about possible strengths you will have as an official, as well as some weaknesses you may need to address.<br />
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<b>For Love or Money?</b><br />
Players and spectators will not care why we are officials—what motivates us, what drives us to become better, or what our particular circumstances might be. They want only a well-trained, competent, and impartial referee to keep the match safe, enjoyable, and fair. For our part, however, realizing what motivates us can help us understand what drives us to succeed, and what will sustain us through the challenges that lie ahead.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Success as an official will come from dedication and a sense of professional pride. Without both, the best intentions in the world will not help. Whatever our personal motive for becoming a referee, any one of us can excel. One official’s willingness to work hard to earn the extra money that comes from working top-level matches can drive him toward excellence every bit as much as another’s simple affection for the game her father taught her when she was young. What matters is not what brings us on to the pitch, but what keeps us there. In most cases, successful referees simply enjoy the job, enjoy the pride of a job well-done, and enjoy being of service to others. If we start with this, then we only need to apply ourselves and start developing the skills necessary to succeed.<br />
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<b>Personality and Character</b><br />
Over the course of our lives we will see an infinite variety of personalities. Some people are shy, some anger quickly. Some wear their hearts on their sleeves. Some never seem to lack for friends, or for a funny comeback.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is, however, no single “referee personality” that can assure success on the field—nor, fortunately, any type of person who cannot become an outstanding soccer official. Each of us has our own unique strengths and weaknesses, and any one of us can become a great referee. But to do so, we must be able to look at ourselves honestly, and recognize the kind of person we are. This can remind us of the strengths we have that can help us, as well as the weaknesses we will need to overcome.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee’s character will count for more than his personality, since it will be character that will determine how well the referee can stand up to the challenges on the pitch. But if we look at the referees we see beside us on the pitch, it will become apparent that many of best ones share some important characteristics that help them succeed. Some of these traits will come more naturally to us than others, but all of them need constant care and attention, and many of them will help us in other walks of life.<br />
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<b>Common Traits of the Successful Referee</b><br />
While any type of personality can result in a good soccer referee, many qualities are common to highly skilled officials around the world. Most of these traits are aspects of their character that they either had naturally or developed over time, and many of them are essential to success as a referee. What this means to the new officials is that there will be some aspects of your “on-field persona” that you must nurture and develop in order to feel at home on the pitch.<br />
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<i>Integrity</i><br />
Probably the most important character trait all referees share is a strong sense of personal integrity. Honesty on and off the field is essential to anyone hoping to convince others to trust him. A soccer match requires the players to rely upon the referee to make often-difficult decisions during hotly contested matches, and the Laws confer nearly total discretion on the officials to do what is best for the game within the rules. An official who lacks the personal integrity to see things honestly, and to see that everyone, including the officials, behaves according to the Laws of the Game will not get very far as a referee. Players and colleagues will come to be mistrustful of the official’s intentions and impartiality, and if a referee loses the trust of the players, then the loss of match control is never far behind.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Though we often fail to appreciate it, players and spectators are willing to forgive an occasional mistake by the officials, so long as they seem to be trying their best to be fair to both sides. One thing they will not forgive is dishonesty.<br />
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<i>Courage</i><br />
As important as integrity is to a referee, it is meaningless without the courage to do what the official knows to be right.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whether it is denying an appeal for a “handball” that the referee deems to be unintentional, turning a deaf ear to loud appeals for a penalty kick by a team whose star striker has tripped over the ball rather than a defender’s foot, calling a penalty kick late in the game for a foul that only the referee and the defender know happened inside the penalty area, or keeping the offside flag down because a player who is racing ten yards past the last defender was onside when the ball was kicked, the referee cannot make the call that will cause the least amount of grief. Rather, he must make the call that he believes to be the right one.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Soccer is a game of energy and excitement, and disappointment over a call, or no-call, is often expressed angrily and loudly. But we have other tools for dealing with expressions of disappointment that get out of hand. Avoiding the problem by making the wrong call is not one of them.<br />
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<i>Decisiveness</i><br />
Courage and integrity will carry an official a long way. All the courage in the world will not matter, however, without the ability to make decisions quickly. Soccer is a fast-paced, highly intense game, where the play is ever-changing and the action can cover the whole field in a matter of seconds. A referee who takes too long to make up his mind about what has just happened may find play leaving him behind; and the referee who waits for prompting by the players to announce a decision will be seen as weak and easily persuaded.<br />
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<i>Patience</i><br />
While decisiveness is necessary, patience—on the soccer field, as in life—is a virtue.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Referees hoping to appear decisive and alert often have more time to announce a decision than they realize. Waiting an extra second or two before blowing the whistle can often prevent a great many problems:<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting an extra second may allow a stumbling attacker to recover his footing, and continue on to score.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting an extra second may show whether the ball will go to the offender’s teammate, or to the side that was fouled—and whether whistling will allow a tactical foul to succeed in disrupting an attack.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting an extra second may determine whether a goal will score despite a foul inside the penalty area, thereby sparing the referee the embarrassment of pulling the ball out of the net while explaining to an exasperated team that the goal is disallowed...but to punish the foul they will get a penalty kick, instead.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Patience involves more than waiting to see how play develops. A patient referee will often take his time dealing with a troublesome player or coach to maximize the effect of any card given for misconduct— perhaps giving the troublemaker the opportunity to bring his temper under control, or waiting until tempers have cooled before speaking to a player about a controversial call. This is because a wise referee will try to use every available tool—the voice, the whistle, the card, sometimes the “stare of death”—to keep the match under control. And a patient referee regards time as a resource to be used, avoiding the rush to take actions that will only make things worse.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The benefits of patience are many....up to a point. The challenge for the new official is learning when to be patient and when to be prompt.<br />
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<i>Fair-mindedness</i><br />
The reason that soccer confers so much discretion on its officials is because everyone presumes that the referee will be fair and impartial.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is more to fairness, however, than simply treating both sides equally. A referee who relishes playing “gotcha” with the players— lowering the boom for trifling matters, or imposing disproportionate punishments for minor offenses—may be treating everyone the same, but is hardly being “fair” as far as the players are concerned. Unfairness to everyone is, after all, hardly a recommended path to success in any walk of life, and soccer is no exception.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Being “fair-minded” on the field means more than treating everyone consistently. It means that the referee treats everyone with respect, and avoids intruding needlessly on a game that rightly belongs to the players. There will be times when this will mean coming down sternly on a player or coach whose behavior is simply unacceptable. We do not, however, have the power to do so because soccer thinks that we are infallible. Rather, the game entrusts us with our authority because someone has to make a decision...and everyone is counting on us to be fair.<br />
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<i>Empathy</i><br />
Good referees will know all the rules and be able to apply them fairly and impartially. A great referee will understand the needs and motivations of the players, and empathize with the challenges that face them on the field of play.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Empathizing with the players does not mean that you are willing to tolerate rough or reckless play. It does mean that you will be able to sense a player’s frustrations, whether caused by disappointment or a painful knock in the ankle, and use this knowledge to help you manage the game:<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee empathizing with a player will be able to tell the difference between a frustrated player who needs a moment to calm himself, and a nasty player who must be dealt with harshly.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee able to empathize with the players will sense the difference between a game in which players accept hard, physical challenges with good spirits in the course of a sporting contest, and a game in which tempers are rising due to the level of contact.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee who can empathize with the players will have the ability to distinguish between trifling fouls that have no effect on the game, and apparently minor contacts—such as a painful rap on the heel, or a routine-looking trip that disrupts a promising attack—that will make players angry unless they see justice being done.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Referees who have played the game have an advantage in this regard. Their on-field experience will help them read the body language of the players and let them understand instantly how a play is likely to affect tempers on the pitch. Those who have not played soccer, or some other sport at a competitive level of play, must find some way to develop this ability on their own.<br />
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<i>Coolness under Fire</i><br />
Ernest Hemingway once defined courage as “grace under pressure.” Though known for his love of bull-fighting, he may well have been talking about soccer referees.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Soccer has provoked riots as well as devotion among its fans, and has grown to become the most popular sport in the world largely because of its capacity to excite our passions. But soccer’s ability to draw on raw human emotion presents a challenge for its referees, for while players and spectators watch the game with their hearts, referees watch with their eyes. If we allow our feelings to overwhelm our judgment, we risk chaos on the field. We are there to maintain order and keep everyone focused on the game. Everybody is counting on us to keep a level head, even when the disappointments of the moment have interrupted their own capacity for rational thought.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some of us are naturally excitable. Most of us have a variable temperament, depending on our mood and on what is going on around us. Few of us are naturally inclined to relax in times of stress, or given to react to expressions of anger or insults by remaining calm and doing our best to ease whatever tensions are simmering around us. Developing this ability may be the biggest challenge to anyone striving to be a top-notch referee.<br />
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<i>Humility</i><br />
People who lack confidence often compensate for their insecurities by adopting an air of superiority. Looking down at the rest of the world may prop up a weak ego, but will never help a referee on the soccer field. While some can get away with being arrogant and brilliant, conceit by a referee can cause all sorts of self-inflicted problems, and being arrogant and clueless is a recipe for disaster in all walks of life.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Under the Laws of the Game, the referee’s decision is final on all points concerning the fact of play. Soccer, in other words, regards the referee’s judgment as infallible, so far as the game is concerned. Unfortunately, some referees take this to heart and approach the players with an attitude of arrogance and privilege, rather than with empathy and understanding.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A wise referee will realize that nobody is perfect, and that the reason he is blowing the whistle at the game is not because he knows more about soccer than anyone else, but because somebody has to make a decision on the field and that he, at least, has actually read the rules. Cultivating an attitude that the participants are inferior, because there is so much about soccer that they do not know, will not help a referee control himself, let alone the players. This, in turn, will limit how far the official’s abilities can take him. On the other hand, the referee who develops an attitude of sympathetic understanding to the player’s concerns—recognizing that we referee to help them play the game rather than the other way around—will have more success on the field and find no such limits on any future advancement.<br />
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<i>Self-confidence</i><br />
Unfortunately, humility is often well-deserved, and one whose ambitions far exceed his talents had best be humble, or be prepared to come to grief on or off the soccer field. But a strong ego and healthy confidence in ourselves and our abilities, tempered by the knowledge that we are not above making a mistake, can make us strong and resilient in our jobs as referees, and elsewhere.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Though perfection may have no need for improvement, the rest of us can all use a little work. Recognizing that we are not perfect can lead us to better ourselves. But modesty by itself is no path to success at any endeavor. Unless we have the confidence in ourselves to make the calls we know to be right and stand strong in the face of criticism, we will always be second-guessing ourselves. Perfection is an ideal that is probably beyond the grasp of any of us, but knowing that we have tried our best can give us pride in a job well-done.<br />
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<i>Good Work Habits on the Field</i><br />
Humans are creatures of habit and tend to revert to form during times of stress. It should come as no surprise that most accomplished officials have adopted and cultivated on-field habits that sharpen their performance.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sloppiness is often a state of mind. While an official can often get away with cutting corners on the field—walking rather than running into position on the field; using weak or ambiguous mechanics; failing to run the ball to the end line, and the like—it is not an approach that leads to excellence. Many times, officials come to grief not because they are poor referees, but because their work habits have left them out of position at the critical “moment of truth” for the match, or because they made the right call but used a faulty signal which led to an unexpected turn of events on the pitch.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As a new official, it will be easier for you to begin training yourself to do things the right way from the outset, than it will be to break old, bad habits later in your career.<br />
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<i>Hustle</i><br />
In soccer, as in most sports, there is a premium on hustle. There are benefits gained by being alert and moving quickly into position and penalties to suffer by being slow to react to changing events. Officiating soccer is no different. The official who can anticipate and react to play as it is developing will usually be in place to spot a foul and prevent trouble. The official who always lags behind play will need luck and well-behaved players to maintain order on the field.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hustle depends more on habit and mind-set than it does on raw physical speed. Many older referees somehow manage always to be in position wherever they are needed, even though their younger colleagues could leave them far behind in a foot race. Experience, though, can only teach us where we need to be. It is hustle that will get us there in time.<br />
<i><br /></i><i>A Commitment to Fitness</i><br />
Of course, all the best intentions in the world often founder when confronted with the real world. For the referee—even a referee blessed with an abundance of talent, resourcefulness, courage, and the patience of a saint—the determination to hustle into position is useless without the legs to get there.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Soccer is a physically challenging game, demanding a high level of fitness from its officials. Referees often run more than six miles during a game. Assistant referees may find themselves doing three or more miles worth of running, often sprinting at flank speed. Some referees try to use officiating to give them the chance for some fresh air and exercise. Successful referees all have some form of fitness regimen to keep them in condition, to enable them to officiate at their best. Experience teaches all of us that it is much easier to stay in shape than to get into shape.<br />
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<i>Knowledge of the Game</i><br />
Lastly, all good referees need a thorough knowledge of the game. While “facts of play” are often judged at the discretion of the referee, a misapplication of the law is a violation of the rules. If it affects the outcome, the mistake can cause a match to be replayed.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Knowing and understanding the Laws of the Game is necessary for anyone who wants to officiate the sport. Immersing yourself in the game’s history and traditions is a good way to continue your education as a referee. It will give you a more complete understanding of the “whys” and “wherefores’ of the game, and deeper insight into some of the fine points of the rules. More importantly, understanding the reason for each rule will let you apply them all at the right time. Knowing why a particular Law exists lets you keep things moving smoothly on the field, helping you sense when to apply which rule, as well as when an infraction can be overlooked as too trivial to stop play. And being able to place each rule in its proper context is essential in order to make each rule work as it is intended.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Watching as much soccer as you can, whether live or on television, will show you how other referees react to events on the field and hone your sense of when a contact is a foul, and when a foul is so trifling that it is safe to let it pass. It will also sustain you when you encounter the dilemma every soccer official confronts at some time—the unexpected, whether in the form of an event not covered in the rules, never covered in your training, or one which simply leaves you scratching your head in wonder. When this happens, the deeper your understanding of the game, the better equipped you will be to solve whatever problem confronts you. You may not remember the rule, but you may very well remember the solution.<br />
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Copyright ©2007 by Jeffrey Caminsky<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-29111865099647989152017-04-05T18:25:00.000-04:002017-04-05T18:41:19.558-04:00The Referee's Survival Guide --- Becoming a Referee<br />
The following is an excerpt from <i>The Referee's Survival Guide: Practical Suggestions for Soccer Officials </i>by Jeffrey Caminsky, available on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Referees-Survival-Guide-Jeffrey-Caminsky/dp/0979010608/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491430903&sr=1-1&keywords=referee%27s+survival+guide" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, as well as a bookstore near you.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Becoming a Referee</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3U1fL7dVbmCEXtHXWzaFhXO9mIvxNnvjSviKYwxN9me2Kwp_ixx9TXWownefQraUgXfGJvKbK7VqkIKqXgn5s8KzQLAMtqwUmw93aPmXk7DvA5JUGVTDqYl5oTYi7W79IADDWjsKQbI/s1600/9780979010606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3U1fL7dVbmCEXtHXWzaFhXO9mIvxNnvjSviKYwxN9me2Kwp_ixx9TXWownefQraUgXfGJvKbK7VqkIKqXgn5s8KzQLAMtqwUmw93aPmXk7DvA5JUGVTDqYl5oTYi7W79IADDWjsKQbI/s200/9780979010606.jpg" width="133" /></a>For more than a century, soccer has captured the affection and imagination of the world. Simple to understand and inexpensive to play, it has grown from its roots in ancient times to a modern game with standardized rules and organized leagues that span our planet. After a slow beginning in this country, it is now growing by leaps and bounds. While informal games need only a ball and players, formal competitions also require a neutral decision-maker, in order to settle the unavoidable disagreements that come during the course of any athletic competition. By officiating, you advance the growth and understanding of this wonderful sport in ways that future generations of players will come to appreciate. The level of play in any part of the world is often determined by the skill of the officials, and without skilled and dedicated referees, American soccer cannot continue to grow, and American players cannot hope to compete with the best the rest of the world has to offer.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While becoming certified as a soccer referee is an important step toward developing a deeper understanding of the sport, in many ways it is only a beginning. Taking a referee class and passing the examination just gives you a badge and whistle, and lets you get paid while running about the soccer field. The task of becoming a referee will last as long as you officiate, for no matter how good you become, you will always be learning, constantly improving your understanding of the game and the people around you, and continually refining your skills. The moment you stop learning, you will stop growing as an official. And the moment you stop growing, whatever skills you have developed will begin to fade.<br />
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<b>Why am I Here?</b><br />
One question each new referee needs to ask is “why do I want to be a referee?” The answers can be many and varied:<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some—particularly younger officials, for whom refereeing may be their first job—are mainly interested in earning some extra spending money.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some want to officiate because they love soccer, others because they want some exercise.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some referee other sports as well, and want to add soccer to their schedule.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some may want to help their local club, or be there to help their son or daughter officiate.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Others may like the thought of controlling events—or simply enjoy bossing other people around.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whatever the reason, you can succeed as a referee with effort and dedication. But honest self-assessment is something every official needs, and your motivation for beginning a career as a paid referee may give you clues about possible strengths you will have as an official, as well as some weaknesses you may need to address.<br />
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<b>For Love or Money?</b><br />
Players and spectators will not care why we are officials—what motivates us, what drives us to become better, or what our particular circumstances might be. They want only a well-trained, competent, and impartial referee to keep the match safe, enjoyable, and fair. For our part, however, realizing what motivates us can help us understand what drives us to succeed, and what will sustain us through the challenges that lie ahead.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Success as an official will come from dedication and a sense of professional pride. Without both, the best intentions in the world will not help. Whatever our personal motive for becoming a referee, any one of us can excel. One official’s willingness to work hard to earn the extra money that comes from working top-level matches can drive him toward excellence every bit as much as another’s simple affection for the game her father taught her when she was young. What matters is not what brings us on to the pitch, but what keeps us there. In most cases, successful referees simply enjoy the job, enjoy the pride of a job well-done, and enjoy being of service to others. If we start with this, then we only need to apply ourselves and start developing the skills necessary to succeed.<br />
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<b>Personality and Character</b><br />
Over the course of our lives we will see an infinite variety of personalities. Some people are shy, some anger quickly. Some wear their hearts on their sleeves. Some never seem to lack for friends, or for a funny comeback.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is, however, no single “referee personality” that can assure success on the field—nor, fortunately, any type of person who cannot become an outstanding soccer official. Each of us has our own unique strengths and weaknesses, and any one of us can become a great referee. But to do so, we must be able to look at ourselves honestly, and recognize the kind of person we are. This can remind us of the strengths we have that can help us, as well as the weaknesses we will need to overcome.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee’s character will count for more than his personality, since it will be character that will determine how well the referee can stand up to the challenges on the pitch. But if we look at the referees we see beside us on the pitch, it will become apparent that many of best ones share some important characteristics that help them succeed. Some of these traits will come more naturally to us than others, but all of them need constant care and attention, and many of them will help us in other walks of life.<br />
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<b>Common Traits of the Successful Referee</b><br />
While any type of personality can result in a good soccer referee, many qualities are common to highly skilled officials around the world. Most of these traits are aspects of their character that they either had naturally or developed over time, and many of them are essential to success as a referee. What this means to the new officials is that there will be some aspects of your “on-field persona” that you must nurture and develop in order to feel at home on the pitch.<br />
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<i>Integrity</i><br />
Probably the most important character trait all referees share is a strong sense of personal integrity. Honesty on and off the field is essential to anyone hoping to convince others to trust him. A soccer match requires the players to rely upon the referee to make often-difficult decisions during hotly contested matches, and the Laws confer nearly total discretion on the officials to do what is best for the game within the rules. An official who lacks the personal integrity to see things honestly, and to see that everyone, including the officials, behaves according to the Laws of the Game will not get very far as a referee. Players and colleagues will come to be mistrustful of the official’s intentions and impartiality, and if a referee loses the trust of the players, then the loss of match control is never far behind.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Though we often fail to appreciate it, players and spectators are willing to forgive an occasional mistake by the officials, so long as they seem to be trying their best to be fair to both sides. One thing they will not forgive is dishonesty.<br />
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<i>Courage</i><br />
As important as integrity is to a referee, it is meaningless without the courage to do what the official knows to be right.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whether it is denying an appeal for a “handball” that the referee deems to be unintentional, turning a deaf ear to loud appeals for a penalty kick by a team whose star striker has tripped over the ball rather than a defender’s foot, calling a penalty kick late in the game for a foul that only the referee and the defender know happened inside the penalty area, or keeping the offside flag down because a player who is racing ten yards past the last defender was onside when the ball was kicked, the referee cannot make the call that will cause the least amount of grief. Rather, he must make the call that he believes to be the right one.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Soccer is a game of energy and excitement, and disappointment over a call, or no-call, is often expressed angrily and loudly. But we have other tools for dealing with expressions of disappointment that get out of hand. Avoiding the problem by making the wrong call is not one of them.<br />
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<i>Decisiveness</i><br />
Courage and integrity will carry an official a long way. All the courage in the world will not matter, however, without the ability to make decisions quickly. Soccer is a fast-paced, highly intense game, where the play is ever-changing and the action can cover the whole field in a matter of seconds. A referee who takes too long to make up his mind about what has just happened may find play leaving him behind; and the referee who waits for prompting by the players to announce a decision will be seen as weak and easily persuaded.<br />
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<i>Patience</i><br />
While decisiveness is necessary, patience—on the soccer field, as in life—is a virtue.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Referees hoping to appear decisive and alert often have more time to announce a decision than they realize. Waiting an extra second or two before blowing the whistle can often prevent a great many problems:<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting an extra second may allow a stumbling attacker to recover his footing, and continue on to score.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting an extra second may show whether the ball will go to the offender’s teammate, or to the side that was fouled—and whether whistling will allow a tactical foul to succeed in disrupting an attack.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting an extra second may determine whether a goal will score despite a foul inside the penalty area, thereby sparing the referee the embarrassment of pulling the ball out of the net while explaining to an exasperated team that the goal is disallowed...but to punish the foul they will get a penalty kick, instead.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Patience involves more than waiting to see how play develops. A patient referee will often take his time dealing with a troublesome player or coach to maximize the effect of any card given for misconduct— perhaps giving the troublemaker the opportunity to bring his temper under control, or waiting until tempers have cooled before speaking to a player about a controversial call. This is because a wise referee will try to use every available tool—the voice, the whistle, the card, sometimes the “stare of death”—to keep the match under control. And a patient referee regards time as a resource to be used, avoiding the rush to take actions that will only make things worse.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The benefits of patience are many....up to a point. The challenge for the new official is learning when to be patient and when to be prompt.<br />
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<i>Fair-mindedness</i><br />
The reason that soccer confers so much discretion on its officials is because everyone presumes that the referee will be fair and impartial.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is more to fairness, however, than simply treating both sides equally. A referee who relishes playing “gotcha” with the players— lowering the boom for trifling matters, or imposing disproportionate punishments for minor offenses—may be treating everyone the same, but is hardly being “fair” as far as the players are concerned. Unfairness to everyone is, after all, hardly a recommended path to success in any walk of life, and soccer is no exception.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Being “fair-minded” on the field means more than treating everyone consistently. It means that the referee treats everyone with respect, and avoids intruding needlessly on a game that rightly belongs to the players. There will be times when this will mean coming down sternly on a player or coach whose behavior is simply unacceptable. We do not, however, have the power to do so because soccer thinks that we are infallible. Rather, the game entrusts us with our authority because someone has to make a decision...and everyone is counting on us to be fair.<br />
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<i>Empathy</i><br />
Good referees will know all the rules and be able to apply them fairly and impartially. A great referee will understand the needs and motivations of the players, and empathize with the challenges that face them on the field of play.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Empathizing with the players does not mean that you are willing to tolerate rough or reckless play. It does mean that you will be able to sense a player’s frustrations, whether caused by disappointment or a painful knock in the ankle, and use this knowledge to help you manage the game:<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee empathizing with a player will be able to tell the difference between a frustrated player who needs a moment to calm himself, and a nasty player who must be dealt with harshly.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee able to empathize with the players will sense the difference between a game in which players accept hard, physical challenges with good spirits in the course of a sporting contest, and a game in which tempers are rising due to the level of contact.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A referee who can empathize with the players will have the ability to distinguish between trifling fouls that have no effect on the game, and apparently minor contacts—such as a painful rap on the heel, or a routine-looking trip that disrupts a promising attack—that will make players angry unless they see justice being done.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Referees who have played the game have an advantage in this regard. Their on-field experience will help them read the body language of the players and let them understand instantly how a play is likely to affect tempers on the pitch. Those who have not played soccer, or some other sport at a competitive level of play, must find some way to develop this ability on their own.<br />
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<i>Coolness under Fire</i><br />
Ernest Hemingway once defined courage as “grace under pressure.” Though known for his love of bull-fighting, he may well have been talking about soccer referees.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Soccer has provoked riots as well as devotion among its fans, and has grown to become the most popular sport in the world largely because of its capacity to excite our passions. But soccer’s ability to draw on raw human emotion presents a challenge for its referees, for while players and spectators watch the game with their hearts, referees watch with their eyes. If we allow our feelings to overwhelm our judgment, we risk chaos on the field. We are there to maintain order and keep everyone focused on the game. Everybody is counting on us to keep a level head, even when the disappointments of the moment have interrupted their own capacity for rational thought.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some of us are naturally excitable. Most of us have a variable temperament, depending on our mood and on what is going on around us. Few of us are naturally inclined to relax in times of stress, or given to react to expressions of anger or insults by remaining calm and doing our best to ease whatever tensions are simmering around us. Developing this ability may be the biggest challenge to anyone striving to be a top-notch referee.<br />
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<i>Humility</i><br />
People who lack confidence often compensate for their insecurities by adopting an air of superiority. Looking down at the rest of the world may prop up a weak ego, but will never help a referee on the soccer field. While some can get away with being arrogant and brilliant, conceit by a referee can cause all sorts of self-inflicted problems, and being arrogant and clueless is a recipe for disaster in all walks of life.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Under the Laws of the Game, the referee’s decision is final on all points concerning the fact of play. Soccer, in other words, regards the referee’s judgment as infallible, so far as the game is concerned. Unfortunately, some referees take this to heart and approach the players with an attitude of arrogance and privilege, rather than with empathy and understanding.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A wise referee will realize that nobody is perfect, and that the reason he is blowing the whistle at the game is not because he knows more about soccer than anyone else, but because somebody has to make a decision on the field and that he, at least, has actually read the rules. Cultivating an attitude that the participants are inferior, because there is so much about soccer that they do not know, will not help a referee control himself, let alone the players. This, in turn, will limit how far the official’s abilities can take him. On the other hand, the referee who develops an attitude of sympathetic understanding to the player’s concerns—recognizing that we referee to help them play the game rather than the other way around—will have more success on the field and find no such limits on any future advancement.<br />
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<i>Self-confidence</i><br />
Unfortunately, humility is often well-deserved, and one whose ambitions far exceed his talents had best be humble, or be prepared to come to grief on or off the soccer field. But a strong ego and healthy confidence in ourselves and our abilities, tempered by the knowledge that we are not above making a mistake, can make us strong and resilient in our jobs as referees, and elsewhere.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Though perfection may have no need for improvement, the rest of us can all use a little work. Recognizing that we are not perfect can lead us to better ourselves. But modesty by itself is no path to success at any endeavor. Unless we have the confidence in ourselves to make the calls we know to be right and stand strong in the face of criticism, we will always be second-guessing ourselves. Perfection is an ideal that is probably beyond the grasp of any of us, but knowing that we have tried our best can give us pride in a job well-done.<br />
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<i>Good Work Habits on the Field</i><br />
Humans are creatures of habit and tend to revert to form during times of stress. It should come as no surprise that most accomplished officials have adopted and cultivated on-field habits that sharpen their performance.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sloppiness is often a state of mind. While an official can often get away with cutting corners on the field—walking rather than running into position on the field; using weak or ambiguous mechanics; failing to run the ball to the end line, and the like—it is not an approach that leads to excellence. Many times, officials come to grief not because they are poor referees, but because their work habits have left them out of position at the critical “moment of truth” for the match, or because they made the right call but used a faulty signal which led to an unexpected turn of events on the pitch.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As a new official, it will be easier for you to begin training yourself to do things the right way from the outset, than it will be to break old, bad habits later in your career.<br />
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<i>Hustle</i><br />
In soccer, as in most sports, there is a premium on hustle. There are benefits gained by being alert and moving quickly into position and penalties to suffer by being slow to react to changing events. Officiating soccer is no different. The official who can anticipate and react to play as it is developing will usually be in place to spot a foul and prevent trouble. The official who always lags behind play will need luck and well-behaved players to maintain order on the field.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hustle depends more on habit and mind-set than it does on raw physical speed. Many older referees somehow manage always to be in position wherever they are needed, even though their younger colleagues could leave them far behind in a foot race. Experience, though, can only teach us where we need to be. It is hustle that will get us there in time.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>A Commitment to Fitness</i><br />
Of course, all the best intentions in the world often founder when confronted with the real world. For the referee—even a referee blessed with an abundance of talent, resourcefulness, courage, and the patience of a saint—the determination to hustle into position is useless without the legs to get there.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Soccer is a physically challenging game, demanding a high level of fitness from its officials. Referees often run more than six miles during a game. Assistant referees may find themselves doing three or more miles worth of running, often sprinting at flank speed. Some referees try to use officiating to give them the chance for some fresh air and exercise. Successful referees all have some form of fitness regimen to keep them in condition, to enable them to officiate at their best. Experience teaches all of us that it is much easier to stay in shape than to get into shape.<br />
<br />
<i>Knowledge of the Game</i><br />
Lastly, all good referees need a thorough knowledge of the game. While “facts of play” are often judged at the discretion of the referee, a misapplication of the law is a violation of the rules. If it affects the outcome, the mistake can cause a match to be replayed.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Knowing and understanding the Laws of the Game is necessary for anyone who wants to officiate the sport. Immersing yourself in the game’s history and traditions is a good way to continue your education as a referee. It will give you a more complete understanding of the “whys” and “wherefores’ of the game, and deeper insight into some of the fine points of the rules. More importantly, understanding the reason for each rule will let you apply them all at the right time. Knowing why a particular Law exists lets you keep things moving smoothly on the field, helping you sense when to apply which rule, as well as when an infraction can be overlooked as too trivial to stop play. And being able to place each rule in its proper context is essential in order to make each rule work as it is intended.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Watching as much soccer as you can, whether live or on television, will show you how other referees react to events on the field and hone your sense of when a contact is a foul, and when a foul is so trifling that it is safe to let it pass. It will also sustain you when you encounter the dilemma every soccer official confronts at some time—the unexpected, whether in the form of an event not covered in the rules, never covered in your training, or one which simply leaves you scratching your head in wonder. When this happens, the deeper your understanding of the game, the better equipped you will be to solve whatever problem confronts you. You may not remember the rule, but you may very well remember the solution.<br />
<br />
Copyright ©2007 by Jeffrey Caminsky<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-63573251812606830882016-03-15T10:13:00.000-04:002016-03-15T10:13:07.975-04:00Surviving Attacks by Crazed Gunmen: The Politically Correct Guide<br />
<b>If faced with a crazed gunman:<br />
</b>(1) Immediately run to the nearest Gun Free Zone. This will stop the attack, since any armed attacker will be unable to follow you.<br />
<br />
(2) If he does follow you, point forcefully to the sign designating the Gun Free Zone. This will remind the attacker that guns are not allowed, and that he will have to leave.<br />
<br />
(3) If he does not leave, point again and ask whether he saw the sign. You may ask this question multiple times, in an increasingly insistent tone of voice. (Do not ask if he can read English, however, as this may be considered insensitive and racist.)<br />
<br />
(4) In the unlikely event that this does not work, and it appears that the attacker still intends to kill you, you have the option of leaving the Gun Free Zone and proceeding to any nearby place where armed good guys are present.<br />
<br />
(5) Survivors should make broad generalizations concerning "doing something" about gun violence. In doing so, you should avoid limiting your suggestions to dealing with armed criminals, since this is a coded assertion of privilege and may be deemed discriminatory.<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-73910927468353482152014-11-03T11:36:00.000-05:002014-11-03T11:36:48.573-05:00Rights, Responsibilities, and the Constitution<span style="font-family: Times;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The reason the Constitution speaks more of rights than responsibilities is that it was written to protect the individual from the Government. That is why, as written, it specifies and limits the powers of the central government, and spells out many of the things that the Government is forbidden from doing. While that has not always kept the Government on its leash, it gives us a point of reference to help those of us who are interested in such things discern what the Government should and should not be doing...and to let us see where we've gone off track.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Founders presumed that most people, enjoying the freedom to make anything out of their life that they wished, would be responsible for themselves. And part of the obligation of each generation was to teach the lessons of personal responsibility, shared obligations, and the importance of community and tradition, to each succeeding generation.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">With the advent of the Welfare State, a growing number of Americans have become more interested in what they can get from the Government than with providing for themselves. With personal responsibility now becoming seen by many as more of a lifestyle choice than a prerequisite for self-government, we can now see clearly where this will lead us in the not-too-distant future if we don't change course rather soon. </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>"Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; </i><i>it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known </i><i>freedom and then lost it have never known it again</i>.” </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">~ Ronald Reagan, from his first inaugural speech as governor of California, January 5, 1967</span></blockquote>
</div>
<strong></strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-11926739727906947732014-10-28T23:36:00.000-04:002014-10-28T23:36:27.129-04:00Happy Birthday, Dad...We Miss You<em>It's been nearly four months since my father died. In the time since then, our family has undergone many changes --- some from simply mourning the loss of someone we loved, others from happier events, such as the wedding of my daughter. Through it all, my writing has largely been put on a sabbatical.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Today would have been my father's 92nd birthday. We visited his grave at the National Cemetery in Holly to wish him a happy birthday, and had a toast in his honor over lunch in Fenton.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>This is the obituary I wrote for him.</em><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wallace Caminsky<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">October 28, 1922–July 6, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nwz_C1SUikQdXH2uDicUJ1rk5XkYB2oJgxPCVwutrKymWmFTI_bDOha82dsbftsjtsPETWuO5R-48CRfjOmcyrhX04YTyyH0c7kkrSPEfEIE9q6SJcEFSB3OZ__0aE78uZJGbIh_zog/s1600/1943+or+so-Wallace+Caminsky+of+the+Greatest+Generation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nwz_C1SUikQdXH2uDicUJ1rk5XkYB2oJgxPCVwutrKymWmFTI_bDOha82dsbftsjtsPETWuO5R-48CRfjOmcyrhX04YTyyH0c7kkrSPEfEIE9q6SJcEFSB3OZ__0aE78uZJGbIh_zog/s1600/1943+or+so-Wallace+Caminsky+of+the+Greatest+Generation.jpg" height="200" width="163" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wallace
Caminsky was born on October 28, 1922, the oldest child of immigrant parents.
Growing up in Hamtramck, his family was hit hard during the Depression, and he
grew up watching his parents scramble to make a living. Graduating from
Hamtramck High in 1940, he briefly attended college, until the outbreak of
World War II. Enlisting in the Army, he worked as a cryptographer on a command
ship in the South Pacific, the USCGC Ingham, where he saw action in the Philippines
and other islands.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
his return, he graduated from Wayne State University, majoring in English. In
1948 he married Alice Luniewski — also from Hamtramck — and soon began a family
of his own. His first son, Jeff, was born in 1951, and a second son — Chris —
followed three years later. Working in the auto industry, he moved from Ford
Motors to Chrysler in 1957, where he worked for the next twelve years. Active
in politics and current events throughout his life, he was deeply shaken by the
Kennedy assassination, and was a member of various human rights groups during
the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. He remained interested and involved in
current affairs until his death.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eager
to expand his horizons, he started law school in 1964, attending night classes
at the Detroit College of Law and graduating in 1969 — the same year his oldest
son graduated from high school. After practicing law with the firm of Kazmarek
and Nedzi, he became an administrative law judge in 1975, and served in that capacity
until his retirement in 1987.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXw9zCFCkgNqD40_9zVeaO9FRnoANaGUzLVcIEUkq0g6k8eb25l8-pmRmLhzaWCMoy8lPGM5FBeWL0NnMz6XsDEQEDBPw7BkB9mTqeK6q8DckmXgGIN47xHdEwFv5BSTZ2jsUiWMZFa2g/s1600/0701028+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXw9zCFCkgNqD40_9zVeaO9FRnoANaGUzLVcIEUkq0g6k8eb25l8-pmRmLhzaWCMoy8lPGM5FBeWL0NnMz6XsDEQEDBPw7BkB9mTqeK6q8DckmXgGIN47xHdEwFv5BSTZ2jsUiWMZFa2g/s1600/0701028+(3).JPG" height="132" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interested
in literature as well as sports and current events, he wrote poetry and short
stories, and published two books: <b><i>All Fathers Are Giants</i></b>, a
collection of short stories; and <b><i>Words for Other People’s Music</i></b>,
a collection of his poems. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOX7o3GUuIawHLHTzhUz7qa3n9qIQloS5W2qu1EU1h9JYZPtLpNgh12ALXImnyoMd9E3ulUc79O1Ka4hyphenhyphenGU28FBJoQafGZSy2DHF_SjC26jqfViNccX6n6YfJ7CRROCLD2qIWU0r6_VM/s1600/121028+(18).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOX7o3GUuIawHLHTzhUz7qa3n9qIQloS5W2qu1EU1h9JYZPtLpNgh12ALXImnyoMd9E3ulUc79O1Ka4hyphenhyphenGU28FBJoQafGZSy2DHF_SjC26jqfViNccX6n6YfJ7CRROCLD2qIWU0r6_VM/s1600/121028+(18).JPG" height="200" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
leaves behind a loving family, including his devoted wife, Alice, his two sons,
Jeffrey and Christopher and their wives, Navona and Catherine, grandchildren
Jason and Julia, and great-grandchildren Alana and Elise.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wallace
Caminsky died on July 6, 2014, after a long illness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<em>Happy birthday, Dad. We love you, and will always miss you.</em><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em><em> </em><br />
<em> </em><br />
<br />Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-85126815368413663352013-12-20T09:34:00.002-05:002013-12-20T09:35:13.727-05:00Shadows of Love<span class="userContent">Love can inspire us to see beauty, and also to seek it in those around us...and, sometimes, in those who are gone. And if God is love, then perhaps we can understand where many of our most touching thoughts and ideas come from.</span><br />
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<a href="http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/TODAY-ready/ss-moving-without-mom-131613/ss-moving-without-mom-131613-01.ss_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="current" height="300" src="http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/TODAY-ready/ss-moving-without-mom-131613/ss-moving-without-mom-131613-01.ss_full.jpg" width="400" /></a>In 2009, a<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show"> man and the woman he loved took some wedding photos in the empty house they hoped to live in forever. Two years later, as she lay dying from a rare form of cancer, her greatest fear was that her baby daughter would never remember her. And so, to reunite the two of them...and show their little girl what Mommy was like on the happiest day of her life. And so, as he was leaving a house once filled with so many dreams for the last time, a still-grieving father managed to give his wife a last present, and his daughter something to treasure for the rest of her life.</span></div>
</span><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.today.com/news/moms-memory-lives-sweet-dad-daughter-photos-2D11741832" target="_blank">Mom's Memory Lives On...</a></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
Love endures...joyous, sometimes bittersweet...but always heartfelt. And wherever it appears, the Universe smiles.<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: Melanie Tracy Pace / Loft3 Photography</span></em><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-19632755780984298332013-12-18T10:56:00.003-05:002013-12-18T11:17:29.009-05:00Lessons Unlearned<div>
<em>"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."</em></div>
<div>
<em></em> </div>
<div>
<em>George Santayana, <strong>The Life of Reason</strong></em></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I think many of the political problems we seem to be having these days stems from our differing perspectives on human history and experience:</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In the main, whether by dint of personality or education, conservatives tend to show more respect for tradition and institutions. This stems from a reading of History that shows (a) most innovation leads to failure or disaster; (b) there are few things new under the sun; (c) most "innovations" have already been tried...and were discarded for a good reason; (d) there are some human values that we simply have to accept a priori, since applying sterile logic to the human condition leads to a sterile and withering nihilism that is not conducive to human growth; (e) as our capacity for unintended consequences appears to know no limits, we need to be very careful when making changes; (f) a page of history being worth a volume of logic, experience will be a better guide for us than abstract logic; and, therefore, (g) small, incremental changes are likely to lead to better results than grand plans based on the hope that we can remake the world to our liking.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
It seems to me that modern-day liberals (as opposed to Classical Liberals, who would likely be described as "conservatives" in today's political climate) tend to scoff at tradition, and set their sights on remaking the world into something better. This, in turn, leads to (a) a rejection of History as a guide to the future; (b) the belief that Man is infinitely malleable; (c) the belief that one can devise solutions to problems through the use of logic, rather than practical experimentation; and, as a consequence (d) the conviction that the "masses" must be led to the future, since they are incapable of knowing what's best for them; and (e) the conclusion that ultimate wisdom is to be found in educated elites, rather than History, Experience, or Tradition.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Personally, I think we're far better off muddling through as best we can and tinkering at the margins to make things better, than we are trying to devise "grand plans" to solve all our problems in one fell swoop. Evidence for this abounds, even if we limit our search to the last Century:</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Exhibit A</strong>: Soviet Russia</div>
<div>
<strong>Exhibit B:</strong> The War on Poverty</div>
<div>
<strong>Exhibit C</strong>: Modern Feminism, and the entire PC movement</div>
<div>
<strong>Exhibit D:</strong> Obamacare</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
It is all well and good to be a dreamer and idealist, and to devise grand notions for making the world a better place. But as tradition notes, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and it's usually unwise to fix something that isn't broken. The conceit that humans can foresee all the consequences of what they're doing leads us to farce and tragedy; and I suspect that our descendants will be looking back on our Age of Folly and shaking their heads...wondering how their ancestors could have been so stupid.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Of course, that may not prevent them from making their own stupid mistakes. But it seems to me that one benefit of looking at the past is to see and learn from the mistakes of others --- including the conceit that "Our Era" has the answers to problems that have plagued Mankind since the beginning, and that human folly is limited to the past.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I hope one day, humanity can master this lesson; it's one that our generation seems never to have learned.</div>
<strong></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-51399868412098278032013-11-22T14:04:00.001-05:002013-11-23T15:39:36.737-05:00Fifty Years Ago<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0Rhz776Uvxsojt85z9cis2ozvl3XO4jDDR2bK3R4fvr4RS6icEz2CX7gudvE0pC5Fpz1UA427hJSC5uUG4tmc6lQDqa9lEKipQDKqwemC4U36scl0ywKT25DyMWOB7qkjFcSZ_l5kxs/s1600/Kennedy+Button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0Rhz776Uvxsojt85z9cis2ozvl3XO4jDDR2bK3R4fvr4RS6icEz2CX7gudvE0pC5Fpz1UA427hJSC5uUG4tmc6lQDqa9lEKipQDKqwemC4U36scl0ywKT25DyMWOB7qkjFcSZ_l5kxs/s200/Kennedy+Button.jpg" width="198" /></a>On the Friday before my twelfth birthday, I went to school looking forward to the weekend. I'd hoped to get my first record player as a birthday present, and since next week was Thanksgiving, I had a shortened week of school ahead of me as well.<br />
<br />
The day went ahead largely as planned, although I wasn't looking forward to a math test in Mrs. Albee's class at the end of the day. But I sailed through my morning classes, and after gym class proceeded to my science class, still dreading my upcoming math test the next hour, but starting to get excited about the weekend ahead.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnUDt4yU0_CzKWrIDHQranoXIvk_ExLxwDN4km1ulOrzuY7NAuH3HPDuiQ8wp8BXVMoUJtzgAbqDcunNIBd3qJGXTPl-eEoQj3eyeMgBC0PQtnwv8HLK30b33zfDCRqxAD18Z5NOXV7w/s1600/JFK+at+Press+Conference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnUDt4yU0_CzKWrIDHQranoXIvk_ExLxwDN4km1ulOrzuY7NAuH3HPDuiQ8wp8BXVMoUJtzgAbqDcunNIBd3qJGXTPl-eEoQj3eyeMgBC0PQtnwv8HLK30b33zfDCRqxAD18Z5NOXV7w/s200/JFK+at+Press+Conference.jpg" width="200" /></a>As we settled into our seats, a teacher from down the hall came to the door, and whispered something to Mrs. Jewell, the nice old lady who was our science teacher. I caught a whiff of what he'd said --- "Kennedy's been shot" --- and a cold shiver ran down my spine. Mrs. Jewell calmly relayed the news, and none of us paid much attention to the rest of class.<br />
<br />
Next hour, Mrs. Albee told us that the President had died, and our principal made the announcement over the speaker. I still had to take the math test, and then faced a long walk home; there, my mother was in tears: Kennedy was a hero in our house; and those tears lasted for a long time.<br />
<br />
President Kennedy embodied the hopes and dreams of an entire generation, and symbolized a country brimming with confidence and idealism, committed to freedom and liberty, and ready to make the world a better place. Those dreams were shattered on the streets of Dallas that day --- November 22, 1963 --- and the country has never been the same.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOy5YPpNLm5-n3lEUXzN0ErpakdUbzixRdbeb8TEo0RBQnXRRDMJzfLuYpDaxMmBUWRYRGA_8KUy0UCv6o2hyTloZGOx5OSdt4tsrrSmviQ-qEXp3Qjo5Q5IBdOzbenQ-F6Qk7jP93yRc/s1600/jfk-jr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOy5YPpNLm5-n3lEUXzN0ErpakdUbzixRdbeb8TEo0RBQnXRRDMJzfLuYpDaxMmBUWRYRGA_8KUy0UCv6o2hyTloZGOx5OSdt4tsrrSmviQ-qEXp3Qjo5Q5IBdOzbenQ-F6Qk7jP93yRc/s200/jfk-jr.jpg" width="148" /></a>In some ways, the country is a better place today. In many ways, it is not: in those days, the president rode in an open-topped car, to be closer to the people; the streets of Washington were lined with open monuments to democracy, rather than barricades against terrorists; we didn't need to be searched before boarding an airplane; and we were filled with hope and optimism about the future.<br />
<br />
Time marches on; and fifty years later, America is not the same place. Every year, the shadow of a small boy eagerly awaiting a birthday feels his heart being ripped out. And the dreams that died with President Kennedy in Dallas continue to haunt us.<br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[32sue].[1][3][1]{comment10202600843451998_7078480}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[32sue].[1][3][1]{comment10202600843451998_7078480}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[32sue].[1][3][1]{comment10202600843451998_7078480}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">But after fifty years, the torch has been passed...and, sadly, it's time to move on. Memories fade, the human spirit heals, and life goes on.</span></span></span><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher. </em><em> </em><br />
<em> </em><br />
<br />Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-63864474108645234632013-05-30T20:35:00.000-04:002013-05-30T20:36:32.301-04:00Modern Fables: Tool MaintenanceOne day, after a long day of shopping with her friend Joanne, Ethyl came home and was horrified to find her husband, Frank, in bed with a gorgeous younger woman. <br />
<br />
After hurling objects of various size and breakability at him, she turned to storm out of the house and head off to Joanna’s house, when she was stopped at the door by her husband, clad in his oversized terrycloth bathrobe. <br />
<br />
Turning angrily, Frank managed to deflect her fist and, holding her tightly to minimize the danger to himself, he insisted on explaining what he described as a big misunderstanding.<br />
<br />
“It’s actually kind of funny, if your really think about it,” Frank said, keeping a tight hold on Ethyl’s fist. “But when I was driving home I saw this young girl --- looking all poor and tired --- so I offered her a ride. And as we drove, she told me she was hungry, so I brought her home and fed her some of the roast you had forgotten about in the refrigerator.<br />
<br />
“Well, her shoes were worn out so I gave her a pair of your shoes you never wear because you don’t like them. You know, the red high heels I gave you for your Christmas last year --- the ones you insist make your legs look fat?<br />
<br />
“Anyway, she was also cold, so I gave her that new birthday sweater you refused to wear because the color clashed with your eyes. And her slacks were worn out so I gave her a pair of yours that haven’t worn in five years. You know, the black ones that you keep saying are too tight.”<br />
<br />
“That doesn’t explain what she was doing in bed with you!” Ethyl hollered.<br />
<br />
“Well,” Frank said sheepishly, “as she was about to leave the house, she paused and asked, 'Is there anything else that your wife doesn't use anymore?<br />
<br />
“And, so here we are….”<br />
<br />
And of course, the moral of this story is: <br />
<br />
Since tools can turn rusty from disuse, wise owners will clean and polish them regularly.<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher. His series on "Modern Fables" are adapted from a variety of sources...from Aesop to the Interet...and retold in what he intends to be an engaging and humorous manner.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-67518024245940168502013-05-24T12:36:00.001-04:002013-05-24T12:36:55.378-04:00Confronting Radical Extremism, or The Curse of Interesting TimesUnfortunately, life is not all black and white, but varying shades of gray...with all shadings of color thrown in for people who aren't color blind. This holds true whether we’re dealing with the temper tantrums of our kids, the petty squabbles that infect most workplaces, or the life-and-death struggles that confront us around the world.<br />
<br />
Many people seek to divide the world into pigeon-holes of “us” and “them.” This approach often finds spectacular success in the world of politics --- as well as any other form or marketing --- where the success of the “pitchman” often depends on striking resonant chords with his audience. But when we turn from the pettiness of our personal lives to the dangerous world around us, and “us” versus “them” seems to become a question of survival, our emotional reactions often trap us into a false dichotomy of choices: either waging total war, reflecting our instinct for survival, or a passive idealism that stems from our hopes for a better world than the one we find around us. Unfortunately, both approaches have flaws that prevent them from attaining our goals; and in the context of our current troubles with Muslim extremists throughout the world, we’ve seen both approaches lead us to grief.<br />
<br />
Since survival is our most visceral instinct, any world defined by “us” and them” will lead us to seek “them” as the enemy; and a group feeling itself under attack will do whatever it takes to respond to the threat. It may be tempting to think in terms of all-out war, or expelling any member of "their" group to protect ourselves, but the modern world is more complex than the jungle our ancestors inhabited. In the end that approach betrays our ideals, and is something that will bring shame to us in the long run. <br />
<br />
In the 1800s, we responded to raids on our settlements by some Indian tribes by (a) targeting all Indians, and (b) forcing them into the 19th Century equivalent of concentration camps. Ayone who has forgotten this sordid chapter of our past, need only read about our treatment of Black Kettle, including the massacre of the women and children of his tribe at Sand Creek, and the later massacre what was left of his tribe on the Washita River by Custer and his men to see what happens when you target whole groups, rather than those who mean you harm.<br />
<br />
I don't think that the current schism between peaceful and radical elements of Islam is terribly different than the same schism between different elements of Christianity a few centuries ago. The only differences seem to be that one is occurring now while the other occurred in the dim, distant past, and that the West passed through the rationality of the Enlightenment Era, while the Middle East is still struggling to catch up.<br />
<br />
I suppose we could simply treat them all as enemies, and wipe them from the face of the Earth. History, however, wouldn't be kind to us --- although, like the rabid Indian fighters of 150 years ago, we won't be around to hear it. And I don't think any of us would really want to be a part of that kind of war of extermination.<br />
<br />
I think our "response", if it's to be that of civilized men and women, has to be to recognize that life is imperfect, and that while some people are evil, others are not. So, we resist evil --- and move to wipe it out where we can --- and try to do our best not to descend into barbarism. That's been the challenge facing Man ever since we evolved as a species, and we probably won't ever get it right. That doesn't mean we simply surrender to our coarser instincts and emotions; it means we learn from the past, try not to make the same mistakes, and keep trying.<br />
<br />
Of course, this won't eliminate the problem: given the Era we're living through, we'll probably keep facing extremists, and hate-inspired killings and attacks will still go on. But if we wiped the Muslim world off the face of the Earth, we'd still face the same problems. We'd still have hatred; there would still be extremists who think that they have all the answers --- and that anyone who disagrees with them needs to be dealt with severely; and we'd still have lunatics massacring and killing innocents. It's part of the curse of the human race: as imperfect creatures, we're left to grope our way through life. But responding to lunatics by engaging in blood feuds is a tribal response, and will leave us at each others' throats forever. It may well be that our limitations as a species will eventually lead us back to that kind of life --- the life of the jungle --- but I'm not willing to give up my hopes for us yet. And it suggests that our proper course is to keep trying to distinguish our enemies from our potential friends...helping those with "civilized" instincts and behaviors resist and cope with the lunatics in their midst...and hoping that eventually we'll be able to overcome our barbaric instincts.<br />
<br />
In the book <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/World-Until-Yesterday-Traditional-Societies/dp/0670024813/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369413200&sr=1-1&keywords=jared+diamond+the+world+until+yesterday" target="_blank">The World Until Yesterday</a></em>, Jared Diamond explores the difference between the modern, Western world and the tribal world that we came from. Among his insights is that while we've made remarkable strides, and our societies have evolved to perform what our ancestors would have regarded as miracles, we're basically the same people we've always been...but that what works for small-scale societies often doesn't work well for larger ones. I don't think we should allow what our emotional response would be to having someone we love murdered by fanatics guide us, since those responses would probably involve tearing the offenders limb from limb; while personal vengeance might work in a tribal setting, we need to have cooler heads, taking a longer view, deciding what to do. Otherwise, we never escape the cycle of violence, and we're left with no more than one of our feet sticking out of the jungle.<br />
<br />
In the end, I think the approaches of both Bush and Obama were simplistic and naive: Bush's was naive in conception, and clumsy in execution; Obama's strives to take a broader perspective, but mistakes idealism for sophistication, and has been crippled by a lack of understanding of the real world around us. In the end, I think a targeted approach --- in identifying both the enemy, and our friends --- will prove more productive than lashing out blindly. But it will be neither easy nor pretty...since there are no easy answers, and all the pretty rhetoric in the world is no match for determined evil. And it's likely to take a century or so, before the current wave of fanaticism plays itself out...unless we simply decide to conquer the world and exterminate anyone who opposes us. But then, that will be even uglier, and leave us with a whole raft of other problems to deal with.<br />
<br />
So, welcome to the 21st Century. It's likely to give renewed meaning to the ancient Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-59937669201685469412013-02-19T19:34:00.002-05:002013-02-20T23:53:32.998-05:00Modern Fables: The Barber and the CowboyOne day, a grizzled old cowboy walked into the local barbershop. Plopping himself down into the barber’s chair, he tossed his hat onto the hat rack by the door and aimed his wad of tobacco at the spittoon sitting on the floor beside his seat.<br />
<br />
“What can I do for you today?” asked the barber, as he reached for his mop to clean the floor near the spittoon.<br />
<br />
“Well, tarnation!” exclaimed the old timer. “Cain’t you see fer yerse’f? Been needin’ me a haircut these past cuppla weeks. An’ I ain’t had a decent shave in well nigh onto forever.”<br />
<br />
“Is that so?” the barber replied. His cleanup finished, he flapped a (towel???) crisply, and laid it across the cowboys chest.<br />
<br />
“I reckon my ol’ cheeks is too plumb wrinkled to get more’n half my whiskers off. So I’m consid’rin’ just gittin’ my hair cut from now on. And as fer the whiskers, why I’m all but decided to lettin’em fill out an’ be done with it.”<br />
<br />
“Well,” said the barber, mulling over the problem as he trimmed the old man’s hair, “I think I have a solution. If you really want the shave, that is.”<br />
<br />
“Well, that’s what I come fer.”<br />
<br />
When he’d finished the haircut, the barber went to his shelf and returned with a handful of small marbles, which he gave the the old cowboy.<br />
<br />
“What’s these fer?”<br />
<br />
“Just put them inside your cheek and hold them there. They’ll spread out your skin, and it should eliminate those pesky wrinkles.”<br />
<br />
The cowboy did as he was told and the barber went to work. Soon, the old cowboy was rubbing his cheek and marveling at the result. He spit out the marbles into a pot the barber gave him, and flashed a beaming smile at the handsome fellow staring back at him in the mirror.<br />
<br />
“Dangnation, but if that isn’t the closest shave I’ve had in years!” <br />
“I told you,” smiled the barber, whisking away his [barber bib] and leading his customer to the cash register. “It works every time.”<br />
<br />
“Just one thing,” said the cowboy sheepishly, as reached for his wallet. “What happens if it turns out I done swallered a few of them little marbles?”<br />
<br />
“Nothing to worry about,” the barber said blandly, as he rang up the sale. “Just eat plenty of fiber…then, in a few days, go on and rinse’em off and bring’em back. That’s what everyone else does.”<br />
<br />
The moral of the story is:<br />
<br />
It often pays to consider the matter from all angles before blindly swallowing whatever an expert hands you.<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-78761105086995253892013-01-16T12:50:00.005-05:002013-02-19T19:33:39.088-05:00Modern Fables: The Pastor's AssOne day the pastor of a small rural church saw a donkey staggering along the road leading into to town. The lost animal could barely walk and it looked starved, its ribs nearly poking through its sides. Taking pity on the poor creature, the Pastor brought it back to his church, where the nuns and children of the parish lovingly adopted the animal, and nursed it back to health. Soon it was romping freely around the grounds of the parish, delighting in giving rides to the children and relishing the attention it received from everyone.<br />
<br />
A few weeks later, the Pastor watched the donkey as it raced from one end of the church grounds to the other, and was amazed at how fast the creature could run. And so the following week he entered the animal in the donkey race at the Town Fair. As he and his parishioners cheered him on, the donkey won easily, braying merrily at all the attention.<br />
<br />
Everyone was so pleased that the next month, the Pastor entered the donkey in the race at the County Fair. Once again, their donkey easily beat all comers, and the following day an article in the local paper read: “<strong>PASTOR'S ASS BEATS ALL.” </strong><br />
<br />
Reading the paper over breakfast, the Bishop was so shocked that he sputtered coffee all over his tea and toast. By lunchtime, he’d become so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the Pastor not to enter the donkey the race at the State Fair. And so the next day the headline in the local paper read: “BISHOP <strong>SCRATCHES PASTOR’S ASS.</strong>"<br />
<br />
This was too much for the Bishop, so he ordered the Pastor to get rid of the donkey. Tearfully, the Pastor gave his beloved animal to a nun in a nearby convent. The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day: “<strong>NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.”</strong><br />
<br />
The Bishop fainted and, upon recovering, the Bishop ordered the nun to get rid of the donkey, and so she sold it to a farmer for the nominal sum of $1.<br />
<br />
The next day the headline read: “<strong>NUN SELLS ASS FOR A DOLLAR.”</strong><br />
<br />
This was too much for the Bishop, and so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains, where it could run to its heart’s content, and no longer be an embarrassment to the Church. And the next day the headline read: “<strong>NUN’S ASS NOW WILD AND FREE.</strong>”<br />
<br />
The Bishop was buried the following day; and two days later, the donkey returned to its home in the parish, where it remains to this day.<br />
<br />
The moral of the story is . . .<br />
<br />
Being concerned about what everyone else thinks can bring you much grief and misery…and maybe even shorten your life.<br />
<br />
So stop worrying about everyone else's ass: you’ll be a lot happier, and maybe live longer.<br />
<br />
Just be yourself, and enjoy life.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-68247476859961417202013-01-12T14:12:00.002-05:002013-01-12T14:12:17.695-05:00Paving Materials on the Road to HellRecent tragedies in <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323297104578179271453737596.html" target="_blank">Connecticut </a>and elsewhere, in which large numbers of innocent people were killed by deranged gunmen, have led to a flurry finger-pointing, as polticians of every stripe try to convince voters that they can solve the problems of gun violence in America, while looking for scapegoats to blame.<br />
<br />
Predictably, some blame the gun lobby for its tone-deaf intransigience about setting rules and limits on guns; some blame the video-game industry for encouraging a culture of violence. Some blame our existing gun restrictions, for preventing law-abiding citizens from coming to the rescue with guns blazing whenever there's trouble. Some even blame our Constitution for elevating the "right to bear arms" to the level of a constitutional right --- or heap the blame on our Supreme Court, for recognizing in the text of the <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/second_amendment" target="_blank">Second Amendment</a> a <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZS.html" target="_blank">personal right to bear arms</a> for our own self-defense.<br />
<br />
On this last score, some gun control advocates point to the pre-existing case law --- effectively acknowledging that the <a href="http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/92/542/case.html" target="_blank">Second Amendment precluded only Congress</a> from enacting limits on the right to bear arms --- to argue that the current court has made the "activist" decision to rewrite the Second Amendment, and pointing to the Supreme Court decision in <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1521.pdf" target="_blank">McDonald v Chicago</a> as Exhibit A. The reason we had "a body of law" through the 1970s that has been revisited today is not because of "judicial activists" on the bench today, but because of the judicial activists of the 1960s.<br />
<br />
From our founding until the middle of the 20th Century, the US Supreme Court had routinely held that the Bill of Rights applied only to restrict the power of the Federal government over its citizens...and had no application against the state. States, through their own laws and constitutions, were largely free to organize themselves, and to write whatever laws and rules their citizens saw fit to impose upon themselves. In this context, the Federal Government could impose no rules respecting weapons in the possession of its citizens of any kind --- with the possible exception of those being transported in across state lines, in interstate commerce. Any such rules and regulations were left to the states, which were free to impose any rules they wished.<br />
<br />
Building upon various threads of developing legal thought, and beginning in earnest with the 1960 Supreme Court decision in <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0367_0643_ZS.html" target="_blank">Mapp v Ohio</a>, the Supreme Court effectively rewrote our Constitution, extending protections designed to prevent tyranny at the Federal level by applying them to the states. Though largely intended at the start to rectify obvious injustices being visited on black defendants in the Deep South, this morphed into what is known as the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporation_of_the_Bill_of_Rights" target="_blank">incorporation doctrine</a>"...by which language in the Fourteenth Amendment --- which read that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" --- transformed the Bill of Rights into general limits on state power, a bit of legal alchemy that had somehow escaped the attention of jurists until the middle of the 20th Century. Though most modern liberals insist that it only applies to those "privileges or immunities" that they approve of --- such as the right to counsel, or the protection against unreasonable search and seizure (all of which were generally granted in one way or another in the various state constitutions) --- inexorable logic, as well as the law of unintended consequences, made it inevitable that the same "incorporation doctrine" would someday come to apply to the Second Amendment as well as the rest.<br />
<br />
Today, rather than a system in which Washington is prohibited from disarming its citizens but States are free to regulate weapons as they see fit, we now have a system in which the same limit on Federal power relating to weapons is being applied against the states...with the result that what seemed a good idea to the "Perpetual Committee on Constitutional Revision" that the Supreme Court became in the 1960s is running into the reality that the Founders tried hard to accommodate in 1787: ie, the fact that a "one-size-fits-all" government is a recipe for disaster, and that liberty is better preserved by placing strict limits on Federal power, and letting the People govern themselves as much as possible at the state and local levels. In the context of trying to control gun violence in our society, this means that local communities across the country have to abide by the same constitutionally mandated limitations --- even though farmers in rural Montana and neighborhood watch volunteers in Detroit may face different local problems, requiring different local solutions.<br />
<br />
If we are going to decry "judicial activists," we should probably begin by studying how the Constitution changed in the 1960s. We are still grappling with the consequences, but at least you'd have a sense of the nature of the problem...and why it's proving so hard to get things right: judges are terrible at crafting the kinds of political compromises we need to govern ourselves intelligently, and make most people happy with the result; and once they assumed the power to rewrite the Constitution, they became a third political branch of Government, rather than simply serving as the referees. And so therefore, in the context of our current debate on gun control, rather than being able to rule simply that "the Second Amendment does not apply to the States; therefore, the State of <em>(fill in the blank)</em> is free to regulate firearms in whatever manner its citizens seem fit," it now has to craft constitutional rules relating to firearms that apply across the board to everyone, everwhere in the country...and determining which state laws and regulations can pass muster with five members of the Supreme Court. Multiply that by the number of issues now deemed to involve someone's "constitutional rights," and you have a recipe for the chaos and dysfunction we see everywhere in this country, at all levels of government.<br />
<br />
Personally, I think the Founders gave us a much better system; it's too bad we had to muck it up.<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-47188219384218472382013-01-10T15:50:00.000-05:002013-01-10T15:50:15.611-05:00The Right to be FoolsOverprotective parents who insist on making all the decisions for their children merely ensure that their kids are unprepared for making wise decisions as adults.<br />
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Similarly, a nation that infantilizes its population, by having its Government start making all of the "hard" decisions for its people to keep them from making unwise choices, only ensures that within a generation or two it will be populated largely by nitwits --- of the same caliber as those who will thereafter be making all of the Government's decisions.<br />
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In a free society, it's not the Government's job to run our lives, determine how much money we should have, or to determine what kind of culture we have. In a free society, if the citizens insist on being fools --- or choose to value greed over civic-mindedness, selfishness over cooperation, or trivialities over substance --- there's nothing the Government can or should do to stop them. Liberty gives us the right to be foolish as well as wise...and in a free society, learning to tell the difference is part of what gives life its meaning.<br />
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On the other hand, if we want to see what it looks like to have a Government in charge of determining income levels --- or making people who "have too much" give their excess away --- or deciding how its citizens should run their own lives --- we saw quite a lot of that in the 20th Century. As I recall, it didn't turn out too well.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, <em>a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the <strong>Guardians of Peace</strong>-tm science fiction adventure series, <strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong>, and the acclaimed <strong>Referee’s Survival Guide</strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by </em><a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank"><em>New Alexandria Press</em></a><em>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</em>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-77933232983568329452012-05-28T10:10:00.000-04:002012-05-28T12:20:10.398-04:00In Flanders Fields<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOMgHKIo2c8xhVIPxrSdAVfM4z6Mg8EyD7879B1QCTO8Ypq8hHuBBmB_TKg26-wgE46Wk774jbKA_mJIfjYhMOybtamPfDbZ_4vwoPWhMeMBu9DQK2GuRA69bfNxLV9D9FuzxmH_nEcE/s1600/Poppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOMgHKIo2c8xhVIPxrSdAVfM4z6Mg8EyD7879B1QCTO8Ypq8hHuBBmB_TKg26-wgE46Wk774jbKA_mJIfjYhMOybtamPfDbZ_4vwoPWhMeMBu9DQK2GuRA69bfNxLV9D9FuzxmH_nEcE/s320/Poppies.jpg" width="213" /></a>We often take what we have for granted, overlooking the miracles that make our modern lives possible. Some of these miracles --- technology, for instance --- appear everywhere we look, from our cell phones, to our iPods, to our big-screen televisions and latest computers. Others call for reflection and remembrance, two things that modern life seems to be pushing out of more and more corners of our lives.</div>
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One miracle we rarely notice is the human capacity for sacrifice, whether it comes in the form of parents working quietly so that their children can have a better life, or of people dedicating their lives or careers in the service of others. And though for one day each year --- on Memorial Day --- we offer our thanks, most of us are more concerned about the fun we’ve planned for the three-day weekend than we are about the miracle that has given us our freedom. For it is truly a miracle that so many of us have been willing to offer up our own lives in order that others might enjoy the blessings of liberty. Nowhere is that sacrifice, and the folly that requires so much of it, revealed more starkly than on the battlefield, where young men have suffered and died defending their country, and those they love. And nowhere is the voice of the fallen presented more poignantly than in a short poem, written almost a century ago, by a man grieving over the death of a friend.</div>
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In the human nightmare we know as World War I, soldiers were routinely sacrificed by their commanders on the altar of outmoded tactics. One of the bloodiest battles of the war occurred in the Spring of 1915. Known as the Second Battle of Ypres, the battle marked the first use of poison gas on enemy soldiers by the Germans, and continued from late April until late May. It also marked the first time that the forces of a former European colony (Canada) ever defeated a European power (the German Empire) on European soil, in a portion of the battle fought near the Flemish town of St. Julien.</div>
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One of the Canadian soldiers in the battle was a physican from Guelph, Ontario named John McCrae. Though eligible for service behind the lines as part of the Medical Corps, he volunteered to serve on the front lines as a gunner and medical officer. During the fighting, which he described in letters home as a nightmare, with constant gunfire, surrounded by the dead and the dying, and filled with terror at the thought that the enemy might break through their lines. One of those killed in the battle was a close friend of his, named Alexis Helmer, whose death affected him greatly. Having developed an interest in poetry from a young age, and finding no other way to express his grief, he composed a poem the following day while sitting in an ambulance, having noticed the profusion of poppies that seemed to spring up around the graves of the dead. </div>
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Unsatisfied with his efforts, or perhaps consumed with grief, McCrae threw the poem away, only to have his fellow soldiers rescue the crumpled manuscript from when he had tossed it, and begged him to try to have it published. Rejected at first, it was finally released to the public in December 1915 by the British magazine Punch, a well-known publication that normally focused on satire and humor. An immediate sensation, the poem stands as a stark reminder that all men are mortal, and that behind any romantic talk of the glory and honor of combat lie death, and the horrors of war. Though the poem is often dismissed by academics as patriotic propaganda it has been translated widely, and is loved for the honesty of its emotion, the understated beauty of its imagery, and the ghostly shadows of the fallen, pleading not to be forgotten. </div>
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<strong>In Flanders Fields</strong></div>
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In Flanders fields the poppies blow</div>
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Between the crosses, row on row</div>
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That mark our place; and in the sky</div>
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The larks, still bravely singing, fly</div>
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Scarce heard amid the guns below.</div>
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We are the Dead. Short days ago</div>
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We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,</div>
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Loved and were loved, and now we lie,</div>
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In Flanders fields.</div>
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Take up our quarrel with the foe:</div>
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To you from failing hands we throw</div>
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The torch; be yours to hold it high.</div>
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If ye break faith with us who die</div>
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We shall not sleep, though poppies grow</div>
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In Flanders fields.</div>
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<em>—Lt.Col. John McCrae</em></div>
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Though his words have left an enduring legacy of bravery and remembrance, McCrae never lived to see the end of the war. He died of pneumonia in January 1918, ironically while commanding a field hospital well to the rear of the fighting, an assignment he resented. His birthplace in Guelph is now a museum, memorial dedicated to his life and the War</div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure series, <strong><em> The Guardians of Peace</em></strong>, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-1645682777265207422012-01-22T12:04:00.001-05:002012-01-22T12:10:04.988-05:00RIP, JoePa<div style="text-align: left;">It's impossible to live in this world without experiencing sadness, or seeing tragedies unfolding before your eyes. In the case of Joe Paterno, his end came not with the adulation he richly deserved, but with a closing act marred by his ousting from the job he loved for dealing with the reported the crimes of another in a way that others rightly deemed legal but "inappropriate" --- and which he, himself, would have handled differently as a fifty-year old in command of all his faculties, instead of the aging giant he was when he he was confronted with the scandal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" data="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_lzihgmx2/uiconf_id/5590821" height="221" id="kaltura_player_1327251241" name="kaltura_player_1327251241" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="392"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><param name="movie" value="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_lzihgmx2/uiconf_id/5590821"/><param name="flashVars" value="autoPlay=false&screensLayer.startScreenOverId=startScreen&screensLayer.startScreenId=startScreen"/><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com">video platform</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/video_platform/video_management">video management</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/solutions/video_solution">video solutions</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/video_platform/video_publishing">video player</a></object></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">At the end of my life I'd rather be judged and remembered for my accomplishments when I was in my prime, rather than for my failures as I reached my end. Forgotten in the search for scapegoats in this case was the fact that the real villain in the story of Paterno's Fall was the child molester, not the old man who actually followed the law, but lacked the mental acuity to follow through by himself.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">The same can't be said for the assistant coach, and perhaps not for the whole rest of the PSU athletic establishment. But if the final ledger for Joe Paterno is the number of kids he helped, set against his failures, I think the net result is better than most fallible human beings ever manage, including those who were most vocal in calling for his scalp. And we would be better people to remember him as the living legend who inspired generations of athletes and students, rather than the fading old man he was at the end.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>Clouds of Darkness</strong></em>, the compelling third volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em>-tm series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.</div>Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-54253854206414430532011-07-31T11:44:00.000-04:002011-07-31T11:44:14.248-04:00The Path of Great NationsOur ongoing debt crisis is raising tempers throughout our political chattering class. Hidden away, however, are several underlying trends that are threatening to crack our political fault lines in ways that should send shudders through our collective consciousness. Instead, it will likely lead to boredom within a matter of weeks, as most people return to their own lives in hopes that the Future will take care of itself. Unfortunately, the cliff we occasionally sense ourselves approaching isn't terribly far away, and we're still heading toward it.<br />
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A friend of mine recently commented that Capitalism was, in many ways, an extreme form of economics in that only the financially strong survive. He is, of course, right in many ways, though his prescription (a more socialistic economy and political structure) strikes me as completely wrong.<br />
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Cruel as it is, Capitalism seems to reflect the Darwinian world in which we live, where the strongest, most adaptable survive. Socialism, on the other hand, recalls to mind Churchill's observation to the effect that Capitalism was the unequal sharing of prosperity, while Communism was the equal sharing of misery. Hoping to split the difference, Socialism seems to prevent prosperity, while being unable to escape the misery that comes from trying to maintain a perpetual state of equality in an inherently imperfect world. <br />
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Equally depressing are Alexander Tyler's observations on the ebb and flow of human forms of government:<br />
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"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.<br />
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"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:<br />
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"From bondage to spiritual faith;<br />
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From spiritual faith to great courage;<br />
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From courage to liberty;<br />
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From liberty to abundance;<br />
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From abundance to complacency;<br />
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From complacency to apathy;<br />
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From apathy to dependence;<br />
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From dependence back into bondage."<br />
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If I had to place America in the early 21st Century, it would be somewhere in Tyler's Stage 5: Abundance, heading toward Complacency (though an argument could be made that we've shot past Companency and are rushing headlong toward Apathy...possibly due to the proliferation of video games in modern times). From that point, I think Rome took about 400 years to fall; though I'm enough of a hopeless romantic to think we might be the first civilization to escape their fate, I'm not sure we'll last as long. <br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>Clouds of Darkness</strong></em>, the compelling third volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em>-tm series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-42056733856821691682011-07-28T19:22:00.000-04:002011-07-28T19:22:24.741-04:00Another Moment of Truth, or Paying the PiperIn a democracy, by and large the people tend to get the government they deserve. And throughout history, a democracy's moment of truth comes when its citizens discover that they can vote <a href="http://jimmysinsights.com/limited-government/voting-themselves-money/">themselves money from the public treasury</a>. Since that discovery, about 50 years ago, we've tended to vote for whoever promised us the most goodies, and have largely ignored the Cassandras in our midst who were warning that nothing in this world is free, and that a day of reckoning would come one day when we'd have to start paying our bills. <br />
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The spectacle we're watching this week in Washington on <a href="http://vote%20on%20raising%20the%20debt%20ceiling/">raising the debt ceiling</a> is our modern heritage, and our penance for wanting everything, and expecting others to pay for it all. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid the fiscal and financial pain that is in our future; and listening to those who are promising quick or easy fixes --- whether calling for "taxing the rich" to pay for everything, or cutting spending (except for any that happens to benefit us) --- are simply trying to advance their careers at their country's expense.<br />
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It's often said that the first step in getting yourself out of a hole is to stop digging; let's just hope we haven't already sold the ladder to the Chinese.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>Clouds of Darkness</strong></em>, the compelling third volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em>-tm series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-73916666521122388342011-07-28T11:25:00.000-04:002011-07-28T11:25:34.366-04:00The Better Angels of our NatureThis year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War, one of the defining moments in the history of the greatest republic the world has known. So far, it seems to be marked the public largely by apathy and inattention. For nerds like myself, however, with an abiding interest in history and the human condition, it is a time for reflection on any number of things --- from the follies of Mankind to the extraordinary good fortune that has blessed this country from its inception.<br />
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My current book is <strong><em>Team of Rivals</em></strong>, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Her Pulitzer Prize winning study of the unique and self-made genius of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, illustrates the subtle and often-happenstance differences that mark the difference between good men and great ones. Lincoln, blessed with a gifted mind but suffering the handicap of little formal education, shared the same drive toward accomplishment that propels many talented people to make something of their lives. But his kindly, gentle disposition --- and the struggles he had to endure to overcome an impoverished upbringing, hardships that would have crippled most lesser men --- gave him advantages that let him transcend much of the petty partisan bickering that afflicted his era, as well as our own.<br />
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Often derided as ignorant and unfit for office by those who did not know him, Lincoln emerges as a forceful and visionary leader with an impeccable sense of timing --- or blessed with incredible luck, which may be another way of saying the same thing. Sweet-tempered and considerate to those around him, he nevertheless possessed an iron will and drive to make himself into someone worthy of the esteem of his countrymen. And it was a profound blessing upon his country that he emerged, virtually from nowhere, at precisely the moment his country needed a hero.<br />
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His kindness and magnanimity still shines through the ages, and he was loved by all who came to know him well, including those who felt cheated and betrayed by his nomination: his rivals for the Republican nomination in 1860, whom he wisely invited into his Cabinet. Sensing the the country needed the strongest leaders he could find, his matchless ability to juggle conflicting egos, emotions, and ideologies among the various pro-Union factions held the country together, and brought out the very best in those strong personalities whose help he needed to save our still-young Republic.<br />
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Lincoln was roundly criticized by virtually everyone during his day, for failing to adhere to their own prescribed agendas for the country. His election resulted in the South's seccession, but at the same time he was viewed as vacillating and soft by the radicals for his cautious approach to the issue that was tearing the country apart: slavery. Those who knew him, though, saw this caution for what it was --- an unwillingness to push a fractured country further than it was ready to go, even as he struggled to keep the Nation together. A lesser man, or one of more ideological rigidity, may well have pushed the country over the cliff by racing to abolish what was recognized as the American Curse. And as he maneuvered to keep Europe --- whose mills needed Southern cotton rendered unavailable by the Northern blockade of Southern ports --- from intervening in the conflict on the side of the Confederacy Yet he always pressed in the direction of freedom and equality for all, and when he sensed that the shift in public sentiment had matured sufficiently to set the Nation on the course of freedom for all its citizens, he was resolute in his actions, and determined to keep the country he loved from sliding back.<br />
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With all the Herculean challenges and sorrows Lincoln had to confront, what comes through most clearly is his humanity and elemental goodness. His sense of humor was legendary, and his generosity, sweetness of temper, and kind-heartedness inspired love and devotion in everyone who came to know him well. He was able to be magnanimous in defeat as well as victory, and seemed unable to hold a grudge, even against people who meant him harm --- traits as sorely lacking in the politicians of today as they were in Lincoln’s time. The difference appears to have been the character and temperament of Lincoln himself.<br />
<br />
Oddly enough, one of the things that resonates most about Goodwin’s portrait of the Lincoln Administration is how closely the small and petty minds of his day resemble those of our own. Fortunately for the country, an unknown candidate appeared from nowhere just when his country needed him, with the intellectual gifts and sense of vision that proved to be exactly what was needed to rescue American from its own follies. In our own day --- with follies abounding, and narrow-minded pettiness all but a job requirement for political office --- it is hard to see how a modern Lincoln can ever emerge. Yet though perhaps not as daunting as the challenges facing the country as it confronted the American curse of slavery, those we face today threaten our financial and cultural future in ways we are only now beginning to realize. And if we have really sunk to the level of being unable to produce a leader equal to the challenges that confront us, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>Clouds of Darkness</strong></em>, the compelling third volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em>-tm series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-65039862950393829682011-06-24T10:47:00.002-04:002011-06-24T23:52:52.946-04:00Bulman Farewell<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Though our time on Earth doesn't always fall into neat categories, our lives do have discernible chapters. Some of them are pleasant; others we'd just as soon forget. But for most of us, the events of our childhood have special significance, since what we learn and live through as kids colors everything that comes afterwards.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5mVskxHtNiZsVfmA6Xl-lkf7e0Ak0ZekTc8uBaVIOtjaMpFENQ6FGsqGCauZSvvlrwlgAa6UJDr_QLDF2Ieu4A88MTodqGywXifPIRTdNJ6zqu0P3LiKVKhUzPY8mwiTlGMnObK0Wklo/s1600/110623%252C+Bulman+%252801%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5mVskxHtNiZsVfmA6Xl-lkf7e0Ak0ZekTc8uBaVIOtjaMpFENQ6FGsqGCauZSvvlrwlgAa6UJDr_QLDF2Ieu4A88MTodqGywXifPIRTdNJ6zqu0P3LiKVKhUzPY8mwiTlGMnObK0Wklo/s200/110623%252C+Bulman+%252801%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a>I spent seven years at Bulman Elementary School in Redford, Michigan. Looking back, it was the longest chunk of time I spent anywhere, outside of my parents' house, until I began my 30-year career at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Many of those days dragged on interminably --- especially in Sixth Grade, where I confronted Unreasoning Adults for the first time in the person of my sixth grade teacher (who, may she rest in peace, shall remain nameless). But for the most part, my gradeschool days were filled with adventure and fun, of the sort that many kids today miss, owing to the Unreasoning Adults that seem to dominate much of modern-day America.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Learning came between the more important interludes of school: recess, gym, and lunch, where lessons learned on the playgrounds stayed with us for the rest of our lives.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Parents took a healthy interest in what was happening at school --- with the Mothers Club filled with concerned, caring parents who did what they could to supplement our education with events, field trips, and baked goods.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI84roPWFwAs5EO1r75sCkIp7BUvKYvbV05qf6Tdo29rBcEpZeCP00w98j1uUco4BDaQSlhQeQMVg8dUa5P7j3e9U1tw4zzwDZwr2zSocMIEWp5khXQizMiw-zDhBdxqUsHl4c89ypYac/s1600/110623%252C+Bulman+%252816%2529%252C+Mrs+Locks+Class.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI84roPWFwAs5EO1r75sCkIp7BUvKYvbV05qf6Tdo29rBcEpZeCP00w98j1uUco4BDaQSlhQeQMVg8dUa5P7j3e9U1tw4zzwDZwr2zSocMIEWp5khXQizMiw-zDhBdxqUsHl4c89ypYac/s200/110623%252C+Bulman+%252816%2529%252C+Mrs+Locks+Class.JPG" width="200" /></a>Year by year, our growth and developing sense of self passed unnoticed --- except by the caring grownups around us, who were gently guiding us along life's early pathways, taking pride in every step of progress we made along the way.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Today, much has changed, and many of those changes are not for the better:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Recess, so necessary for young boys to discharge energy otherwise spent fidgiting and making mischief, is often looked at as wasted time that could be better spent sitting still and listening.</div><br />
I was fortunate enough to be in an "accelerated" program for the smarter kids in our grade school. This gave the teachers more freedom to experiment, and to move through the basics to a more challenging course of study. Today, this kind of "tracking" is often frowned up...and even by the time I left Bulman it had been abandoned, due to the protests of parents whose felt their kids were suffering by not being part of the program.<br />
<br />
Dodgeball --- a source of playground fun for countless kids through the years --- seems to be going the way of the dinosaur, as grownups seem intent on eradicating anything with a hint of risk from childhood.<br />
<br />
Even the free-range childhood I remember growing up --- leaving the house after breakfast for a day of unstructured play and adventure in the woods and fields near home, free from the over-protective eyes of adults --- is on the verge of extinction, sacrificed to the anxieties of the age. Back in the Middle Ages when I was a kid, free play was how we learned about the world, about friendship, and about how to settle our own problems; today, parents who let their kids walk about unsupervised are often called names and viewed as neglectful parents.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Perhaps some of this is simply a reflection of the times. But I think it mostly reflects our own fears and doubts. In that, we are probably shortchanging the children of today, structuring their lives in ways that prevent them from confronting the small challenges and risks that will help them confront larger ones later in life. Those adult-sized challenges are there, and growing larger by the day; the world they will face will be a daunting one, filled with many problems left them by the grownups of today. And I don't think we help our kids and grandkids prepare for the future by teaching them that there are no losers on the playing field, or that Mommy and Daddy will always take care of everything.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2WgEf6suSshr9Hct6WzR-TGjQKmcIN3agpacM5VTUjh3znbObzclTJD67yW9KG2tubR4Ged80hiNMsvBLm-xAGaikN5nKCM0BkLaHQGTdqnr_Z8-cF3oYDqx_5s4BACtp77x0D1boMY/s1600/110623%252C+Bulman+%252825%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2WgEf6suSshr9Hct6WzR-TGjQKmcIN3agpacM5VTUjh3znbObzclTJD67yW9KG2tubR4Ged80hiNMsvBLm-xAGaikN5nKCM0BkLaHQGTdqnr_Z8-cF3oYDqx_5s4BACtp77x0D1boMY/s200/110623%252C+Bulman+%252825%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a>Bulman School will soon be only a memory. But walking the hallways for one last time brought back memories that were lingering there, in the footsteps of countless children who roamed the hallways over the past sixty-five years. We all have small corners of our lives where the man or woman we grew to be first took root; sometimes, it's nice to return there, even if only in our minds, to see ourselves as we once were: filled with promise, and eager to experience the adventure that is life. In this modern world that is changing under our feet and before our eyes, it's often helpful to know where we came from. And if we can, it's nice to pay our past one last visit, before it disappears forever.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>Clouds of Darkness</strong></em>, the compelling third volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em> series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-30823919349545424442011-04-19T07:39:00.002-04:002011-04-19T07:59:07.949-04:00Soft Despotism, or How Tyranny Creeps Into a DemocracyAs students of history know, 150 years ago the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville spent a great deal of time traveling our young and vibrant nation. Among the many insights de Tocqueville had into this country was the recognition that, for all its grittiness and promise, America was not immune from the same follies that have plagued nations since the dawn of time. Among the problems he foresaw was the emergence of a form of "soft despotism" in which a paternalistic government would take control of society from an enfeebled people that was sapped of its own vitality and self-confidence. And all that stood between America and the voluntary surrender of liberty to a state eager to enhance power over an increasingly dependent population was the invigorating "habits of the heart" he saw in our 19th Century ancestors.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, our modern educational system doesn't seem to teach history very well. And among the insights most students of today never read is de Tocqueville's warning about what happens to a society in which citizens look to their government, rather than to themselves, to satisfy their needs and wants:<br />
<br />
<em>"After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd."</em><br />
<br />
Alexis de Tocqueville, <strong><em>Democracy in America</em></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>The Star Dancers</strong></em>, the exciting second volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em>-tm series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-61933244198367380442011-04-18T13:48:00.002-04:002011-04-18T14:35:00.764-04:00In Praise of HeroesSafe in our modern sophisicated cubicles, we like to think that we are the most enlighted and best educated people in the history of our planet. Attempting to convince ourselves that we of the Modern Age are free from the mythologies of the past, we have deconstructed most of our history and our heritage: not content with acknowledging the flaws of our Founders, many modern scholars parse through the history books looking for icons to shatter, much like the vanguard of the Inquisition sought to destroy all vestiges of the past from the lands of the people they conquered. The loss of the Library of Alexandria, or the Mayan codices, caused incalcuable loss to the history of civilization --- a loss occasioned, in large part, by the belief that the amassed wisdom of an alien population could offer nothing to the modern era...whether that "modern era" was seeking to destroy the lies of the devil, or the culture of a vanquished people.<br />
<br />
It is, perhaps, a conceit that seems peculiar to our era that the myths and legends of our own past serve no useful purpose for our Modern Age. But if we look to the past, we see that each thriving culture nurtures and cherishes those myths that bind people together, and that loss of that common heritage --- whether through conquest or self-denegration --- often precedes the unraveling of a civilization. <br />
<br />
In this country, it has become fashionable to look upon our American legends as little more than lies told to justify the status quo. But this view of our past overlooks the truth that our own era is less than perfect --- and that if judged by the standards of some future day, by people too small-minded to view us within the context of our own times, it is unlikely that we will measure up nearly as well.<br />
<br />
Among our many modern faults is that we often fail to recognize is that each thriving culture needs its heroes, and its legends. Modern-day America is not different in that regard than ancient Rome, or the Native Americans, whose myths and legends we now see as quaint and charming, without understanding that they were the glue that held their culture together. And by casting off those that have sustained us for our first two centuries, we are sailing into dangerous waters...having just tossed our compass overboard.<br />
<br />
Today marks the anniversary of the event that sparked one such myth: the "eighteenth of April" was the date of Paul Revere's ride through the countryside to warn the people that British troops were on the march. Longfellow's poem was not exactly a precise historical account: he neglected to mention other riders that night, or the various misadventures that beset them along the way. But it is stirring, and it is patriotic --- and despite the literary license it takes with the facts, it speaks more to what it means to be an American than most of the dreadfully dry and politically correct history books we inflict upon our young.<br />
<br />
The poem was once required reading for all schoolchildren; it is a pity that today, so few of us blessed to live in the greatest country Planet Earth has yet produced have ever actually read it.<br />
<br />
<strong>Paul Revere's Ride</strong><br />
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow<br />
<br />
<em>Listen my children and you shall hear</em><br />
<em>Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,</em><br />
<em>On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;</em><br />
<em>Hardly a man is now alive</em><br />
<em>Who remembers that famous day and year.</em><br />
<br />
<em>He said to his friend, "If the British march</em><br />
<em>By land or sea from the town to-night,</em><br />
<em>Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch</em><br />
<em>Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--</em><br />
<em>One if by land, and two if by sea;</em><br />
<em>And I on the opposite shore will be,</em><br />
<em>Ready to ride and spread the alarm</em><br />
<em>Through every Middlesex village and farm,</em><br />
<em>For the country folk to be up and to arm."</em><br />
<br />
<em>Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar</em><br />
<em>Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,</em><br />
<em>Just as the moon rose over the bay,</em><br />
<em>Where swinging wide at her moorings lay</em><br />
<em>The Somerset, British man-of-war;</em><br />
<em>A phantom ship, with each mast and spar</em><br />
<em>Across the moon like a prison bar,</em><br />
<em>And a huge black hulk, that was magnified</em><br />
<em>By its own reflection in the tide.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street</em><br />
<em>Wanders and watches, with eager ears,</em><br />
<em>Till in the silence around him he hears</em><br />
<em>The muster of men at the barrack door,</em><br />
<em>The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,</em><br />
<em>And the measured tread of the grenadiers,</em><br />
<em>Marching down to their boats on the shore.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,</em><br />
<em>By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,</em><br />
<em>To the belfry chamber overhead,</em><br />
<em>And startled the pigeons from their perch</em><br />
<em>On the sombre rafters, that round him made</em><br />
<em>Masses and moving shapes of shade,--</em><br />
<em>By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,</em><br />
<em>To the highest window in the wall,</em><br />
<em>Where he paused to listen and look down</em><br />
<em>A moment on the roofs of the town</em><br />
<em>And the moonlight flowing over all.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,</em><br />
<em>In their night encampment on the hill,</em><br />
<em>Wrapped in silence so deep and still</em><br />
<em>That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,</em><br />
<em>The watchful night-wind, as it went</em><br />
<em>Creeping along from tent to tent,</em><br />
<em>And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"</em><br />
<em>A moment only he feels the spell</em><br />
<em>Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread</em><br />
<em>Of the lonely belfry and the dead;</em><br />
<em>For suddenly all his thoughts are bent</em><br />
<em>On a shadowy something far away,</em><br />
<em>Where the river widens to meet the bay,--</em><br />
<em>A line of black that bends and floats</em><br />
<em>On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,</em><br />
<em>Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride</em><br />
<em>On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.</em><br />
<em>Now he patted his horse's side,</em><br />
<em>Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,</em><br />
<em>Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,</em><br />
<em>And turned and tightened his saddle girth;</em><br />
<em>But mostly he watched with eager search</em><br />
<em>The belfry tower of the Old North Church,</em><br />
<em>As it rose above the graves on the hill,</em><br />
<em>Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.</em><br />
<em>And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height</em><br />
<em>A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!</em><br />
<em>He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,</em><br />
<em>But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight</em><br />
<em>A second lamp in the belfry burns.</em><br />
<br />
<em>A hurry of hoofs in a village street,</em><br />
<em>A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,</em><br />
<em>And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark</em><br />
<em>Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;</em><br />
<em>That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,</em><br />
<em>The fate of a nation was riding that night;</em><br />
<em>And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,</em><br />
<em>Kindled the land into flame with its heat.</em><br />
<em>He has left the village and mounted the steep,</em><br />
<em>And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,</em><br />
<em>Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;</em><br />
<em>And under the alders that skirt its edge,</em><br />
<em>Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,</em><br />
<em>Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.</em><br />
<br />
<em>It was twelve by the village clock</em><br />
<em>When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.</em><br />
<em>He heard the crowing of the cock,</em><br />
<em>And the barking of the farmer's dog,</em><br />
<em>And felt the damp of the river fog,</em><br />
<em>That rises after the sun goes down.</em><br />
<br />
<em>It was one by the village clock,</em><br />
<em>When he galloped into Lexington.</em><br />
<em>He saw the gilded weathercock</em><br />
<em>Swim in the moonlight as he passed,</em><br />
<em>And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,</em><br />
<em>Gaze at him with a spectral glare,</em><br />
<em>As if they already stood aghast</em><br />
<em>At the bloody work they would look upon.</em><br />
<br />
<em>It was two by the village clock,</em><br />
<em>When he came to the bridge in Concord town.</em><br />
<em>He heard the bleating of the flock,</em><br />
<em>And the twitter of birds among the trees,</em><br />
<em>And felt the breath of the morning breeze</em><br />
<em>Blowing over the meadow brown.</em><br />
<em>And one was safe and asleep in his bed</em><br />
<em>Who at the bridge would be first to fall,</em><br />
<em>Who that day would be lying dead,</em><br />
<em>Pierced by a British musket ball.</em><br />
<br />
<em>You know the rest. In the books you have read</em><br />
<em>How the British Regulars fired and fled,---</em><br />
<em>How the farmers gave them ball for ball,</em><br />
<em>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,</em><br />
<em>Chasing the redcoats down the lane,</em><br />
<em>Then crossing the fields to emerge again</em><br />
<em>Under the trees at the turn of the road,</em><br />
<em>And only pausing to fire and load.</em><br />
<br />
<em>So through the night rode Paul Revere;</em><br />
<em>And so through the night went his cry of alarm</em><br />
<em>To every Middlesex village and farm,---</em><br />
<em>A cry of defiance, and not of fear,</em><br />
<em>A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,</em><br />
<em>And a word that shall echo for evermore!</em><br />
<em>For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,</em><br />
<em>Through all our history, to the last,</em><br />
<em>In the hour of darkness and peril and need,</em><br />
<em>The people will waken and listen to hear</em><br />
<em>The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,</em><br />
<em>And the midnight message of Paul Revere. </em><br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>The Star Dancers</strong></em>, the exciting second volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em>-tm series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6683867836365129937.post-61438372472904386162010-10-10T12:58:00.000-04:002010-10-10T12:58:15.570-04:00The Federalist, No 62, by James Madison<em>Among the priceless treasures of American history is work collectively known as <strong>The Federalist</strong>, written while the adoption of our Constitution was still a matter of public controversy. Some, looking to the chaos and confusion stemming from trying to govern thirteen unruly colonies under the weak and ineffective Articles of Confederation, believed that only a united government could keep America strong and free—or, in the words of the Preamble, to “secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity.” Others, the Anti-Federalists, feared that a strong, centralized government would be a vehicle for tyrants to impose their will on the population.</em><br />
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<em>In the ensuing public debate, a writer known only as Publius, wrote a series of persuasive essays, pointing out the benefits on the new federal constitution, as well as explaining its provisions to the reading audience. In truth, the essays were written by three giants of American history: James Madison, who would become our fourth president; Alexander Hamilton, who would become our first Secretary of the Treasury; and John Jay, who would become the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.</em><br />
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<em>In the sixty-second essay, James Madison explained the purpose and theory behind having a second house in the Legislature, which the proposed Constitution called the Senate. Among its benefits was intended to be to lend a degree of stability to the new government: since its members would serve six-year terms, he argued, they would be more inclined to take a broader view—and would serve as a brake upon the House of Representatives, which—being elected every two years (and expected to have a high turnover, service in the House being perceived as a sacrifice for those elected to serve), would lack the institutional memory needed to keep the young nation on a steady course.</em><br />
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<em>To the modern reader, such concerns may seem prophetic—for Madison wrote of the need of the nation to avoid being “inconstant” or to “carry on...affairs without any plan at all,” to escape becoming “a speedy victimness to...unsteadiness and folly.” A constant parade of ever-changing laws and regulations, he feared, would give the “moneyed few” a distinct and unconscionable advantage over the industrious masses—for money would enable the elites to monitor and manipulate changes in the laws to their own advantage, while leaving the rest of the country in scrounging for a living in the dust and mud. And constantly changing laws would “be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood,” leaving the “prudent merchant” or farmer or manufacturer reluctant to “hazard his fortunes” on any new enterprise, mindful of the fact that the laws were as variable as the wind, and that his fortunes would always be at the mercy of “an inconstant government.”</em><br />
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<em>Like many passages in the <strong>Federalist</strong>, Number 62 is remarkable for its concise logic, the gracefulness of its expression, and the persuasive quality of the writing. It is also among the most prescient and insightful commentaries on the risks of self-government—and its lessons about incoherent and intrusive laws appear to have been forgotten, when they should be required reading for everyone, most particularly those who aspire to take upon themselves the responsibility to write our laws and set our policies.</em><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em>From </em><strong>The Federalist, No. 62</strong>, <em>by James Madison:</em></span><br />
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To trace the mischievous effects of a mutable government would fill a volume. I will hint a few only, each of which will be perceived to be a source of innumerable others.<br />
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In the first place, it forfeits the respect and confidence of other nations, and all the advantages connected with national character. An individual who is observed to be inconstant to his plans, or perhaps to carry on his affairs without any plan at all, is marked at once, by all prudent people, as a speedy victim to his own unsteadiness and folly. His more friendly neighbors may pity him, but all will decline to connect their fortunes with his; and not a few will seize the opportunity of making their fortunes out of his. One nation is to another what one individual is to another; with this melancholy distinction perhaps, that the former, with fewer of the benevolent emotions than the latter, are under fewer restraints also from taking undue advantage from the indiscretions of each other. Every nation, consequently, whose affairs betray a want of wisdom and stability, may calculate on every loss which can be sustained from the more systematic policy of their wiser neighbors. But the best instruction on this subject is unhappily conveyed to America by the example of her own situation. She finds that she is held in no respect by her friends; that she is the derision of her enemies; and that she is a prey to every nation which has an interest in speculating on her fluctuating councils and embarrassed affairs.<br />
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The internal effects of a mutable policy are still more calamitous. It poisons the blessing of liberty itself. It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?<br />
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Another effect of public instability is the unreasonable advantage it gives to the sagacious, the enterprising, and the moneyed few over the industrious and uniformed mass of the people. Every new regulation concerning commerce or revenue, or in any way affecting the value of the different species of property, presents a new harvest to those who watch the change, and can trace its consequences; a harvest, reared not by themselves, but by the toils and cares of the great body of their fellow-citizens. This is a state of things in which it may be said with some truth that laws are made for the few, not for the many.<br />
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In another point of view, great injury results from an unstable government. The want of confidence in the public councils damps every useful undertaking, the success and profit of which may depend on a continuance of existing arrangements. What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch of commerce when he knows not but that his plans may be rendered unlawful before they can be executed? What farmer or manufacturer will lay himself out for the encouragement given to any particular cultivation or establishment, when he can have no assurance that his preparatory labors and advances will not render him a victim to an inconstant government? In a word, no great improvement or laudable enterprise can go forward which requires the auspices of a steady system of national policy.<br />
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But the most deplorable effect of all is that diminution of attachment and reverence which steals into the hearts of the people, towards a political system which betrays so many marks of infirmity, and disappoints so many of their flattering hopes. No government, any more than an individual, will long be respected without being truly respectable; nor be truly respectable, without possessing a certain portion of order and stability.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.jeffcaminsky.com/" target="_blank">JEFFREY CAMINSKY</a></strong>, a retired public prosecutor from Michigan, writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel <em><strong>The Star Dancers</strong></em>, the exciting second volume in the <em><strong>Guardians of Peace</strong></em>-tm series, <em><strong>The Sonnets of William Shakespeare</strong></em>, and the acclaimed <strong><em>Referee’s Survival Guide</em></strong>, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by <a href="http://newalexandriapress.com/books.html" target="_blank">New Alexandria Press</a>, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.Jeff Caminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03452066593646439709noreply@blogger.com0