Category Archives: Ron Paul

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Andrew Yang was some amusing comic relief during the 2020 Democratic primary season. The whole Math thing was an entertaining diversion, and his Yang Gang followers seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot more than the supporters of the more serious candidates did. Finally, I had a great time explaining at every opportunity that Yang was trying to buy my vote for a thousand bucks. They were like the Ron Paul Revolution with a sense of humoror, at the very least, a sense of proportion.

That has turned out to be the limit of my tolerance for Andrew Yang. At this point, hes just slinging his money around and being a nuisance. He launched his campaign for mayor of New York with a brass-band burst of publicity, only to flame out because people in New York found the whole idea of him as mayor to be ridiculous. From the New York Times:

That can be something of a problem. Yang also played the dilettante card badly.

Undaunted by this dip into the cold waters of the Great Lake of Fail, Yang has found another bottomless money pit into which he can toss more of his money. Hes also got a book coming out. These two events are not coincidental. From Politico:

And, this being Tiger Beat on the Potomac, theres some reality-impaired fluffing.

Not translating into votes is considered by most serious political scholars to be something of a detriment to political success. What we have here is another wealthy interloper who found that he had a taste for cheap political celebrity. This is not the time for people like him. Go away, Andrew. Your moneys no good here.

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Andrew Yang Floats Starting Third Party Ahead of Book Release - Esquire

Literally on 9/11/01 and throughout the 20 culture-destroying years since, the Independent Institute has stood hard and fast for the difficult but essential principles that undergird liberty, human dignity, and the rule of law.

While many whom we had thought shared our devotion to liberty were doing things like removing the word Peace from their mastheads and calling for sand to be turned into silicon, (that is, nuking the desert countries), we were among the precious few responsible voices calling for responses in accordance with peaceful, prosperous and free societies, grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity.

Heres a recap of some of those efforts:

Because of our unique voice questioning invasive, unconstitutional wars, our Fellows regularly garnered major media coverage, including on ABC, PBS, CNN, CNBC, Fox, C-SPAN, and more.

In the spring of 2002, we organized the first, major, national event to challenge the War on Terror, with a sold-out audience of over 1,000 (we even had scalpers!), held in San Franciscos Herbst Theater:

Understanding Americas Terrorist Crisis: What Should Be Done?, featured Gore Vidal, Lewis H. Lapham, and a panel of discussants: Barton J. Bernstein (Stanford University), Robert Higgs (Senior Fellow, Independent Institute), and Thomas Gale Moore (Hoover Institution)

In conjunction with the event, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an op-ed adapted from Gore Vidals then new book, Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: The New War on Freedom : Give me liberty, or give me . . . what? Security?

Video here.

Before and subsequent to this, we organized an ongoing series of events, many covered by C-SPAN:

Why Freedom Matters More Than Ever, with David R. Henderson

Big Brother is Watching, with James Bamford, Author of Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency

The U.S. War on Terrorism: Myths and Realities, with Lewis H. Lapham, Alan W. Bock, J. Victor Marshall, Seth Rosenfeld, and Paul H. Weaver

Secrecy, Freedom and Empire: Lessons for Today from Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, with Daniel Ellsberg and a panel of discussants, held at the University of California, Berkeley

Preemptive War Strategy: A New U.S. Empire?, with Joel S. Beinin, Edward A. Olson, and Ivan Eland

PATRIOT Acts: I & II: The New Assault on Liberty?, with Ivan Eland, David Cole (Georgetown University) Margaret Russell (ACLU), and James Bovard

Terrorism and Iraq: What is the Nature of the Relationship? A Debate, with Don Smith, Stephen Hayes, Walter Russell Mead, and Ivan Eland

The Future of Iraq: Democracy or Quagmire?, with George Bisharat, Ivan Eland, James H. Noyes, and Christopher Scheer

Against Leviathan: Government Power and a Free Society, with Robert Higgs

The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed, with Ivan Eland

HowAnd How NotTo Fight Terrorism, with Michael Scheuer

In 2005, we held a 2-day conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington, The War on Terror: Implications for Domestic Security and Civil Liberties, with Ron Paul as the keynote speaker.

In 2006, we opened an office in DuPont Circle in Washington, DC, with Independent fellows Ivan Eland, Alvaro Vargas Llosa, and Gabriel Gasave moving there. The building was a former mansion with a ballroom very well suited to holding frequent events and we pursued a series of bi-coastal events both there and in the Bay Area:

Innovative Solutions for Iraq: Independent Policy Forum & Open House Reception

How to Really Win the War on Terrorism, with Charles V. Pea, Roger W. Cressey, and Joseph Cirincione

The Reality and Legacy of the Iraq War, with Ivan Eland and Mark Danner

Living With a Nuclear Iran and North Korea?, with Ivan Eland, Charles V. Pea, Trita Parsi, and Doug Bandow

Troop Withdrawal: Looking Beyond Iraq, with Ivan Eland, Leon T. Hadar, and David R. Henderson

New Directions for Peace and Security, with Carl P. Close, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, James L. Payne, and Edward P. Stringham

A series of events on our book, Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance, by Mike M. Moore (former Editor, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists).

Why Are Politicians Always Trying to Scare Us?, with Robert Higgs

Is the War on Terror Creating Terrorism?, with Ian S. Lustick, Ivan Eland, and D. Gareth Porter

Bush, Obama, and Presidential Power, with Ivan Eland, Ron Paul, and Richard Shenkman

Can the U.S. Withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq?, with Ivan Eland, Peter Galbraith, and Charles V. Pea

Civil Liberties and Security in an Age of Terrorism, with Robert Higgs, Anthony Gregory, and Mary L. G. Theroux

Liberty Defined: The Future of Freedom, with Ron Paul

Whither America: A Foreign Policy Debate Among Realists, Nationalists and Internationalists, with Ivan Eland, Michael Lind, and Harry Nau

Liberty and 21st-Century Thought Control , with Edward P. Stringham, Jeffrey Tucker, Richard K. Vedder, Williamson M. Evers, Wen Fa, David J. Theroux, and Patrick Reasonover

Which brings us to 9/11s spawn: the Coronacrisis and our many virtual events over the past 18 months, starting 3 days following the declared 3-week shutdown:

Fear: The Fuel of Government PowerCoronavirus Panic, with Graham H. Walker, Mary L. G. Theroux

Corona Crisis and Leviathan, with Graham H. Walker and Mary L. G. Theroux

How to Restore Freedom to Americans in This Time of Pandemic?, with Graham H. Walker and Randall G. Holcombe

Civil Liberties and the Surveillance State, with Mary L. G. Theroux and Erich J. Prince

In addition, Independent produced numerous books, policy reports, and many articles in The Independent Review and online.

Against Leviathan: Government Power and a Free Society, by Robert Higgs

The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed, by Ivan Eland

Resurgence of the Warfare State: The Crisis Since 9/11, by Robert Higgs

Neither Liberty nor Safety: Fear, Ideology, and the Growth of Government, by Robert Higgs

Opposing the Crusader State: Alternatives to Global Interventionism, edited by Carl P. Close and Robert Higgs

Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance, by Mike M. Moore

Partitioning for Peace: An Exit Strategy for Iraq, by Ivan Eland

Depression, War, and Cold War: Challenging the Myths of Conflict and Prosperity, by Robert Higgs

The Civilian and the Military: A History of the American Antimilitarist Tradition, by Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr., with a foreword by Ralph Raico

No War for Oil: U.S. Dependency and the Middle East, by Ivan Eland

Delusions of Power: New Explorations of the State, War, and Economy, by Robert Higgs

Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government (25th Anniversary Edition), by and with a new preface by Robert Higgs

American Surveillance: Intelligence, Privacy, and the Fourth Amendment, by Anthony Gregory

War and the Rogue Presidency: Restoring the Republic after Congressional Failure, by Ivan Eland

Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History, by Randall G. Holcombe, with a foreword by Barry R. Weingast

By Robert Higgs:

Perfecting Tyranny: Foreign Intervention as Experimentation in State Control, by Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail Hall Blanco

And of course our the symposium in the current issue (Fall 2021): 20 Years of the War on Terror

And for a little light relief: Episode 5 of Love Gov: From First Date to Mandate; and as a running theme in Love Gov2: A Crisis Not to Waste.

For those of us who thought we knew the facts behind 9/11 and subsequent events, I commend to you the recent article by Senior Fellow Angelo M. Codevilla, Graveyard of Narratives: Afghanistan, et al., for the record, for an insiders expos of the false narratives behind the War on Terror.

The real legacy has been the deterioration of Americans traditional attitudes in support of liberty and checks on government power. The following surveys, taken just before and after 9/11, capture some of these dramatic changes at the time:

All has now led to today, and the attempt to mold a new generation to fear and hate others; reject Truth, Goodness, Science, and Beauty; and be submissive citizens to an almighty, paternalistic State.

There is nothing that would have made me happier than us not having been right. And of course, the ground had been prepared well in advance, with many decades of pervasive U.S. policies of global interventionism and coercive nation building, creating a huge, domestic military-industrial-congressional complex of massive waste and corporate welfare. Internationally, such measures were propping up corrupt and brutal regimes, provoking deep resentments, and helping to foster dangerous, anti-Western, terrorist movements. With 9/11, instead of holding accountable those specific individuals responsible for the massive deaths and destruction in New York and Virginia, the Washington establishment tripled and quadrupled down by launching even more interventionism and nation building but to a far greater extent.

Tragically, everything we warned about above has since come to pass: massive numbers of deaths and maimings, trillions of dollars misspent, runaway government spending and debt, extensive political and special-interest pork and corruption, negation of constitutional rights, including the loss of any expectation of privacy, and much more. This list is too long and too painful to enumerate.

The good news is that today, most people are increasingly coming to learn the hard lessons of this sorry misadventure and folly of the War on Terror.

The bad news is that virtually none of the measures that could be undone have yet been and are unlikely to be without our discrediting the scam involved. Leviathan and its beneficiaries love the new powers and they will not give up on their own.

Who is with us?

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9/11, Independent Institute and 20 Years of the War on Terror | Mary LG Theroux - The Beacon

No curtain is necessary to open a play with perfect curtain speech. Neither is a physical theater. On the evening of Friday, Sept. 10, when Fords Theatre welcomed roughly 6,000 people to a concert staging of the musical Come From Away on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, there was no curtain and no theater, nothing between the stage and the sky.

A solitary jet roared overhead as Kirsten Hillman, Canadas ambassador to the United States, delivered a speech before a performance of the Broadway musical, an unlikely hit show about the tragedies of 9/11 and the world-changing aftermath.

The story that youll hear tonight is not just about big planes trapped on a tiny tarmac, Hillman said, referring to the 38 jets that landed at a former refilling station in Gander, Newfoundland, on the clear September day when U.S. airspace was closed. For five days, Canadians fed, clothed and comforted thousands of passengers from around the world.

This is a story is about shining a light in the darkest of days, an anthem of ordinary people, and your neighbors wanting to pull you through, Hillman said.

Canadian composers and lyrists Irene Sankoff and David Hein began developing Come From Away about 10 years after the tragedy, interviewing townspeople and the plane people who landed in Newfoundland. They created a musical that honors lives lost while celebrating the potential for complete strangers to care for their fellow humans.

That warm embrace, Hillman said, referring to that silver lining of the 9/11 legacy. It still lingers today. And I think youre gonna feel it tonight.

She was right. From the defense contractors and airline executives seated up front to the theater fans lining the Reflecting Pool watching on jumbotrons, Come From Away offered Washingtonians a communal sanctuary to collectively remember 9/11 while also celebrating the return of live theater.

The concert staging also solidified Come From Aways place in the canon of contemporary musical theater, and the shows legacy in D.C. After tune-ups at La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Rep, the musical debuted at Fords Theatre five years ago. Opening night was a rare bipartisan arts event (Congressman Ron Paul sat in my row). From there, it was off to Toronto and then Broadway, where the show took home only one awardbest director for Christopher Ashleyout of seven 2017 Tony nominations.

And yet, in the years since, one could argue that Come From Away has secured a much firmer future than Dear Evan Hansen, which launched from Arena Stage and beat Come From Away for the best new musical Tony. On Friday, the same night thousands saw Come from Away on the Mall, a filmed version of the Broadway production dropped on Apple TV+ to rave reviews. Meanwhile, up in Canada, a feature film of Dear Evan Hansen tanked at the Toronto International Film Festival. The musical about high school lies, anxiety, and suicide hasnt aged well, nor has star Ben Platt, who was criticized for still playing a teenager at 27.

Come From Away, however, still has momentum. Sweden pressed ahead with plans for the Scandinavian premiere, even though only a few dozen people could attend last year. In Australia, the musical was back onstage in June. Closer to home, Me and the Sky, a childrens book by pioneering pilot Beverley Bass, a main character in Come From Away, was named a top picture book by the Maryland Association of School Librarians, introducing kids across the state to the Come From Away story.

Come From Away has fans, but no doubt the musical made new ones Friday. I heard its very funny, remarked a 30-year D.C. resident I chatted with while walking to the Lincoln Memorial. He had never seen the show, but was on his way to join one of two Meetup groups.Theres no better musical to unite a gaggle of D.C. strangers.

Fords Theatres crew pulled off the tech logistics without a hitch. Perhaps appropriately, only airplanes disrupted the sound system. An outstanding mix of Broadway vets and national touring cast members filled the stage erected on the Lincoln Memorial steps. Most actors play multiple characters: One or two from the group of Newfoundlanders, one or two Plane People and perhaps even a cat, dog, or orangutan stuck in a cargo hold.

Christine Toy Johnson was particularly poignant as Diane, a middle-aged woman from Texas who falls in love with an Englishman (Chamblee Ferguson) en route to a conference in Dallas. The real-life Kevin and Diane were among those with ties to Come From Away who attended, and whenever their characters kissed, cheers went up from crowd sitting around them.

A similar celebratory spirit took hold when Julie Rieber sang Me and the Sky, an anthem that traces Basss life story from plane-crazy kid to mortician pilot making $5 an hour to American Airliness first female captain leading an all-women crew.

Suddenly Im in the cockpit, suddenly everythings changed, she belts. Suddenly theres nothing in between me and the sky.

The song peaked when female members of the ensemble donned caps and marched across the stage while the crowd went wild. Me and the Sky has become something of a fourth-wave feminist anthem, a chance for younger women to applaud those who broke barriers before them. But the song goes on to follow the captain through that fateful day she was flying Paris to Texas.

Deftly, Come From Away threads a tragedy and comedy, logos and pathos. Its horrific when some passengers fear the Quran-carrying travelers who were onboard the diverted planes and hysterical when, instead of a terrorist, one Muslim turns out to be a four-star hotel chef who seriously elevates the food offered to refugees staying at Ganders elementary school.

Hillman alluded to the lingering prejudices exposed in Come from Away in her curtain speech. Yards away from Lincolns seated statue, the ambassador asked listeners to spend 9/11 reflecting on six words from his second inaugural address: Malice towards none, charity for all.

Tomorrow, whether you meet with discord or division, tragedy or triumph, think about those words. Think about the Come From Awayers. Lets remember: Malice towards none, charity for all, Hillman said. Please take care of each other.

More here:
Come From Away Commemorated 9/11 on the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial - Washington City Paper

Jeremiah Johnson was a U.S. Army veteran who, after fighting in the Mexican-American War, forsook civilization to live a life of isolation in the Rockies as a mountain man. The movie came out when I was 13 and I remember thinking, "I could live like that."

Five years later, I joined the Space Futures Society and the L-5 Society, two organizations dedicated to getting people living and working in outer space, and again, I thought, "I could do that; I could live in a space colony."

Now, I can hardly even imagine either of those things.

Maybe had my life gone in a different direction when I was much younger, then I couldve done it, but in the years that have passed Ive grown far too much in love with the Earth and with people, and the rituals that connect me to both, to willingly forsake them.

Ive grown exceedingly fond of gathering with friends, on porches and patios, in yards and in homes, restaurants, pubs, vineyards, or around a fire pit pretty much any setting will do sharing food and drink, talking and telling our stories.

Ive developed a penchant for long walks out on the trail, or along a country road or a city block with dear companions and close collaborators, talking about our plans, hopes, dreams, prayers, problems, big ideas and the littlest of details. I am devoted to these sessions as part of my daily meditative practice and exercise routine.

Ive acquired a profound appreciation for community, and for communities of all sorts social, spiritual, artistic and geographical and the ways we come together around common causes, concerns, interests and aspirations.

Ive found, and continue to find, abundant comfort, meaning, beauty, inspiration, strength, wisdom, wonder and excitement in the aspects of nature the accumulated knowledge of the rock formations; the resonant emotions oozing from the trees and arising from the lakes and oceans; the rhythms of the swaying grasses brushed by the breezes and blown by the wind; the moods of the weather, flowing narratives of the rivers and the mysteries in the desert; meditations on the beach; and connection with the creatures of the land, air and sea.

I would not wish to try and seek the same in some facsimile forged by human hands in manufactured environments.

I cherish the vestiges of earlier days and simpler times, like train rides and the dreams they carry, bookstores and the worlds they invite, the town square, the tavern, the oral history, the ceremonies and celebrations, initiations and the rites of passage.

I delight in learning the stories and telling the tales, tracing the trails and the traditions of my forbearers, and in learning the language and discerning the messages of my ancestors.

I could not love and grow andshare, develop, acquire and find and cherish and delight in all these things in isolation or in space. And so, the free-spirited, adventure-loving youth who could once envision riding out into the mountains or blasting off into space now seeks, rather, to extend the roots of my awareness deeper and more firmly into the earth and to make ever more meaningful connections with the people my family, friends and allies. Instead of extending out away from all these things, I extend further into and diffuse throughout my earthly experience to find greater understanding, compassion, enjoyment, fulfillment and benefit.

My hope is that we (or our descendants) do not have to unwillingly forsake these things; that we do not get displaced from our towns and cities, our villages or even the surface of our planet on account of the denial, disregard and disrespect of our ecosystem and the natural forces and resources that sustain life on Earth.

I leave the investigation of uncharted territories to the explorers, as I strive for deeper insights and to broaden my horizons here at home.

It occurred to me, right away, that the crawling creature was a messenger, and I made a mental note to later look up the meaning of tarantulas ...

Suppose, for the last 25 years, in an effort to educate yourself, youve made a point of reading and researching and seeking out information on various health and medical conditions that you or a loved one have had to deal with...

This past week marked one year since everything started shutting down on a mass scale due to COVID-19. I know because I was emceeing a music f

In the old days, like in the first century B.C. and again in the 16th century (A.D. or C.E.) they used to change the calendar when it didnt m

Rain is Gods gift to poets. I say that not because its so beautiful or sweetly natural or dramatic or gentle, as the case may be; and neithe

Call it rooting for the underdog, fighting for those who have been marginalized or discriminated against, or speaking out for the cause of jus

When I had an office and a desk at the newspaper building, and I would go in to do work from there, unlike now when everything is sent electro

Maybe its because our holidays have been taken away from us this year that some of us feel its even more important than ever to celebrate th

I was driving over the Pass in the early morning light, and Bob Marley came on the radio. The song was Rat Race, from the Rastaman Vibration

Sometimes when you eliminate the distractions and the trimmings, you can get down to the real meat and potatoes, or maybe just the potatoes if

A few years ago, it was the music stars: Bowie, Prince, Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen, George Martin, Scotty Moore, Merle Haggard, Paul Kantner an

Four years ago, at this same time, I wrote a column five days before the election knowing it wouldnt come out until two days after the el

I dont know, maybe its because Ive been reading these great epic novels lately, which follow a group of close comrades and crisscrossing fr

My gal said, "I liked it better when we didnt know peoples politics." She was referring to the ways in which some people make it known on so

Occasionally I like to scan through a list of odds-and-ends trivia that appears on a website I sometimes visit. I was doing so today, when I c

I was in the market, refilling my water jugs, gloves on as they have been for the past month whenever I go out in public. Most of the people a

I dont know if that was normal or an unusually high or low week for me, but I do know Americans spend, on average, five hours, 24 minutes a d

There are certain days, certain moments, certain events embedded so deeply and that stick out so vividly in memory theyre always right there

There was this kid on my basketball team when I was growing up, and boy, could he shoot free throws.

Theres this dude who haunts my dreams. Actually, its not in my dreams where he haunts me but on the street, walking around town.

Good friends are like trampolines. Theyre there to catch you when you fall, then they bounce you back up again. They have enough give in them

Iwas walking up to the corner, and there was a car stopped in the street next to me, waiting to make a right turn. I was still probably 20 yar

They wanted balloons for the celebration, but the guy at the balloon store said they couldnt get us a helium tank because theres a shortage

One of the best ones Ive heard in a while comes from University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh Go Blue! who instructs his player

As the sportswriter for the newspaper, I was on assignment to cover the first professional boxing event at our local casino, and what an event

Steve Bannon told President Trump to throw some haymakers. As a boxing and hockey fan, I knew what he meant.

As I was gearing up for my trip, knowing I was headed for hot and humid weather, I decided to buy a couple of white T-shirts to help control t

One of my memories from grade school days was taking chalkboard erasers down to the janitors room, and putting them on the bench-mounted vacu

For at least the last four decades, obesity rates have risen steadily in the United States. Today, 28 percent of Americans are classified as o

Im writing this on my 55th birthday, while reading an article in Science Daily that tells how a man reacts to hassles between the ages of 55

It seemed to me there were far fewer Christmas lights on display this year than any year I can remember. It struck me as I was driving, and ov

Theres an old Sufi saying: Even if it makes you happy, at the mint, fools gold will be identified. That came to mind this afternoon, as I

When I was little, maybe in junior high, I read an interview with Eric Clapton in which the interviewer asked what he thought about people cal

In a poll, executives rated creativity as the single most important trait for success in business. Yet, those same people who said creativity

Sam Cooke sang, "Change is gonna come." Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see," and Warhol wrote, "They say times change, but you actual

I love words. I love the sound, the rhythm, the pictures and the emotions they can evoke.

I woke up the other morning and said to my gal, we need to find a way to fit living into our lives.

There was a story I did about 15 years ago, having to do with cell phones and the possible long-term effects caused by radiation emitted from

From the time I was 9 years old, I knew Id leave my home state of Michigan and move to California. I didnt know when or how long Id end up

It takes power to do or to accomplish anything, whether its lifting up a weight, driving the car down to the corner store, or standing up for

It was an article about how free choice does not result in happiness. It talked about how in American culture and in our philosophy of democra

In one of my favorite all-time books, a Muslim, a Christian and a Jew play a remarkable game of poker in the back room of an antiquities shop

Iwas getting out of my truck, and the door handle broke off in my hand. For a second, I thought I was going to have to get out on the passenge

Ive been watching the coverage on the news about whether or not the federal government should make available $25 billion to bail out the auto

Iwas listening to my friend describe a series of experiences hes had with a gray fox, which have taken place now over a number of years, and

The first call came in at about 6 p.m. from a friend in South Carolina, and over the next 18 hours several more calls from all over the countr

You know when you cant get a song out of your mind? You find yourself singing it, over and over, in all the different settings you move throu

One thing I appreciate about scientists is that theyre willing to let reality shape their beliefs rather than vice versa. If, for instance, t

It was just an empty field of dry grass, not a tree or a bush in sight. Not a table or a bench, nothing that might serve as a prop for play, b

Is there no end to the enlightening revelations that come our way in the national news? Like today, I read an article that said poverty and pu

Maybe at first I had some grand notion of doing it all in one continuous expedition, but considering my life, my family, and the need for empl

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Ben Franklin

Iwas skimming through the weekly science and technology report, and I read this little teaser sentence in a shaded box that said, When pain b

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Expanding our horizons one way or another | Ron Colone - Lompoc Record

The Detroit News/Golf Association of Michigan Hole In One Contest is back. And, judging by the response, Metro Detroit golfers are pretty darn happy about that.

A record 400 entries were submitted to participate in the annual contest, which is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 20, on the seventh hole at Whispering Willows Golf Club in Livonia.

If you signed up online, your tee-time window is listed below; there are three slots, for morning, mid-day and late afternoon/evening. If you didn't sign up, you can still show up and take your swings Sept. 20. You must have had a hole-in-one at a regulation golf course to be eligible (we go by the honor system).

The contest is free to enter, though a donation for Folds of Honor is suggested. Folds of Honor provides scholarships for children and spouses of service members killed or wounded in battle.

Prizes will be awarded for the top shots in several categories, ranging from junior all the way to super-senior.

All shots will be measured, and each participant's closest shot will be published in The Detroit News within the week following the contest.

The contest, which goes back decades, was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Monday, Sept. 20, at Whispering Willows, Livonia

TEE TIMES

7:45-11 a.m.

Allard, Ray

Andrews, Arnold

Auster, Barry

Baker, Kenneth

Barber, Harold

Barbour, Edmund

Barkholz, Paul

Bazner, David

Benson, Michael

Bieganski, Robert

Birchfield, Jim

Benedict, Stacy

Boteler, Stephen

Brady, Jim

Brake, Greg

Cadreau, Carrie

Carey, Dan

Chirgwin, Paul

Conner, Mark

Conroy, John

Corey, Adam

Corey, John

Cox, Al

Cronan, Dan

Daniels, Tom

Dennis, Patrick

DeWitt, Timothy

Diakiw, Markian

Dinsmore, Brian

Dubay, Ryan

Economos, Kaethe

Edwards, Randy

Evans, Luther

Fierk, Mike

Flamme, Albert

Foster, Jamie

Foster, Paul

Furkioti, John

Gadlage, Matthew

Gazette, John

Gibson, Bill

Gielarowski, Derek

Gilles, John

Gotham, Greg

Grech, Tony

Gulick, Brian

Guminik, Ron

Gusumano, John

Hakim, Thomas

Hampton, Rickey

Harvey, Dan

Healy, Bob

Heltsley, Larry

Herline, Tom

Hernandez, Jeff

Hussin, Jamall

Inger, Evan

Johnson, Edward

Johnson, Gerald

Juzyk, Dan

Kaplan, Larry

Karim, Mark

Kelly, Lee

Khoury, Dave

Kiel, Dennis

Koleszar, Jim

Kresbaugh, Dan

Krueger, Jason

Legel, Robert

Lie, Mike

Malis, Georo

Matusz, Kathy

Measel, Joseph

Medved, Michael

Merritt, George

Merritt, Kenneth

Messerknecht, Craig

Morris, Keith

Moulds, Mark

Naylor, Keith

O'Donnell, Jim

Owen, Gary

Payne, Kevin

Perfetto, Larry

Ramirez, Ramiro

Reid, Jack

Robinson, Robert

Roe, Billy

Root, Randy

Rossbach, Jennifer

Read more here:
Detroit News/GAM Hole In One Contest is Sept. 20; here are the tee times - The Detroit News

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Former Kansas great Paul Pierce was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fames 2021 class in a ceremony held at the MassMutual Center, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Saturday evening. Pierce was one of 16 individuals to be inducted into this years class.

First and foremost, I am humbled and honored to be here tonight, said Pierce who was presented by longtime friend and NBA teammate Kevin Garnett. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be hall of famer.

In his speech, Pierce talked about his journey to the Hall of Fame, thanking relatives, coaches and close friends who helped him along the way.

To Roy Williams, my college coach, thank you for teaching me the game of basketball, Pierce said of Kansas seventh all-time coach. Coming in as a McDonalds All-American to Kansas, I thought I knew everything. Come to find out, I didnt know much. I didnt even know how to come off a down screen.

Thank you for always being honest with me, Pierce continued about Williams. Every coach that came in promised me a starting spot. You promised me an education. You said I dont know if you are going to start and thats why I trusted you.

Among the inductees were the ninth-winningest coach in NBA history Rick Adelman, two-time NBA champion and 11-time NBA All-Star Chris Bosh, NBA Finals MVP and 10-time NBA All-Star Pierce, the first Black NBA head coach Bill Russell, four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Champion Ben Wallace, five-time NBA All-Star and NBA Rookie of the Year Chris Webber, two-time NCAA national champion Villanova coach Jay Wright, seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith and seven-time WNBA All-Star and three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson.

Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected seven directly elected enshrinees: Val Ackerman, Cotton Fitzsimmons and Howard Garfinkel from the Contributor Committee, Clarence Fats Jenkins from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Toni Kukoc from the International Committee, Bob Dandridge from the Veterans Committee and Pearl Moore from the Womens Veterans Committee.

The storied playing career of Pierce concluded when he announced his retirement from the NBA following the 2017-18 season. Affectionately known as The Truth, Pierce played 19 seasons in the NBA, which was the longest-tenured Jayhawk in the NBA of all-time.

After being selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1998 NBA Draft following his junior season at KU, Pierce went on to become a 10-time NBA All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection, NBA champion (2008) and NBA Finals MVP (2008). With 26,397 career points, he ranks 15th on the NBAs all-time scoring list.

As a Jayhawk, Pierce was a 1998 Consensus All-America First Team selection. In just three seasons at Kansas, Pierce ranks 10th on the KU career scoring list with 1,768 points and also ranks in the top 20 in rebounds and steals. He was most outstanding player in both the 1997 and 1998 Big 12 Tournaments and his jersey was officially retired from KU in during the 2003 season.

The Class of 2021 Enshrinement festivities began at Mohegan Sun on Friday, September 10 with the Enshrinement Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala. The Class of 2021 then journeyed to Springfield, Massachusetts, for Saturdays formal induction ceremony at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and MassMutual Center.

Pierce marks the 21st time a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee has University of Kansas ties and the first since current head coach Bill Self was inducted in 2017.

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Paul Pierce Enshrined Into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021 - Kansas Jayhawks

The 2008 Great Recession was one of the biggest financial crises in U.S. history, devastating millions of families economic prospects worldwide, including my own.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was the most severe economic recession in the history of the industrialized world.

The one thing that both of these economic crises have in common is an ineffective Federal Reserve.

The former was caused by a massive failure by the Fed to realize the impending housing market bubble despite the advice of several experts. The latter was exacerbated by a Federal Reserve that, post-stock market crash, required banks to keep more money in reserve rather than lower the reserve requirement, which is now the established norm for high-deflation events.

Federal economic policies should be set by market forces, not a central authority that often seems to have little to no idea what they are doing when times of actual crisis come.

But how can we remedy the wholly lackluster performance brought forward by the Fed?

Blockchains are one way to bring more power into the hands of the people and create a more robust, quick-acting system.

Blockchain technology allows a record of any type to be stored throughout a network of independent computers. Its what enables cryptocurrencies to exist.

The technology has come very far in its 12 years of existence, and there lies a promising future in a system where power is distributed directly to the people rather than to middlemen such as governments or Federal Reserve chairpeople that may not act according to our interests.

Though we cannot know for certain, blockchain technology has boundless potential to not only increase government transparency, but fight corruption itself and strengthen our democracy.

According to Carlos Santiso of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, blockchain technology can strengthen accountability in not only the Federal Reserve but in other facets of the government by leveraging a shared and distributed database of ledgers [which] eliminates the need for intermediaries, cutting red-tape and reducing discretionally.

In other words, the public nature of a blockchain which is essentially a fancy record-keeper means that government agencies will be more easily held accountable.

The most salient and seemingly easiest solution to the Federal Reserve problem would be to abolish or curtail the Federal Reserve, as former Republican Congressman Ron Paul argues.

But this may cause more harm than good. According to Princeton University economist Alan Blinder, the Federal Reserves independence produces less inflation and superior macroeconomic performance.

The more permanent solution we can fight for is to embrace a middleman-less future. A future where it is not politicians that say they act on our behalf, but instead an amalgamation of everyones views through blockchain technology to create a truly democratic system. A future where banks do not have control over our hard-earned money, but we do. A blockchain-based future.

However, there stand some points of argument against a blockchain-based future.

In an article for the Atlantic, Ian Bogost writes that more computing power means more energy cost to run and cool the machines, which requires more capital and physical infrastructure to support. Those rising costs inspire centralization.

He says this because of the nature of a proof-of-work blockchain, like Bitcoins, where computers are doing thousands of complex math problems that require an amount of electricity that increases marginally with each block added to the blockchain.

Because voting power in the blockchain is based on the amount of work one can do, someone with access to a lot of capital and infrastructure could potentially take majority control over a PoW blockchain.

What he says could be true for proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin, but Bogosts argument doesnt hold water when talking about proof-of-stake blockchains such as Ethereum, the 2nd largest blockchain by market capitalization, where voting power on the blockchain is no longer held by those who can provide the most computing power but instead spread equally.

Though the Fed continues to provide some value in reducing volatility and better macroeconomic performance, how far are we willing to trust a system governed by a regulatory body that remains intransparent and insufficiently audited?

The Federal Reserve has shown itself to be unable to make the correct decisions when we need them to. Blockchain is the future, and we can either watch the Fed continue to botch its responsibilities or force it to adapt to a decentralized future.

Originally posted here:
Modern Toolbox: The Federal Reserve is killing the United States The Daily Free Press - Daily Free Press

Early one morning a couple of years ago, at the height of Hong Kongs prodemocracy protest movement, Ta Kung Pao, a Chinese-government-owned newspaper based in Hong Kong, published what it claimed was a major scoop. An American diplomat had met with a group of high-profile activists, including Joshua Wong. A photo accompanied the piece, a low-angle shot from across the lobby of the hotel where the meeting had ostensibly taken place. For Beijing, which at the time was promoting the baseless theory that foreign forces were behind Hong Kongs protests, the gotcha moment was a juicy story.

Western media largely ignored the meeting: A diplomat talking with activists is not typically news. Once trumpeted by Ta Kung Pao, however, the story was picked up by other pro-Beijing outlets and twisted as it reverberated across Chinese state media. The meeting eventually made its way to English-language outlets; the far-right website ZeroHedge published a story that was subsequently posted on the website of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, an organization founded by the former Texas congressman.

Basic facts, however, were incorrect from the start. According to a State Department official, who requested anonymity for fear of being targeted by the newspaper, Julie Eadeh, a political counselor at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, was assisting a delegation of congressional staffers who were meeting with Wong and his colleagues. She had simply arrived a few minutes ahead of the delegates and was waiting with the activists.

The facts and details, though, mattered little. The original Ta Kung Pao story had included Eadehs professional background and her education credentials but more personal details as well, including the names of her two young children and information about her husband, who is also an American diplomat. Other outlets published Eadehs parents names and their hometown in the U.S. As the stories mushroomed on Chinese social media and elsewhere, Eadeh morphed from a regular consulate employee to someone highly trained in the dark arts of subversion. Her past postings in the Middle East, articles claimed, showed a sinister track record of assisting the overthrow of foreign governments. (Ta Kung Pao did not respond to requests for comment.)

Eadeh began to notice suspicious activity offline too. A white minivan started to trail her and her family whenever they left their Hong Kong apartment, including when she dropped off her children at school. Sometimes, the people tailing them would hoist cameras with large lenses, conspicuously snapping photographs of her and her family as they went about their day. (It is unclear who the men in the van were.) Later, Eadehs likeness was featured in a Chinese video game promoted by state media in which players had to hunt down traitors who seek to separate Hong Kong from China. A state-backed documentary on the 2019 protests shown on multiple Hong Kong television channels devoted substantial time to her.

The length and intensity of the focus on a mid-level diplomat was highly unusual, Kurt Tong, the former U.S. consul general to Hong Kong, for whom Eadeh once worked, told me. Its intimidation. It is intended to intimidate the consulate and intimidate the [political] opposition.

Sitting at the center of this storm of vitriol was Ta Kung Pao, a newspaper little known outside of Hong Kong, but one with a long history and which is rapidly growing in influence. Its reports and the fallout that typically follows unfold in a familiar, almost routine fashion. A shaky-grasp-of-facts story or editorial is picked up by an array of other outlets, creating an echo chamber in which those targeted are put under enormous pressure and, in many cases walk back criticism, resign from their job, or flee Hong Kong entirely. In other instances, the newspaper will run an exclusive interview with a high-ranking official that will lay out a de facto policy position or telegraph a possible future move, one that generally attacks prodemocracy organizations or figures.

Ta Kung Paos influence illustrates the instruments Beijing uses to pursue its opponents, working in close concert with lawmakers, the police, and other Hong Kong authorities to crush dissent. It also showcases a strategy that China may employ more and more in Hong Kong and elsewhere: using the tools of a free society (in this case a once lively and aggressive press) to suppress freedom itself.

Herbert Chow, an outspoken prodemocracy advocate and shop owner, discovered this spring the damage Ta Kung Pao could inflict. Two days after he opened a new store packed with protest memorabilia, he was the focus of a critical report. The day after the story ran, his shop was swarmed by dozens of police. Three of his five employees quit. This is how they do things, he told me. They just scare you.

Read: A newsroom at the edge of autocracy

Ta Kung Pao, which is controlled by Chinas representative office in Hong Kong, in some respects mirrors the citys broader evolution. In colonial times, the publication championed Chinese identity while taking aim at Hong Kongs British rulers, playing a crucial role in fomenting the leftist riots that broke out in the city in 1967 as the Cultural Revolution swept the mainland. The salaries were low but the morale was very high was the way one former staffer described the atmosphere in the late 1980s when he was first hired. Journalists, he told me, felt they were not only patriots but fighting against the colonial power. When Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, the paper remained influential, telegraphing Beijings thinking while delivering largely reliable, if heavily slanted, reporting. Its former top editor, the recipient of a prestigious fellowship at Harvard, was named Hong Kongs secretary for home affairs in 2007.

But in recent years, Ta Kung Pao has adopted paparazzi-style tactics. Its employees have been accused of ambushing, harassing, and incessantly stalking prodemocracy activists (and others who land on Beijings ever-expanding list of enemies). Its jingoistic rhetoric largely reflects the blustery screeds of Chinas wolf warrior diplomats. The newspaper is the most aggressive in a web of publications that make up what Bloomberg described as a publishing empire in Hong Kong that is overseen by Beijing. Ta Kung Paos parent company does not make clear its ownership structure but coyly mentions on its own website that it is supported by the motherland. Chinas Hong Kong Liaison Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Since the 2019 prodemocracy protests, there has been a sharper, harsher edge of really smearing and demonizing perceived [Chinese Communist Party] enemies, Sarah Cook, an expert on Chinese state media at the U.S.-based NGO Freedom House, told me.

The enactment of Hong Kongs national-security law last year hampered press freedoms in the city. Apple Daily, a stridently prodemocracy newspaper, was forced to close this year after more than two decades of publishing when authorities froze its assets, raided its newsroom, and arrested numerous editors for violating the new law. Other outlets have moved their operations abroad. Editorial writers have put down their pens. Hong Kongs public broadcaster is being retooled as a progovernment mouthpiece. (Though these are recent examples, Ta Kung Paos opaque ownership reflects a longer-term trend in Hong Kong of once-boisterous independent media outlets falling into the ownership or orbit of Beijing and its proxies, thus further eroding freedoms.) Now that the political system has no risk, officials are beginning to look at religion, media, and teachers, Fred Li, a longtime member of the citys largest prodemocracy party, told me recently.

In this new environment where national security is paramount, Ta Kung Pao and other Chinese state outlets have thrived, though not by the common journalism metrics of readership and credibility. Instead, their ability to frighten and intimidate people and institutions into subservience has expanded, making them powerful tools in the ongoing, unrestrained effort to purge Hong Kong of opposition. Ta Kung Pao has targeted artists, filmmakers, academics, judges, and exiled activists. This marks a significant escalation. Ching Cheong, a former deputy editor at Wen Wei Po, Ta Kung Paos sister publication, which is also overseen by the Liaison Office, told me that state-backed publications in the city used to act more as traditional newspapers, with pro-Beijing positions set out in op-ed pages and articles from academics and other influential contributors. What they are doing right now, he said, is to force Beijings ideological inclination upon the Hong Kong people.

Ta Kung Pao is the creation of a devout French-speaking Catholic named Ying Lianzhi. After a stint serving at the French consulate in Yunnan province, Ying founded the paper, then named Limpartial, in 1902 in Tianjin, a port city in northeastern China. He promoted a free press and believed in the societal benefits of newspapers. He appealed to a wider audience by writing in vernacular Chinese. After his death in 1926, the paper was sold to a wealthy banker and its new editor in chief, Zhang Jiluan, kept standards high, offered attractive salaries, and lured top talent, building up a circulation of 150,000. Zhang laid out guidelines to keep the newspapers pages free from bias, and he became a prominent figure within Chinese journalism. In 1941, the Missouri School of Journalism awarded Ta Kung Paowhose name is an allusion to a stated mission of serving the publica medal for distinguished service, lauding the papers rich and essential reporting on developments in China. As the Chinese civil war erupted in the aftermath of World War II, however, the paper began running afoul of the ruling nationalist authorities, who tightened controls on the press as they sought to fight off the Communist advance. Ta Kung Pao was relocated to Hong Kong in 1948 in search of political and economic stability, but the following year, with the triumph of the Communist Party, its ownership was handed over to the Chinese people.

The now pro-Communist paper soon became a source of frustration for the colonial government in Hong Kong. The British accommodated the press to a degree but maintained a trove of laws that could be wielded to curb free speech, deploying them, albeit rarely, when outlets challenged their authority. They used those rules most famously in 1967, when a labor dispute spiraled into deadly riots across Hong Kong. Ta Kung Pao stoked anti-colonial sentiment, but British officials were reluctant to punish it and other newspapers with direct links to Beijing for fear of the response they might provoke. Instead, the government went after independent leftist papers, arresting key figures and barring three outlets from publishing. The moves elicited a furious response from Ta Kung Pao. What sort of laws and rule of law is it? the newspaper asked. What sort of press freedom is it? How can the colonial government close all patriotic newspapers and arrest all patriotic journalists?

Patriotism is now again at the forefront of Hong Kongs political discourse, as pro-Beijing figures and the government are trumpeting an overhauled election system that has effectively criminalized the prodemocracy opposition. Ta Kung Pao is doing its part as a propaganda and misinformation megaphone. According to two former reporters, both of whom left in recent years and who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, the atmosphere was not unlike a government office on the mainland: top-down and highly bureaucratic, with editors making heavy-handed changes and dictating story angles to please higher-ups. One of the reporters said that during training, immediately after being hired, they were schooled on state-media jargon, how to avoid politically sensitive topics, and the importance of always showcasing the positive aspects of living in Hong Kong. Those working on the international desk were directed to select news stories from abroad for translation that showed police cracking down on protests in foreign countries, as if to normalize the practice. I felt like I was reporting on Hong Kong in the mainland, using the mainland language and the angles they wanted, one of the former reporters said. I felt like there was a divide between Hong Kong and myself.

Like other traditional media outlets, Ta Kung Pao has tried in recent years to engage a younger, more web-centric audience, with mixed success. In 2017, the newspaper launched DotDotNews, an online publication that hosts original video content as well as written stories. Its English-language version, which is decidedly amateurish and often lacking production value, regularly features commentary from well-known influencers and punditsmany of them foreignerswho hold pro-Beijing views. It falsely reported in March that two U.S. Consulate staffers whod tested positive for COVID-19 had invoked diplomatic immunity to avoid being sent to quarantine. (Multiple stories were removed from the outlets Facebook page in 2019, the social-media company said, before the page was taken down completely for repeatedly breaking the platforms community standards.) In 2016, a new chief editor arrived at Ta Kung Pao, according to local media reports. His background in the world of pro-Beijing tabloids ushered in the use of a more confrontational and combative style of writing and reporting, the former longtime staffer told me.

Read: The end of free speech in Hong Kong

By modern news-media standards, Ta Kung Pao is flailing. Research from the Chinese University of Hong Kong shows that the newspapers credibility among the public has dropped significantly since 1997, now ranking the worst among surveyed outlets. Many staffers feared being attacked during the protests two years ago if Hong Kongers became aware of where they worked or that they were from the mainland, one of the reporters I spoke with said. For this reason, and as a way to give the appearance that the newsroom was larger than it was, reporters often used pseudonyms.

Yet these shortcomings hardly seem to matter because, in terms of impact, a favorite buzzword of journalists, Ta Kung Pao is more valuable than ever. Drawing on a rotating cast of pro-Beijing talking heads, lawmakers, and even former Hong Kong chief executives, the newspaper can whip up support for almost any issue, forcing the subjects that come into its crosshairs to cower in submission, out of fear of possible legal repercussions and further harassment. Ta Kung Pao is just one of the numerous ways in which the liaison office exerts shadowy control over the city, serving as what University of Hong Kong politics professor Eliza W. Y. Lee describes as a quasi-ruling party of the political regime of Hong Kong.

The newspaper in November 2020 accused a shop selling yellow-colored face masksa color associated with the prodemocracy movementand other protest-related souvenirs of inciting hatred and tearing society apart. The shop shut down days later. The same month, the newspaper began targeting Lee Ching-kwan, the director of the Global China Center at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, arguing that comments Lee had made saying Hong Kong belongs to the world were pro-independence. Lee suffered numerous waves of media attacks before eventually resigning, she told me. A DotDotNews article in February highlighted a World Press Photo exhibition at Hong Kong Baptist University that included some photos of the 2019 protests. University administrators abruptly called off the event.

There are plenty of other examples. The body that funds art projects has announced that it will cut off resources to any artist that promotes Hong Kong independence, after criticism from Ta Kung Pao; one artist singled out by the paper left Hong Kong this month, saying he was in search of freedom. Hong Kongs largest teachers union disbanded entirely after Ta Kung Pao joined a pro-Beijing pile-on against the organization. The newspaper continues to push for the group to be investigated. And in an August interview with Ta Kung Pao, Hong Kongs police chief said the Civil Human Rights Front, the umbrella organization behind 2019s largest demonstrations, possibly violated the national-security law and would be investigated. The claim came despite the group having had police clearance for its rallies and holding no events since the law was enacted. The CHRF folded days later.

Cook, the Freedom House analyst, told me that dismissing these instances simply as meaningless propaganda would be a mistake. It is not just fluff, it is not just words, she said. It actually does drive very real consequences for people.

Two court cases in the past year provide an illuminating glimpse at the double standards now in effect in Hong Kong, where different sets of rules apply to those who support the Chinese government and those who challenge it, and how the press freedoms demanded by Ta Kung Pao half a century ago are being denied to its rivals.

Last November, the freelance journalist Bao Choy was arrested and questioned about accessing a public database of car registrations. She had used the system to obtain license-plate information, a standard practice for Hong Kong journalists, while working on a damning investigation into police inaction during a mob attack on protesters and commuters in 2019. The report would win numerous awards, and Choy was awarded the same Harvard fellowship as the former Ta Kung Pao editor, but she was found guilty and fined about $775. (Choy is appealing.)

Wong Wai-keung, a senior editor for Ta Kung Pao, was this year accused of the same crime for a story that targeted a former prodemocracy lawmaker. At a short hearing this past June, however, prosecutors announced that they had dropped the charges against Wong, saying he would need only to pay about $130 in court fees. Wong had arrived at previous court appearances in a baseball cap and sunglasses, carrying an open umbrella to hide his identity. But on the final day of his case, he didnt bother to show up to court at all.

Asked why Wong had been treated so differently from Bao by authorities, the prosecutor demurred. It was a one-off incident, he said of Wong. He is of clear record and gainfully employed.

Tiffany Liang contributed reporting from Hong Kong.

Visit link:
How China Weaponized the Press - The Atlantic

On Sunday, a Boston Celtics fan account posted a video from Timeless Sports' Twitter account, sharing an entertaining old video from a game between the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics.

The video can be seen in a Tweet that is embedded below from the Twitter account of @HonestLarry1.

In the video, Ron Artest (now Metta Sandiford-Artest) is seen guarding Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics.

Artest pulls down Pierce's pants during the game, and even through the tactic, Pierce comes off of a screen and drills a shot in the face of Artest.

In 2004, Artest was the Defensive Player of The Year and an NBA All-Star for the Pacers.

He was one of the best defenders in NBA history, but this tactic did not work on Pierce.

Artest played 17 years in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls, Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.

He won a championship in 2010.

He has career averages of 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

In 12 different seasons he averaged 1.5+ steals per game.

On the other hand, Pierce played 19 years in the NBA for the Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers.

He was ten-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Celtics during the 2008 season.

He has career averages of 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

In eight different seasons Pierce averaged 20+ points per game.

The video made for some good content to look back on.

Read more:
Remember When Paul Pierce Got His Pants Pulled Down In A Game? It Really Happened To The Former Celtics, Nets, Wizards And Clippers Star - Sports...

While many of The Beatles songs are considered classics, Paul McCartney felt one of their No. 1 hits is not a classic. He thought the best thing about the song was its title. Interestingly, he said the lyrics of the song reflected the relative sexual liberation of the time when it was written.

The Beatles had 20 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. During an interview with Billboard, Paul discussed the origins of eight of The Beatles No. 1 songs. He said he disagreed with the way some journalists characterized one of The Beatles chart-toppers.

When people review my shows, they say, He opened with a Beatles classic, Eight Days a Week,' Paul said. I wouldnt put it as a classic. Is it the cleverest song weve ever written? No. Has it got a certainjoie de vivrethat The Beatles embodied? Yes. The best thing about it was the title, really.

According to rumor, Ringo Starr thought up the title Eight Days a Week. This is not the case. In actuality, Paul lost his license and someone else drove him to John Lennons house. When Paul arrived at Johns house, they had a conversation that inspired Eight Days a Week.

RELATED: The Beatles: John Lennon and Paul McCartney Used These 2 Words in Their Song Titles and Lyrics to Connect to Fans

Just as we reached Johns, I said, You been busy?' Paul recalled. Just small talk. And he said, Busy? Ive been working eight days a week. I ran into the house and said, Got a title! And we wrote it in the next hour.

Paul discussed the significance of the lyric Hold me, lover in Eight Days a Week. Our parents had been rather repressed, and we were breaking out of that mold, Paul opined. Everyone was let off the leash. Coming down from Liverpool to London, there were all sorts of swinging chicks, and we were red-blooded young men. All thats on your mind at that age is young women or it was, in our case.

Eight Days a Week reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. The song appeared on the Fab Fours album Beatles IV, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the charts for 41 weeks.

RELATED: The Beatles: Paul McCartney Once Felt He Could Never Perform This Sgt. Pepper Song Live

Eight Days a Week has a legacy outside of its time on the charts. Ron Howard directed a documentary about the Fab Four titled The Beatles: Eight Days a Week. The documentary focused mostly on the bands early period, around the time they released Eight Days a Week. Paul isnt a huge fan of Eight Days a Week, but the song made an impact on the American charts and on cinema.

Read more:
Paul McCartney Said This No. 1 Beatles Song Isn't a Classic: 'The Best Thing About It Was the Title' - Showbiz Cheat Sheet