The Great Upset!

In a post entitled With Its Defeat By Appalachian State, Michigan Finally Realizes Its Many, Many Decades Old Desire To Be The Harvard Of The West, Dean Lawrence Velvel, an old Michigan grad, compared Appalachian State’s victory over Michigan to tiny Centre College’s 1921 upset of Harvard, which was then a major football power on the order of Ohio State, Texas or USC today. Velvel points out that the Centre College victory is regarded as the greatest upset in college football history, and that now Appalachian State’s win, 86 years later, will be regarded as the second greatest upset. Yet, because we are a society that knows little and cares less about history -- a trait which in larger matters causes us to get into war after war -- nobody in the news media seemed to mention or even know of Centre’s 1921 upset over then-mighty Harvard. Velvel also says that, by virtue of last Saturday’s loss, which caused it to join Harvard as a victim of one of the two most shocking upsets in college football history, long-elitist Michigan has finally realized its many, many decades long desire to be the Harvard of the West.^*

Tell Me About Michael Bloombert

In this posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL asks his readers for help in finding out about Michael Bloomberg. Velvel expresses surprise after hearing a recent speech by Bloomberg about efforts to reduce poverty. Bloomberg seems to meet all the previously suggested characteristics a third party candidate would need to be successful. Is Bloomberg the perfect third party candidate? Or, as Velvel writes, “was [his speech] an anomaly?”

To read this and other posts by Dean Lawrence R. Velvel, visit us at www.velvelonnationalaffairs.com.

Truth, Secrecy, and National Security on the Federal Courts

In this posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL discussed the effect of truth, secrecy, and national security on the federal courts. Valerie Plame received an unclassified letter from the CIA releasing her dates of service. The letter was published in the Congressional Record and online. The CIA redacted the letter, stating it contained unidentified classified information. Plame then sued to have her dates of service released so that she could mention them in a memoir. But the court agreed with the CIA’s position that it could keep the information “secret” though it had been publicly disclosed.

Allowing the CIA to keep information classified even after it is public and available to anybody shows the extent to which the federal courts have bought into the secrecy mindset - - to the uttermost. By allowing secrecy under the guise of classification, state secrets, executive privilege, etc, the federal judiciary is bringing us closer to the national disaster which will arise from a secretive unchecked executive.

To read this posting and others, visit us at www.velvelonnationalaffairs.com. A free audio version of this and other blogs by Dean Lawrence R. Velvel can be found on Itunes and other podcast directories.

Bribery, Honesty, and the Government

In this posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL discusses bribery, honesty, and the government. Velvel says you cannot separate the acts of bribing and carrying out the bribe from the constitutionally protected act of voting on the floor and the constitutionally protected reasons for the vote. Courts aught to recognize this, and that the unusual question is the need for honesty in government. But they don’t and indeed allow legalized bribery called contributions. The upshot is we have a very the dishonest government.

Scooter Libby -- Lies, Reasons, Commutations!

In this installment of What The Media Doesn't Tell You Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL discusses Scooter Libby's trial conviction, and commutation with Professors Constance Rudnick and Andrej Starkis, both of MSL. During opening statements, Libby's attorney stated that Vice President Cheney would testify, yet he never did. What did Libby know about Valerie Plame that caused him to lie to the grand jury? Did Libby lie to the grand jury to keep the heat off Cheney? In addition, why did Libby receive a commutation?

To find out more listen in at www.mslawradio.com and www.velvelonmedia.com.

How Can The Federal Court Sentence Terminally Ill Patients To Death?

In a recent posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of the Massachusetts School of Law discusses a recent federal court decision which he considers immoral. In the case, a federal appeals court allowed the government to prevent terminally ill patients, for whom no standard treatment works, from having access to experimental drugs which are the only conceivable hope for saving their lives. Velvel says that this horrific decision stands the Constitution and our whole system of government on its head by failing to protect people from the misdeeds of government and instead allowing government to order what is in effect a death sentence for the innocent terminally ill. Velvel compares the judges who made the decision to the proverbial German judges of the Nazi era.

To find out more about this and other posts, visit www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com.