The graph below is where the U.S. government gets its income:
The main problem with the above chart is that corporations only contribute 13% of the tax revenue, and yet they get to buy all the political influence; while working individuals contribute most of the 46%, and get very little in comparison.
Here is the breakdown of U.S. government total spending:
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, along with parts of the budgets for the Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Education, and Department of Veterans Affairs are mandatory spending items.
Mandatory spending cannot be changed without an Act of Congress. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and Obamacare (ACA) are new forms of parasitism in mandatory spending; while Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Education, etc. are being systematically de-funded. This is intended to push these programs into bankruptcy, allowing equity capital to raid its coffers through privatization.
Here is the breakdown of U.S. government discretionary spending:
The U.S. military eats 55% of the discretionary budget, and it’s hard to believe that essentials such as housing, education, health, environment, etc… each receive no more than 6% of the discretionary pie.
Food & agriculture gets only 1% of discretionary spending.
The pie graph below is mandatory spending (65%), discretionary spending (29%), and interest on national debt (6%), with the actual figures listed below:
Total revenue $3.34 trillion
Total expenditures $3.90 trillion
Deficit $564 billion (3.1% of GDP)
Debt $18.69 trillion
Note: Close to $4 trillion will be spent by the U.S. government in fiscal year 2015 (October 1, 2014 — September 30, 2015), while virtually nothing is done to improve the lives of working people in terms of job creation, housing, education, health care, urban renewal, environmental clean-up, or any other issue that matters to them.
No bourgeois politician– Democrat, Republican or “Independent”– will honesty explain any of this to the working people or the kids, much less take any serious action.
The only answer is for workers & students to unite and replace this corrupt capitalist system with a worker’s government, armed with a socialist program in order to rationally allocate resources for the maximum benefit of society.
Kararak RS: vocal, guitar, bass; TomP: percussion & production
Plutocracy is defined as a government by, and for the wealthy– which is the United States of America in 2015. It has actually always been this way, since its Constitution was first enforced in 1789, as wealthy landowners wrote the rules. But the point was, the Constitution had ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which offered certain protections for individual & legal liberties, placing restrictions on governmental power.
Today, the U.S. Constitution is a dead letter, obvious to anyone who thinks; and the horrible truth is none of us are actually free. We are all held prisoner by the fetters of capitalism, which bind us in all forms– visible & invisible.
The American Heritage dictionary definition of free is– to not be bound or constrained; at liberty.
Constraints are all-too-real to ignore for those with limited means, as they include: money debt, re-occurring bills that become harder to pay, and the threat of unemployment with no pension or retirement savings.
Those with a job they dislike are the lucky ones among today’s U.S. proletariat (working class), as the unlucky ones face an inability to obtain a workable job at a liveable wage, homelessness, being the target of police violence, imprisonment, and premature death.
The hooligans of the working class are defined in Marxist terms as lumpen-proletariat; a mixture of criminals, provocateurs, and bigoted ignorance. They are a relatively small (but dangerous) portion of the working class, that needs to be recognized & ruthlessly crushed by an educated proletariat, for any progress to occur. Otherwise our society ends up with fascism, followed by obliteration.
The petty bourgeoisie (formerly the middle, now upper-middle class), are financially stable, but certainly not free. The petty bourgeoisie are full of disorders, mostly stemming from their insecurity in not being rich enough (and therefore not good enough), by capitalist standards. They are (like the U.S. proletariat) equally divided among Democrats & Republicans in their illusions, usually focusing passionately on a single issue or two. Those who remain apolitical, become pawns in the grand chessboard of politics.
Petty bourgeois politicians always miss (avoid) the big picture. Trotsky correctly summarized liberalism as “half-thinkers with half-baked ideas, pronouncing half-truths they half-heartedly support, all to justify their political half-lives.”
V.I. Lenin once remarked, “The power of Marxism is that it is true.”
The petty bourgeoisie are the professional class of doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other vital problem-solving intelligentsia. They also run the universities & the mass media, and their conformity to the plutocracy is critical; as all capitalist ideology rewards them, in return for their services & obedience. It’s a Faustian deal one makes.
Capitalism must be understood dialectically, as a global system that is constantly evolving. The only source of wealth is human labor, and capitalism extracts it at below actual cost, more efficiently than feudalism or chattel slavery. This extracted wealth is defined as capital.
Marxism is the only scientific method of studying economics, as money is created through commodity production by human labor. It’s philosophy is dialectical materialism. Dialectics is the study of change and revolutions. Materialism is the insistence that all thinking be rational– based on actual matter.
Marxism rejects all forms of idealism, which always leads back to god; insisting on a rational scientific method in all questions of political economy.
At an earlier stage, say the pre-Industrial Revolution era, capitalism was a spur to creative development and free thinking; in other words, capitalism of that time could (at least in some sense) honestly claim it was progressive– because it was founded on Enlightenment principles.
Today, understood dialectically, capitalism is in its death throes– an impediment & mortal threat to our future. Human civilization needs an international socialist revolution in permanence, as capitalism is pushing its ruling class towards nuclear extinction.
The truth is: the ruling class isn’t even in charge, as the combined forces of a global political economy under the irrationality of capitalism are determining what each nation’s political leaders must do. Their marching orders come directly from the global economic powerhouses, such as the IMF, ECB, Downing Street, and Wall Street; who are ruled by the logic that profits always come first.
This completely dehumanizes the leaders of these institutions, which of course makes them thoughtless, self-serving slaves of the capitalist system; and thus, by definition, not free. The bourgeoisie which controls the world’s wealth is the sickest, and most decadent class in human history. Even the most gluttonous of Roman emperors, medieval pontiffs, and royalty would surely envy the level of luxury & destructive waste among today’s richest of the rich.
Their disorders are among us everywhere, most conspicuously in the never-ending glorification of their celebrity & money. This can be seen as an ideological offensive by the bourgeoisie, in insisting that brains & real work have little value in comparison, in order to justify their pathologies & parasitic existence.
Official bourgeois ideology is called post-modernism, which simply states: there is no truth, except what is in your mind– so therefore anything can be true. Post-modernism is a convenient ideology for a class with all the money. The bourgeoisie monopolize all the levers of power, allowing corporate fascism to broadcast nationalist consumerism 24/7, while marginalizing any expression of free thought.
All this leads to a pathological need to own & control everything, hence domestic spying operations by the FBI, CIA, & NSA. Every bit of electronic data from every American, is stored in vast intelligence databases; for analysis, profiling, and the marketing interests of the ruling class. The police & military are increasingly the favored tools of the bourgeoisie for mass enforcement of undemocratic policies, at home & abroad.
Domestic spying never includes sharing with the public of high-level, closed-door meetings concerning major economic, political or social policies. Disclosure is always made to flow in the same direction as the money & power. Presidential and top administration emails, texts, & phone conversations over policy are always ‘national secrets’, and if revealed, becomes their paranoid nightmare ‘threat to national security.’ All this is simply couched language to justify concealment of bourgeois criminality.
Therefore, secret discussions of nuclear war with Russia & China, by top U.S. government officials & military commanders of all the armed forces, are never honestly revealed or discussed with the working people. [1] This Orwellian logic keeps us ‘safe’ we are told.
Instead of mindlessly consuming the Great American Holiday, step outside of the jingoism and notice this mad parade we’re all made a part of. When the fireworks dazzle the crowd, eliciting reflexive “oohs” and “aahs”– think about what they represent.
They represent shock & awe, which began on March 19, 2003; and since then has claimed over a million Iraqi lives. The most advanced society in the Middle East was destroyed, by insatiable capitalist greed for oil. It is precisely this impulse that will kill us all, if we don’t stop it.
Today is the 239th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress, which declared the United States of America a sovereign nation.
True nationhood wasn’t that simple, as Great Britain was the mightiest Great Power of its time; but through determination, the richness of its resources, and bitter struggle– the newly-born United States prevailed.
In today’s epoch, our struggle is different, as the leaders of all nations– the U.S. foremost– are war criminals. Here in the U.S., its proletariat is faced with the task of having to disarm the mightiest and most sophisticated military/intelligence apparatus in human history, in order to head-off mutually assured destruction.
Any help from the petty bourgeoisie is appreciated, but not expected. It is now the task of the working people of all nations to unite, and overthrow its capitalist paymasters.
The alternative is to go on as if none of this matters, as human civilization eventually becomes consumed by a nuclear fire-storm, through the inexorable logic of capitalism; which prefers that outcome over socialism.
To those of us who think homo sapiens are better than that, we must truly begin to reflect on what these days really mean; and what needs to be done; as the time for action is coming soon.
Corporate dental mushroomed in the late 1990’s, as equity investors poured hot money into creating today’s major dental chains; among the biggest– Aspen, Coast, Christie, Heartland, and Kool Smiles.
None of these equity investor/owners, have a doctorate in dental medicine or surgery.
Before this phenomenon, the law was very clear– one had to be a licensed dentist to own a dental practice.
This allowed dental licensing boards to discipline against malpractice.
Equity investors never get sued for malpractice, even though they are directly responsible for much of it in these corporate dental offices. [1] [1a]
How is a corporate dental chain allowed to legally operate without a dentist owner?
Aspen Dental, is actually called Aspen Dental Management, Inc (ADMI).
Whenever pressed legally or in an interview, ADMI claims they simply manage the offices for the dentists, so doctors can concentrate on treating patients instead of running a practice. [2] All of corporate dental is based on the ridiculous premise that running an office can be separated from the dentistry. Of course it’s money, not arguments that rule the day.
My alter ego worked for nearly a year at Aspen Dental, and became intimately familiar with how they operate. I was employed through a temporary agency, which kept me from being locked into a contractual obligation with Aspen, allowing flexibility in dealing with their corporate nonsense. In my time with them, I would regularly have to stop working for them when frustration set in, take a few weeks off (or work somewhere else), then go in again for awhile. I needed the work, and it turned out to be quite an experience.
In the end, all these corporate dental chains are the same, a hopeless proposition for the dentist, as a large part of what they are doing is designed to crush the doctor’s spirit.
For instance, in most Aspen Dental locations, there is no private office for the doctor. This is exceptional in the field of dentistry, and by design– to diminish the importance of the doctor in front of patients, staff, and management.
ALL doctors needs a private office to isolate themselves from distractions, in order to think clearly when making patient notes, considering treatment options, prescribing medications, etc… Aspen Dental considers this to be of secondary importance.
The office manager (OM) runs the office, and typically has no dental experience, but instead a strong background in sales. They get a private office, which is used for the all-important closing-of-the-deal with new patients. It’s hard-sell tactics at the top-producing offices, with a huge push towards third-party financing, such as CareCredit.
Getting paid upfront by a third-party is a vital part of their profitability. Whenever possible, the whole treatment plan is charged out immediately after the OM closes on a patient. Sometimes the work is never done, and reimbursements to the patient have to go through a lengthy corporate review in New York. Other patients never get their money back, or end up with unpayable/oppressive debt. All these dental credit cards have exorbitant interest rates, which can be applied retroactively if a payment is missed. Many patients are very confused, by the time they are through with the office manager at Aspen Dental.
Problems occur in medicine & dentistry (which are the same thing), when doctors have little/no control over the schedule, and are forced to wear roller-skates to meet corporate-imposed production goals. All these chains target low-income communities, where dentists have to work harder, for lower reimbursement under the insurance plans they accept. This unquestionably causes malpractice dentistry to occur at a much higher rate. [2]
No doctor welcomes an increased risk of losing their license, but often ADMI compels its dentists into negligence, just to make production goals; under the implied threat of being fired.
My professional experiences with ADMI included one particularly unscrupulous office manager, whom I caught changing a treatment plan of mine– to include more extractions. The changes had been written in (unbeknownst to me), on my treatment plan with my signature at the bottom. Any auditor looking at the chart (always paper) would have thought those were my treatment recommendations. After calling the OM out on this, I was blown off, then fired from the assignment at the end of the next day. Happens all the time in corporate.
The radiographs above are a rubber-meets-the-road example of the ethical dilemma dentists are constantly being placed in at Aspen Dental. This patient (40 Yrs/W/M) has oral hygiene & decay issues, with fairly healthy bone– despite the early periodontal disease. The first time I saw him (and the x-rays), he was scheduled for full extractions upper & lower, with immediate dentures already made. That’s a lot of production.
On the maxillary (top) arch, teeth #4 and #6-11 were healthy– some needed small fillings. Tooth # 13 needed a buildup & crown. The patient didn’t want any root canals, so the rest needed to be extracted. The top teeth were his priority.
All the remaining mandibular (lower) teeth (except decayed root tips– #21 & 29) were easily salvageable with root planing, and good oral hygiene follow-up. The critical canine tooth #22, needed an easy root canal, then a crown. Patients change their minds on routine procedures like root canals, when doctors earn their trust.
The patient could then be fitted for partial dentures in both arches, which is always better than full dentures– if they are motivated. The patient expressed his desire to keep as many teeth as he could, considering his limited financial resources. A new treatment plan was made up for fillings, extractions & partial dentures, which cost the patient about the same as extractions & immediate dentures.
The patient left the office very discouraged and confused. This updated treatment plan was much better for the patient, but required much more work by the dentist & staff– for the same or less money. I wasn’t part of that conversation. A few weeks later when I returned to the office, I was told by a staff member that this patient had all his teeth removed & immediate dentures.
This is a typical schedule at Aspen Dental:
This was my first day at this location, which is why the names of the staff are handwritten at the bottom. Each white-out represents a patient. There are three columns, the left is “Production”, the middle is “New Patient (NP) Exams”, and the right is “Overflow.”
“Production” means fillings, extractions, and crown & bridge; which make the money. Aspen Dental advertises free exams & x-rays for all new patients, so the NP column is always full. The free new patient exam is the hook that brings in new production. Aspen will charge the patient’s insurance for the NP exam & x-rays, if allowed.
“Overflow” is anything to do with dentures, partials, post-op exams, adjustments, impressions, relines, bite registrations, or any other general complaint. Since Aspen specializes in dentures (60% of their income), this column overflows fast and hits hard. Dentists are expected to see 30-40 patients/day, as a minimum, which is probably what I saw on that day.
To their credit, this was one of the better Aspen Dental offices I worked in, largely due to the above-average staff. The problem comes with employee turnover, which is constant. I worked in this office for the better part of two months, and two of their employees were already gone by the time I left. They both took better jobs in private practice. Aspen Dental has Tuesday hours of 11 AM – 8 PM (shown above), which is universally reviled among its workers.
Here is an example of their metrics report card, which everyone (from receptionist to dentist to regional/territorial manager) looks at daily:
The most important line to corporate is the top one: Avg of Monthly Revenue & Deposit. This office (Gainesville) is at >110% of the target goal, so they get an “A+” in this column, which counts 30% of the total grade. No other metric counts more than 10%.
Notice how some metrics are so far off the scale as to be meaningless. For instance, look at the 90-Day Online Review Ratings. A “B” rating for Aspen is an average ranging from 4.50-4.59, with anything lower than that being a “C”. Their average online rating is 2.0. Incidentally, this office was on pace to receive a $100 bonus/employee at the end of the month, with a composite “B” grade.
Here’s what their report card looked like, after I was in St. Augustine for a few weeks:
The staff each earned a $200 bonus that month.
Incidentally, this Aspen location used a rotation of temporary dentists for over six months, up until the time I left the company. Aspen Dental simply can’t sign up enough of their own dentists to permanently fill their vacancies– because of their reputation.
Temp doctors are not paid bonuses, and are always employed though a middleman agency, which keeps a healthy percentage for itself. It’s all kept very secretive. Today, the fill-in dentist pay-rate for Aspen Dental is $600/day, plus hotel and long-distance mileage expenses.
Aspen’s regional & territorial managers will visit every office biweekly, or so. Their function is to hammer home Aspen Dental propaganda, while deflecting any serious employee complaints or issues. Their favorite slogan seems to be: “There’s no ‘I’ in Aspen.”
My favorite Aspen Dental slogan? — “As dental professionals, the last thing we want to do is sugarcoat anything.”
As stated earlier, management is strictly sales, there is virtually no dental experience at the upper levels. Upon their arrival (which seems to always be preceded with great fanfare), regional managers take over an office of their choice, close the doors; and what’s next is anyone’s guess? It certainly has little to do with communication, or helping the doctor and the staff.
Necessary equipment & supplies are often of poor quality, and in shortage. Basic tools such as an electrosurgery unit or laser, are not available. Of course, this should be expected in an company that employs so little dental knowledge & experience.
Corporate dentistry has circumvented long-established legal requirements, with a few shell ‘dentist owners’ wherever needed, along with an effective propaganda campaign which has largely confused dentists & the consumer public.
Most working dentists don’t really understand how corporate dental operates.
The American Dental Association (ADA), misrepresents over 200,000 US dentists (and their $100 million in annual dues), by throwing poison into its constituents eyes; publishing puff-piece features & interviews which promote a model that clearly fails to meet the professional standard-of care– in ethics, practice, and legality.
Its monthly organ, the ADA News regularly runs corporate dental advertising, promising great careers with great pay; when they well-know precisely the opposite is true.
The ADA headquarters in Chicago, is a bastion of graft and backroom dealing; with insurance giants, equipment suppliers, management companies, etc…all in on the action.
The dirty secret is: the ADA is partnered with these equity investors and corporate giants, at the expense of their dues-paying members– wet-gloved dentists.
Colleagues who are ADA diehards, constantly claim that dentists need to join & pay up for their “advocacy.”
Whenever someone asks, “What is the exact position the ADA is advocating?”, their response becomes vague assertions and dull platitudes.
What has happened in dentistry is a microcosm of the modern capitalist economy in its death throes, largely characterized by its brazen lawlessness & parasitic nature. A relatively handful of people, who have nothing to do with creating quality dentistry, are siphoning money from dentists, staff members, and patients. The workers work harder for less, and the patients pay more– all to enrich the few who do nothing helpful. Meaningful change only happens when the people on the short end realize they deserve better.
The official version was that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
By 2005, US president George W. Bush was forced to publicly admit there were no (and never were) WMDs in Iraq; claiming it had been an “intelligence error.” [1]
Troop levels were still maintained.
Jeb Bush (G. W. Bush’s younger brother) is now a contender for the Republican party nomination in 2016.
He recently admitted publicly that he (any any other politician [!]) still would have invaded Iraq without WMDs. [2]
Obviously there is a different motivation for these ongoing wars in Iraq & the Middle East, than what has been presented publicly.
Oil is the most valuable natural-resource commodity in the modern world.
As far as economic importance goes, oil surpassed cotton in the late 19th century as the driver of global capitalism.
Today, nearly all the products we consume for daily living rely on petroleum for extraction, refining, production, and transportation to market.
Whoever controls the world’s oil supply, controls this all-important lever of the world economy.
Since the end of World War 2, Washington has established a permanent garrison in the Middle East for this purpose.
Israel was created by the United Nations (itself a tool for US imperialism), from 1947-49, for the stated purpose of avoiding another Holocaust; and in doing so, they created another humanitarian crisis.
According to UN figures, 726,000 Palestinians fled or were forcibly evicted by the Israeli military from 1947-49. [3]
Why is the US military still in Iraq?
The acronym ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIS evolved into a regional a power directly as a result of US support for Sunni Islamist proxy armies in its dirty wars for regime change in both Libya and Syria.
ISIS is often referred to as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in the media, in order to confuse the US population as to its origins.
US military presence in Iraq is about to increase again. [4]
In spite of all the government/media lies defending militarism, here’s the latest Gallup poll from June 2014:
Do you think the United States made a mistake sending troops to Iraq? 57% Yes 39% No 3% Undecided [5]
Controlling the world’s oil reserves is a US strategic objective, even as its risks a potential conflict with nuclear powers Russia and China.
Militarism in the modern-day Middle East is never discussed by the media in the context of global warming.
Of course, the Earth is already in the grip of global warming, which is caused by excessive carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption; so as a species, homo sapiens need to be cutting back on fossil fuel use.
Instead, we have a non-stop US government & corporate media campaign of lies, in order to hide the real issues from working people.
Gas, coal & nuclear are the only ‘serious’ alternatives promoted.
The cleanest and most-democratic form of energy production is solar, which has been mothballed & kept artificially expensive– in acquiescence to the oil, gas, coal, and nuclear giants.
In the final analysis, this is the ‘freedom’ for which all US soldiers (along with countless others), have sacrificed.
This unnecessary waste of human lives & our planet, will only end when working people everywhere organize themselves, with the purpose of carrying our a socialist revolution in permanence, in order to end the destructive conflicts of capitalism.
Preamble: A man goes to a pro-league game to watch a professional sporting event. By half-time, he’s vexed with a headache from exploding scoreboards, cheerleaders, endless promotions and loud music– all during the game. He seeks the team’s general manager to express his preference for a game, without circuses. The GM (yet another Bill Veeck disciple) replies, “You’re what we call a purist, there aren’t very many of you.”
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Pat Williams came to Orlando in 1986, at the behest of local businessman Jimmy Hewitt.
His job was to bring a NBA franchise to Orlando, and he did so by convincing 14,176 metro sports fans to reserve season tickets for a team that didn’t yet exist.
This gave Orlando the highest total of any city vying for a NBA franchise at the time, and on April 22, 1987 they were granted one to begin play in 1989-90. [1]
Pat Williams was the GM in Philadelphia from 1974-86, helping build a team that won the 1982-83 NBA championship.
Williams engineered trades for Hall-of-Famers: Julius Erving and Moses Malone, while drafting All-Star performers Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney.
He finally became frustrated with the 76ers mismanagement, and despite having a young Charles Barkley, he left for Orlando in June 1986.
John Gabriel, who began in public relations in 1983 with the 76ers, was Williams’ first hire.
Together these two created the image for the Orlando Magic; from their mascot name (which Disney approved), logos & colors, down to basketball personnel & staff. [2]
It was first Pat Williams (before being put out to pasture around 1996), then John Gabriel who called the shots for the Orlando Magic, until Gabriel was fired in 2004.
Rich DeVos & family finalized the purchase of the Orlando Magic on Sept. 19, 1991 for $85 million, and have been the owners ever since.
DeVos made his fortune in Amway, a multi-level marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme founded in 1959, whose financial success has made his family one of the wealthiest in the world.
A shadowy figure throughout Orlando Magic franchise history is Alex Martins.
He began his career with the Magic in 1989, as PR director.
Martins has multiple business degrees, and has never played nor coached college/professional basketball.
In 2006 he was promoted to COO of the Magic, a position he has held up to this writing.
Martins forever won the favor of DeVos, by finally arm-twisting the city of Orlando into a new publicly-funded $500 million sports arena, which opened in 2010, as the Amway Center.
The original Orlando arena, colloquially known as the “O-Rena,” opened in 1989 and served as home for the Magic until the 2010-11 season.
In 1999, TD Waterhouse purchased the naming rights, and renamed the venue the TD Waterhouse Centre.
In 2006, DeVos bought the naming rights, and changed it to the Amway Arena.
The Magic made Orlando a NBA city, following an expansion fee of $32.5 million.
Williams hired Matt Guokas (76ers) as head coach and assistant GM, who helped him & Gabriel select twelve players in the NBA Expansion Draft on June 15, 1989.
In the 1989 NBA Draft; Guokas, Williams & Gabriel chose Nick Anderson (Illinois, 11th overall), the first pick for the Magic franchise.
The inaugural team included Reggie Theus, Scott Skiles, Terry Catledge, Sam Vincent and Otis Smith; finishing 18–64.
Most importantly, they sold out all their home games.
In their second (1990) NBA draft, the Orlando Magic nabbed Dennis Scott (Ga. Tech) with the 4th overall pick.
The 1991 draft was a disaster, as they blew both 1st round picks on stiff/overweight centers (#10 Bison Dele [Arizona] and #23 Stanley Roberts [LSU]).
The Magic’s fortunes forever changed on May 17, 1992, when the franchise won the first pick in the 1992 NBA Draft Lottery.
Shaquille O’Neal (LSU) was the consensus #1 pick; a 7-1, 300-pound (in his salad days) ultra-athletic freak, who had just turned age 20.
Even with Shaquille O’Neal’s presence, the Magic just missed the 1993 NBA Playoffs.
For this they received the slimmest chance of gaining the top draft pick, with only one ping-pong ball in the lottery hopper.
Miraculously, the Magic again won the first pick and selected the correct player–Chris Webber (Michigan), whom they immediately traded to Golden State for the #3 overall pick– Anfernee Hardaway (Memphis St.), and three future #1 picks [in 1996, 1998 and 2000].
Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was an All-Star shooting guard for the Magic, until he sustained a left knee injury early in the 1997-98 NBA season.
Orlando Magic team doctors carelessly allowed Hardaway to return to the court early, largely in an effort to play in the upcoming All-Star game.
In the process, he re-injured his knee, and ended up requiring more surgery.
He missed the remainder of that season, was never the same player again.
In 1993-94 with Shaq & Penny, along with new head coach Brian Hill, the Magic finished 50-32: but were swept by the Indiana Pacers 3-0 in the 1st round.
In the off-season, Orlando made a free agent splash, by signing power forward Horace Grant from the Chicago Bulls.
Grant’s production numbers in five seasons with the Orlando Magic (12 pts/ 8 rebs), had value.
Unfortunately Horace Grant’s contract was an overpay, which handcuffed the organization down the road.
Note: None of this was Horace Grant’s fault, as any NBA player offered an outrageously generous contract, happily signs it.
In 1994-95 Orlando went 57-25, making it all the way to the NBA Finals.
It was a season to be envied; as Shaq, Penny, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott & Horace Grant were the darlings of the league.
Coached by Brian Hill, they ruined Michael Jordan’s early comeback attempt, and by June were picked by many experts to win it.
“Why not now?” became the organizational mantra. [3]
That question was definitively answered when they collapsed to the resilient & savvy Houston Rockets (47-35 during the season); allowing themselves to be swept 4-0.
Nick Anderson’s four free-throw misses, late in Game 1 are always pointed to as a focal point for the Magic meltdown.
A look at the stats from the series reveals that the Houston Rockets were simply better; with Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Robert Horry completely outplaying O’Neal, Hardaway, and Grant. [4]
Things looked bright early in 1995-96, as the Magic went a franchise best 60-22 in the regular season; but soured quickly in the Eastern Conference Finals when they were once again swept away, this time by the Chicago Bulls 4-0.
After this humiliation/realization, Shaquille O’Neal announced he was leaving Orlando to sign as a free agent with the LA Lakers.
This was announced as the Summer Olympics were being held in Atlanta, with Shaq as a member of the second Dream Team; one of his teammates was Penny.
With Shaq gone, the Magic were considered Hardaway’s team.
Penny took charge by leading a player’s revolt that ousted head coach Brian Hill.
In an organizational low-point (and that’s saying a lot for the Magic), Brian Hill was interviewed live on NBC, immediately after a dismal loss in Chicago on Sunday, February 16, 1997.
The reporter ambushed Hill point blank, asking if he had any comment about the rumor he’s about to be fired.
Hill was stunned, replying he had no knowledge or comment, before exiting up the tunnel. Peter Vecsey broke the story, and stood by it as a studio guest, after the Hill interview.
The Magic organization had no comment on any of this, until Brian Hill was fired the next evening, after the Magic lost in Charlotte.
Next season, Hardaway suffered the left knee injury, that ended up arthritic.
He was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 1999 for: Danny Manning, Pat Garrity, and two future first round-draft picks (2001 & 2002).
Both Penny Hardaway deals are instructive examples of wanton wastefulness, and deserve examination:
The 2001 pick (#18 overall) was included as part of a deal to clear cap room, and became Jason Collins (Stanford) picked by the Houston Rockets.
The Magic gave the 2002 pick back to Phoenix on November 16, 2001, as part of a 3-team trade, the Magic received Jud Buechler.
Phoenix used this pick to select Amar’e Stoudemire (Cypress Creek HS, Orlando [!]), with the #9 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft.
The Orlando Magic also received three #1 picks with Penny Hardaway, in exchange for Chris Webber in 1993; here’s how they turned out:
The 1996 #1 pick ended up being traded back to Golden State, who selected Todd Fuller (NC St.) with the #11 pick overall.
In exchange for it, the Magic got a 1st round pick in 1998, which became Keon Clark– (UNLV, 13th overall), picked by the Magic.
Keon Clark was immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets for a 2000 1st round pick, which became Keyon Dooling (Missouri)– selected #10 overall by the Magic.
Dooling was immediately traded (along with Corey Maggette, Derek Strong and cash), to the Los Angeles Clippers– for a 2006 1st round draft pick.
This pick was then traded in 2002, to the Denver Nuggets– for a 2004 2nd round draft pick.
February 19, 2003: the Orlando Magic trade this pick (along with Ryan Humphrey, Mike Miller and a 2003 1st round draft pick (#27 pick overall–Kendrick Perkins was selected); to the Memphis Grizzlies for Gordan Giricek and Drew Gooden.
The 1998 #1 pick ended up being traded back to Golden State, who selected Vince Carter (North Carolina) with the #5 overall pick.
The 2000 #1 pick ended up being used by Orlando to take Mike Miller (Florida– 5th overall), who became the 2000-01 NBA Rookie of the Year for the Magic.
Doc Rivers took over the Magic, after Chuck Daley retired as head coach in 1999.
Darrell Armstrong had emerged as their best young player, and Doc Rivers was the perfect guy to coach him up.
Armstrong won the NBA 6th Man of the Year Award and the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1999, becoming the first player to win both awards simultaneously.
The 1999-2000 Orlando Magic are known forever as the Heart & Hustle team.
They went 41-41, just missing the playoffs.
Their roster was full of young players and cast-offs who never quit, including: Ben Wallace, Bo Outlaw, John Amaechi, Chucky Atkins, Corey Maggette, and Matt Harpring.
Doc Rivers was named Coach of the Year, the first (and only) time the award went to a coach, whose team failed to qualify for the playoffs.
John Gabriel had been the GM in charge of the Magic, ever since Pat Williams was retired and kicked upstairs in the mid-1990’s.
The Penny Hardaway trade illustrations, discussed above were part of his master plan to clear salary cap room, in order to sign two top-tier free agents in the 2000 off-season.
The top prize was Tim Duncan, as the Orlando Magic went all out to bring him to central Florida.
They had already signed shooting guard Tracy McGrady, from the Toronto Raptors; and were convinced they needed Duncan as their big man.
Duncan ended up staying with the Spurs, and Plan B for Gabriel was Tracy McGrady & small forward, Grant Hill.
Background: on April 15, 2000, Grant Hill (playing for Detroit) sprained his left ankle in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
He continued to play until the first round playoff series against Miami.
The injury worsened, and Hill was forced to leave halfway through Game 2.
The Heat swept the Pistons 3–0.
Grant Hill was initially selected for the 2000 Olympics team, but could not play due to the ankle injury.
Hill was still in a cast & crutches when the Orlando Magic inked him to a 7-year, $94 million guaranteed contract; obtained in a sign & trade with Detroit.
The Orlando Magic traded Ben Wallace & Chucky Atkins to Detroit, for the rights to a crippled Grant Hill– at maximum money.
Ben Wallace’s monster defense & rebounding were invaluable in helping the Detroit Pistons win the NBA championship in 2003-04.
Grant Hill never played a full season for the Magic, as team doctors and officials kept rushing him back onto the court, only to have him re-injure himself.
In March 2003, Hill underwent a major surgical procedure in which doctors re-fractured his ankle and realigned it with his leg bone.
Five days after the surgery, Hill developed a 104.5 °F fever with convulsions, requiring him to be rushed to the hospital.
Doctors removed the splint around his ankle and discovered a nasty MRSA infection.
He was hospitalized in serious condition for a week, and on intravenous antibiotics for six months.
This is a fair illustration of the medical care Grant Hill received as a member of the Orlando Magic. [5]
When Hill’s contract expired, he signed with Phoenix: playing in 70, 82, 81 and 80 games, in his first four seasons.
By the 2003-04 season, Gabriel’s plan had completely busted, as the Magic went 21-61; worst in the league.
John Gabriel was fired, along with Doc Rivers.
Gabriel eventually returned to the NBA as an executive and scout with the NY Knicks; he has now been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Doc Rivers won a NBA title as head coach of the 2007-08 Boston Celtics, and currently is head coach of the LA Clippers.
John Weisbrod was named the new GM.
“Who the hell is John Weisbrod?” was the question everyone asked around the NBA.
It was a difficult question to answer seriously, as Weisbrod had an extended track record of successful scouting– in hockey.
As far as anyone could tell, he had never managed any basketball team before, at any level.
More background: the Orlando Solar Bears were owned by the DeVos family, and began IHL play in 1995.
They were successful until the league folded in 2001, winning the IHL’s final Turner Cup, its championship trophy.
When the IHL disbanded, DeVos promoted Weisbrod into the Magic organization, in an administrative position.
Weisbrod was promoted to GM of the Magic, after Gabriel was fired during the disastrous 2003–2004 season.
Again the Magic were beneficiaries of amazingly good fortune as they landed the #1 pick in the draft again!!– just as consensus blue-chipper Dwight Howard declared his eligibility (Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, #1 overall).
Anderson Varejao (Brazil) was also drafted by the Orlando Magic, in the 2nd round (30th pick) of the 2004 draft.
This is notable, because it is the only player of substance the Magic have ever drafted beyond the 1st round.
Varejao was, of course, immediately shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers (with Drew Gooden and Steven Hunter); for Tony Battie and more future draft picks to fritter away.
GM John Weisbrod fired Doc Rivers early into the 2003-04 season, and promoted Johnny Davis to interim head coach; the temporary label was removed as he was declared head coach for 2004-05.
Until with only 18 games left in the miserable 2004–2005 campaign, Weisbrod fired Davis, and named assistant-coach Chris Jent interim head coach.
Weisbrod also clumsily mishandled superstar Tracy McGrady, who was developing serious back problems, from carrying too much of the load for the Magic. He had quietly asked to be traded, then was jerked around by management, until a whirlwind 7-player deal sent McGrady, Juwan Howard, and Tyronn Lue to the Houston Rockets; for which the Magic received volatile point guard Stevie (lighten up) Francis, along with fungibles Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.
On May 23, 2005, Weisbrod resigned from his position of General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Orlando Magic, under intense fan & media scrutiny.
He has since worked exclusively in the NHL; with the Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Otis Smith played for the Magic from 1989-92, then became their Director of Community Relations from 1996–1998, before heading to Golden State for a better management position.
Smith returned to the Magic, spending two years as Director of Player Development, before being promoted to co-General Manager for 2005-2006 season.
Otis Smith was then named GM of the Orlando Magic on May 3, 2006, finally officially replacing Weisbrod.
Meanwhile, someone in the Magic organization had rehired Brian Hill, who coached them to a 36–46 record in 2005–2006.
In May 2007, multiple media sources reported that Hill would not return to coach the Orlando Magic in 2007-08.
Later, it was reported he had been fired by GM Otis Smith.
Otis Smith’s first selection in the 2005 NBA draft was Fran Vazquez (Spain–C, 6-10, 240 lbs)– #11 pick overall.
Vazquez quickly & definitively decided to stay in Spain, never playing in the NBA– the Magic still retain his rights.
It is still unclear as to whether anyone in the Orlando Magic front office ever bothered to speak with Vazquez before selecting him.
These are his stats in Europe through age 32, look them over and tell me what that selection was about? [6]
Here is a link to the entire Orlando Magic draft history. [7]
Outside of the early GM Pat Williams/Matt Guokas picks, and obvious #1 overall selections, it appears this organization rarely does any homework.
Year after year its usually wasted picks, as this organization lacks basketball brains at the top.
Examine their media guide for proof, as nearly every executive has a degree in business/marketing, with little-to-no basketball background. [8]
Franchises such as the Miami Heat, LA Lakers & Indiana Pacers retain hoops brains like Pat Riley, Jerry West & Larry Bird.
When Pat Williams gets too old, the Orlando Magic bring in figurines like Julius Erving & Patrick Ewing, who may have been great players, but lack an eye for talent and skills in player development.
Their roles are strictly PR, with nebulous VP titles and no real organizational influence.
Ever since Doc Rivers was pink-slipped, the Magic have developed very few championship-level NBA players.
They are, in many ways, the NBA’s managerial opposite of the San Antonio Spurs.
After Brian Hill was released/fired for the second time, the Magic signed UF head basketball coach Billy Donovan.
Shortly after the announcement, Donovan changed his mind about the five-year, $27.5 million deal, and expressed his desire to return to the University of Florida. [9]
After a week of haggling, on June 5, 2007 the Magic finally released Donovan; and offered another contract to Stan Van Gundy, whom had been their original choice.
The Miami Heat allowed Van Gundy to leave to coach the Magic, in exchange for draft picks and cash.
Side-note: Billy Donovan was made to sign a five-year NBA no-compete contract with the Magic, keeping him at UF. Donovan recently signed a deal to coach the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The most success the Magic ever found, was the 2008–09 season, when the Magic won 59 games under Stan Van Gundy.
Howard was an All-NBA player by then, and a beast in the 2009 playoffs; besting the Eastern Conference favorite Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James.
The Magic advanced to the NBA Finals, but lost several tight games, failing to execute late; and they were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1.
Orlando hasn’t seriously competed for a title since.
On May 21, 2012, Van Gundy was fired (along with GM Otis Smith), despite coaching his team to the playoffs in all five seasons.
Prior to the firing, Van Gundy had stated he had knowledge that Dwight Howard wanted him fired; that somebody from management had told him so; and that the team did not want to risk alienating Dwight Howard, who was their star player– able to opt out of his contract the following season. [10]
This whole saga is still referred to in Orlando as Dwightmare. [11]
Bob Vander Weide joined the Magic in 1992 as vice president of basketball operations.
He served as president for 16 years before being named CEO in July 2010, on the strength of his marriage to Cheri DeVos.
He was dismissed from the organization in the wake of; 1) her filing for divorce in 2012, and; 2) his drunk-calling Dwight Howard in the middle of the night, trying to persuade him to stay in Orlando.
Bob Vander Weide’s thoughts on the prospect of losing Dwight Howard (and how it compared to losing Shaq) were, “It’s a taxing process, but you learn from each one.” [12]
The reasons for Dwight Howard’s departure after 8 seasons in Orlando boil down to organizational incompetence & poor drafting, as J.J Redick (Duke #11 overall in 2006) was the only pick after 2004, that ever helped the Magic win.
Their inability to build a championship team around Howard, is perfectly illustrated in the Rashard Lewis signing, and then his trade.
July 11, 2007: Rashard Lewis was signed & traded by the Seattle SuperSonics to the Orlando Magic, here’s the contract:
2007-08 Orlando Magic $14,880,000
2008-09 Orlando Magic $16,447,871
2009-10 Orlando Magic $18,876,000
2010-11 Washington Wizards $19,573,711
2011-12 Washington Wizards $21,136,631
2012-13 New Orleans Hornets $13,700,000
Rashard Lewis was a 3/4 tweener, who could shoot; but didn’t rebound or help much defensively.
That’s neither a guy you give max money to, nor a championship player.
Those details never bother Orlando Magic management.
Lewis became untradable, until he was traded for another, even more untradable player– Gilbert Arenas in 2010:
On December 18, 2010 Rashard Lewis was traded by the Orlando Magic to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas, who could no longer play– due to knee injuries.
This was the money Arenas was owed at the time of the trade:
2010-11 Orlando Magic NBA $17,730,694
2011-12 Orlando Magic NBA $19,269,307
2012-13 Orlando Magic NBA $20,807,922
Arenas signed a six-year, $111 million contract in 2008 with the Wizards.
He was later suspended 50 games by the NBA, for bringing guns into the locker room.
On December 9, 2011, Arenas was waived by the Orlando Magic under the amnesty clause.
His salary was no longer counted against the cap, but the Magic still had to pay Arenas over $58 million.
Incredibly, they’re still paying him through 2016, even though he hasn’t played in the NBA since 2012. [13]
GM Otis Smith in 2006, “We’re building around a group of young guys in Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Darko Milicic and Travis Diener.” [14]
No wonder Dwight Howard finally bolted.
On August 10, 2012, Dwight Howard was dealt to the LA Lakers, as the centerpiece of a 4-team trade.
Prior to Downtown Master Plan 3, DeVos and son-in-law Bob Vander Weide, had been pressing the city of Orlando for a new arena for over a decade.
The Amway arena was built in 1989, prior to digital technology & advanced entertainment arenas.
It quickly became derided as antiquated, with too few luxury boxes, too far from the court.
That hurt revenue streams, and made it a difficult for rich people to be seen prominently at Orlando Magic games. [15]
On September 29, 2006, after years of backroom negotiations, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty, and the Orlando Magic announced an agreement on a new arena in downtown Orlando.
The Amway Center broke ground on July 25, 2008.
It opened on October 1, 2010.
The construction cost was $480 million.
On April 3, 2010 it was reported that Fitch Rating Agency had downgraded the bonds used to finance the new arena to “junk” status.
Rob Hennigan was made GM of the Orlando Magic in 2012, replacing Otis Smith.
Hired at age 30, and still the youngest GM in the NBA [16], Hennigan just signed an extension through the 2017-18 season.
Television Broadcasting: Jack “Goose” Givens was the Orlando Magic television color commentator for Sun Sports and the FS Florida cable stations, from 1989-2004. Givens was relieved of his position in 2004, over allegations of him molesting a 14-year old girl. [18] He was acquitted of the charges, but was never offered another job with any organization. He was replaced with Matt Guokas, then Jeff Turner.
Chip Carey & “Goose” Givens were originally paired from inception through 1997-98. In 1998, Carey took his shtick to TBS (and FOX), to do play-by-play for the Atlanta Braves, with his father Skip.
David Steele took over the mic in 1998-99 (he did the Magic radio broadcast 1989-98), and is still one of the best NBA play-by-play announcers. Steele has great respect for, and knowledge of the game; and is silky smooth in his call of the action. He is one of the best assets this organization has, and Magic fans have been fortunate to have him on the air all these years.
Overall, the Orlando Magic are easily one of the worst (if not the worst) organizations is American sports, No one has done less with more than the Magic in their short existence. They are eerily similar to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL, who will never win a Super Bowl, due to deep organization flaws and lack of understanding of what it takes to win. The Magic keeping hoping for more luck, instead of reflecting on & learning from, the boundless opportunities they’ve squandered over their 26-year existence. [19]
The Orlando Magic are owned by a Ponzi scheme billionaire, who understands nothing about building real value. His modus operandi is: if there are no immediate results or quick returns, then blame whomever is convenient; discard them and start anew. Right now, the Orlando Magic are as far from winning a championship as a franchise can get.
This is why star players leave Orlando, repeatedly. It’s also why free agents are no longer dazzled. The fan base is constantly being dumbed-down by the insipid journalism of the Orlando Sentinel. Michael A. Bianchi & the rest have been covering the Magic for decades, never producing any insight on the striking maladies of this franchise. There is never any reflection on past history or mistakes, and therefore never any understanding leading to diagnosis of the problem. Instead of fact-checking, hard questions, and intelligent analysis; fans & readers get pandered to, with half-baked recommendations and useless speculation. [20]
It speaks volumes that with all this history, no Orlando Magic player has had their number retired. The only retired number is 6– for the fans as the “6th Man.” Very little of the players’ sacrifices seem to be appreciated by those running the Magic. Nick Anderson, Shaquille O’Neal, Darrell Armstrong, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard all deserve to be recognized & honored. That’s the short list. It won’t happen with the Orlando Magic under DeVos, as they are the very definition of a bush-league franchise, proving you just can’t buy respect.
Taipan! (1982) is a computer turn-playing game, created by Art Canfil. It was originally playable on the Apple II and TRS-80 (Radio Shack). It is a game that tests leadership skills & resource management, with life-like perils & opportunities mixed in. As in the real world it is important in Taipan! to distinguish between the two, as good risks (as well as fatal traps) are often hidden or presented as their opposite.
A single player is the captain of a ship, which can transport goods to seven different Oriental ports. The captain also controls a warehouse in the home port of Hong Kong, which allows for 10,000 units of commodity storage.
There are four moneymaking commodities available for buy & sell at each port (values in parenthesis): general (1’s), arms (10’s), silk (100’s), and opium (1000’s). Their values fluctuate within a normal range of 5-25, with 12 being each commodity’s average. There are occasional instances of wildly high/low commodity prices, offering opportunities to make a killing or speculate at a bargain.
Commodities can be carried by the ship to any of the seven ports, for sale & purchase. Opium is illegal, and therefore can be seized by the port authorities. No other tradable commodity can be seized. The amount carriable is limited by ship size, minus the number of cannons. Each cannon takes up 10 units of ship’s hold. The first ship’s hold is 60, and always increases by 60 when buying a new ship.
The warehouse is the primary money maker, with a capacity nearly three orders of magnitude greater than the ship. It’s weakness is its vulnerability to theft, so quick turn-arounds are preferred. When dealing with warehouse units under 10,000; cover all primary commodities [opium & silk], with arms or general, to hedge against theft.
Example: You have $15,500,000 in total cash, and an opportunity to buy opium at $6,000 apiece for your warehouse. It’s an offer you can’t refuse, but you’re concerned about the possibility of theft cutting into your hard-earned stake. What’s the correct move?
Answer: Buy 2,500 opium for the warehouse (cost $15 million), and insure it by purchasing 7,500 arms or general– whichever is the better deal. Buying 7,500 general at $25 each (it’s highest typical cost) is still only $187,500, which equals 31.25 units of opium at $6,000 each. If you are hit with theft, the relatively worthless 7,500 general will take the biggest hit, instead of your precious 2,500 opium.
Hong Kong is also unique in that it features a bank and money lender, along with a shipyard for repairs— services no other port offers. The bank allows for unlimited cash deposits and withdrawals, and pays an interest rate of 0.5% per turn– measured in months.
The money lender is the game’s Black Hand. This is the mafia you must pay-off for protection; otherwise he sends his ferocious pirates, and you become a Galley Hand who sleeps with the fishes.
You can borrow money from him, which can be useful if a golden opportunity presents itself. Money lender interest rates are brutal, so borrow only manageable amounts. Avoid leveraging to fill the warehouse (unless opium drops to $5,000 per unit or lower), as theft & money-lender interest will tend to eat most of the profits.
You can borrow up to twice your available cash on hand. Start each game (No cannons, $400 cash & $5000 debt), by borrowing $800 from the money lender. This starts you with $1200 cash and $5,800 debt; a much better cash/debt ratio. The money lending bug must remain disabled, otherwise the game of Taipan! becomes unbalanced, and no longer a test of management skill.
If you start with 5 cannons & no cash (the easier game option); you are looking to clobber a band of pirates and grab some booty. Once you’ve acquired the cash, go to Hong Kong and borrow from the money lender to jump-start trading.
On the high seas, your ship can (and will) be attacked by pirates. It is advisable to never carry more than $200,000-$300,000 in cash, as larger amounts make you a screaming target for robbery while in port. Carrying excessive cargo (especially opium) after the first $10-$20 million has been banked, invites larger-scale pirate attacks and opium seizures with fines. This could prevent purchasing a cannon, or even worse, a new ship when most needed. It’s called ‘Bad Joss‘ and a minimal level is unavoidable, but this game routinely punishes those who are careless & sloppy.
You must pay Li Yuen whatever he asks, until you have at least 40+ cannons; otherwise the Black Hand will send 48 nasty pirates–eventually in consecutive waves. When you are summoned for a ‘donation,’ go immediately. If you already have ship damage and fear a large-fleet (30+ pirates) assault, sell all cargo (even at a loss), so you can run faster if necessary. Dumping means you waited too late.
Never have the ship’s carrying hold bigger than 80 or 90; and understand that 30-50 is ideal. A bigger ship is a bigger target for enemy guns; it also evades more slowly.
Make the big money from warehouse deals; then later in interest earnings from the bank. Notice the interest banked per turn when your deposits are over $200 million, and realize how real money is made.
This is an emulator screen shot of a well-played game, with fair luck:
By the time you reach the rank of Taipan, life on the seas becomes all about evading trouble & finding cannons–and a new ship, as needed. Cannons are always snatched up until the hold is near-full, or even completely full. A new ship simply means room for more cannons, not a bigger cargo hold. Cannons are the game’s most precious resource, as they are the only route to invincibility & peace of mind.
Until then, you the captain must learn when to run, and when to fight to the death. This is part calculated risk, and part art form; a blend of fighting nerve, savvy & leadership skills. Eventually Li Yuen turns his fleet of pirates loose, and you must be able to defend yourself. You can’t outrun 40+ pirates. When your ship has 45+ cannons, any 48-pirate attack [the maximum number] can be wiped out, while sustaining no more than 25% damage. Always make contingencies for storm damage, by getting to Hong Kong ASAP for repairs at 50% health or lower.
When the solicited ‘donations’ get to be astronomical, retiring is often the best game option. Even though you are invincible, their constant harassment makes it impossible to do business.
In summary, Taipan! is a classic computer game from the 1980’s, a great tool for developing leadership, management and life skills. It capsulizes & mimics many of the challenges people must deal with under capitalism on the path to success including: courage, recognizing opportunities, and risk management. All of this is weaved into an easily learnable & addicting classic computer game.
Do you have a favorite team, which you have rooted for forever, but never wins?
Does it irritate, depress, or frustrate you that they lose, with no chance of winning?
Say No to all of this, with Fan Free Agency; in which fans (like the players & owners) can renegotiate their loyalties, whenever its convenient. Let me illustrate…
Growing up, I was a Cincinnati Reds fan. It was the mid-1970’s, and they were baseball’s best team. Joe Morgan (2B) was my favorite player, because he played smart and could do it all. When the Big Red Machine was traded away/ broke down, I hung with them through the losing of the 1980’s. After being denied the playoffs in 1981, despite having the best record in baseball, the Reds once proud farm system now produced more suspects than prospects– in the forms of Ron Oester, Gary Redus, and Nick Esasky. Player/ manager Pete Rose’s betting scandal rocked the organization by decade’s end, and Marge Schott’s racism & ignorant ownership meddling always lurked in the background. Patience was finally rewarded in 1990, when the Reds went wire-to-wire and won the World Series, sweeping the mighty Oakland A’s.
Diehards stayed with them when they were quickly surpassed by the Atlanta Braves in the 1990’s. Center-fielder Eric Davis & SS Barry Larkin were my favorite players. I really didn’t care for other Reds ‘star’ players including Reggie Sanders, Ron Gant, and Hal Morris; whom I noticed were almost always neutralized by good pitching. But hey–you still stick with your team, right? So I did, even when I knew they couldn’t compete with the best.
When the Reds went all-in on Ken Griffey Jr. in 2000, fans were excited. A few years later, the reality of Griffey’s superstar contract on the DL had left hardcore supporters waiting on the next crop of prospects including: Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Johnny Cueto. The bandbox ballpark they had just built, to accommodate Griffey Jr. in his pursuit of Aaron’s career HR record, hurt their development of starting pitchers and outfield defense.
Despite all that, things started looking up for the Reds when they acquired perennial Devil Rays prospect Josh Hamilton from the Cubs in 2007, who hit .292/.368/.554 in 90 games in CF for Cincinnati. Reds management didn’t recognize what they had, and dealt Hamilton to Texas in the off-season for Edinson Volquez; where Josh became a 5-time All-Star, AL MVP, and helped the Rangers win two pennants.
To complete the 2007-08 off-season double-disaster, the Reds also brought in Dusty Baker to be their manager. Dusty Baker’s low-OBP, small-ball, “aggressive” style has long been been a losing strategy in MLB– even since his playing days in the 1970’s.
Dusty is also notorious as a wrecker of pitchers (see Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Jason Schmidt, Russ Ortiz), managing the SF Giants from 1993-2002, all with superstar Barry Bonds; winning his only pennant in 2002. The Giants were set to win it all, until the 7th inning of Game 6, when the Giants suffered one of the worst meltdowns in World Series history. [collapse starts at 2:15 in the video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB-mFRKQBQE
* Barry Bonds was the real MVP of the 2002 World Series
After losing the heart-breaker shown above, and then Game 7 the following night; the Giants didn’t renew Baker’s contract. Cubs GM Jim Hendry signed Baker to manage the Northsiders. Dusty’s reign ended ignominiously when star RF Sammy Sosa & Baker both mishandled game situations & criticism, wearing out their welcome in Chicago. Wrigley Field normally has the most optimistic, soft-hearted & forgiving fans in baseball; but a majority of Cubs fans had little affection for Baker’s brusque style by the end of his tenure in 2006.
Baker’s problems have always included: not trusting younger players; overemphasis on small-ball tactics; bullpen management; and of course– abusing his starting pitchers. He, like many old-school ballplayers, refuses to understand the value of sabermetrics, statistical analysis, medical science, etc; and is therefore ill-equipped to manage a MLB team in this era.
The video above, from the infamous ‘Steve Bartman’ game, is vintage Dusty Baker; staying with his young stud starter too long (119 pitches), while his team falls apart fundamentally. He ceaseless fidgets his toothpick throughout. Mark Prior was never the same after this outing, as his promising career was cut short by rotator cuff injuries.
Dusty Baker: Cincinnati Reds Manager 2008-13
Bad decisions don’t win, and the Dusty Baker-managed Cincinnati Reds of 2008-13 confirmed that theory; as he never won much in Cincinnati, even though he had talented players with an owner willing to spend.
Still a lifelong Reds fan through 2007, it no longer made sense to let myself be held hostage to the short-sightedness of professional nitwits. I simply did what any reasonable, non-masochistic baseball fan would do– pick a new favorite team.
Enter the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who were the joke of MLB from their inception in 1998, until Stuart Sternberg acquired controlling interest of the team from Vince Naimoli in 2005. From there the TB Devil Rays invested in sabermetric scouting & evaluation, with much-improved player development; quickly putting together an enviable farm system, even as they were still perennially finishing last.
They changed the franchise name to the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2008 season, just as their prospects were maturing; and to the complete surprise of most, won the AL pennant in 2008. It looked like the beginning of many trips to the fall classic, with a roster full of young talent and another top draft pick to come.
Under GM Andrew Friedman and savvy manager Joe Maddon, the Rays competed with the high-payroll Yankees & Red Sox for six seasons on sheer hard work, brains and a shoestring budget; until it finally snapped on July 31, 2014 when the Rays dealt LHP David Price (the best pitcher they’ll ever have, with another year of arbitration remaining), to the Detroit Tigers for prospects.
In the 2014-15 off-season; RF Wil Myers, 2B Ben Zobrist, and OF Matt Joyce (all championship-level players with team-friendly contracts) were jettisoned for no good reason. A return to the World Series for the Rays was never-to-be, as poor drafts & stunted player development ended the talent pipeline. Ownership’s refusal to invest in talent eventually whittled the short-stacked Rays into the AL East fodder they are today.
Now, everything with the Rays centers on getting the taxpayers to build them a new stadium. Tropicana Field was designed by original owner Vince Naimoli. It is a charmless domed stadium located at the end of a peninsula, making it poorly accessible to most of the Tampa-St. Petersburg population. It rightfully stands as a monument of Floridian thoughtlessness & greed, with the TB Rays locked into a 30-year lease through 2027. Rays fans are annually bombarded with veiled threats from ownership to move, if the taxpayers don’t pitch in. [1]
Stuart Sternberg in a 2011Tampa Tribune interview said, “Every year that goes by increases the possibility that we won’t be here. If there is something inevitable, you have to deal with it. At some point, my partners in baseball are going to throw their hands up in the air and say, ‘enough is enough.’” [2]
A baseball fan’s advice to Stu Sternberg who is worth an estimated $800 million [3]: try keeping your best players, and fill in on-the-field needs with (at least) mid-level contracts. If you always punt on C, 1B, DH, and LF; then you don’t score enough runs for your awesome pitching staff. That’s how you piss away chance after chance to win it all, with 70-80% of the talent already there.
The Rays revolutionized team defense, proving Defensive Efficiency Rating (the percentage of batted balls in play, minus home runs, converted into outs) and other defensive sabermetrics to be superior in comparison to traditional defense metrics (errors, assists, put-outs, etc). Advanced metrics show the Rays defense at their peak (CF BJ Upton/ LF Carl Crawford era) was historically great.
Rays ownership & front office consistently played for tomorrow with arbitration eligibility, holding back its best prospects (even when they were desperately needed [see Desmond Jennings, Wil Myers]), in order to extend their peak seasons before free agency. Many players rightfully resented those tactics (see Upton & Crawford for sure), and considering the talent the Rays organization had, it seems a shame the front office never was allowed to value winning ahead of cost savings & revenue projections.
The Rays consistently had one of the lowest payrolls in MLB ($40-70 million), while competing in the AL East against the NY Yankees & BOS Red Sox, both in the $140-220 million range. Their pitching staff, along with their defense, was the best in baseball. Nobody put together & managed a bullpen better than Joe Maddon. What the Rays needed was another $15-20 million, well-spent on bats; but ownership would never approve it. That will be the sad, but enduring legacy of the 2008-14 Tampa Bay Rays.
For me, the Rays and their remaining hardcore fans will suffer on their own– with the assurance that winning is but a distant memory. Outside of 3B Evan Longoria (signed to a ridiculously low long-term deal), most of their winning talent is now somewhere else– or on the DL. Their championship window was carelessly squandered, by an ownership that refused to care for its product on the field, because it really only cares about getting itself a new field.
The point of all this is: why support teams that run themselves poorly? Why should fans be loyal to teams that don’t invest in themselves? One solution is to become a free agent fan, and choose an organization that runs itself well; that proves it wants to win by building from within, while spending (& dealing) wisely. Those are qualities a baseball fan can admire and get behind.
This free agent fan chooses the San Diego Padres as his favorite MLB team in 2015. I’ve never seen much of the Padres, but I like the moves they’ve made in the off-season. They play in a pitcher’s park (cool), and newly-acquired RHP James Shields was my favorite player with TB. He joins Wil Myers (the guy he was dealt to KC for), so I’m in on the Padres. BJ Upton is also in the mix, so no West-coast bias here. Matt Kemp is a great player, and his health is key.
The Lowdown: the Padres are trying to compete against the defending world champion SF Giants (who haven’t repeated in their run), and the sky high-payroll LA Dodgers in the NL West. Rockies & Diamondbacks are considered to be second division clubs, until proven otherwise. Padres have upped their payroll to $108 million in order to take a shot.
The new format of two wild-cards helps their chances. As always in baseball, you never know how it will turn out, but at least 2015 Padres fans can feel like their team has committed itself to winning.
Think in terms of winning value & money spent, and see you in October. Good judgement in those areas are all a baseball fan can expect from management & ownership under capitalism.
Map below: the USA vs. Japan, Pacific WW2 theater– 1941-45
Map below: less than six months to the atom bomb on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Note the end caption: Japs Reduced to Home Islands
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In Europe, the Allies (United States, Great Britain & France) defeated Axis powers Germany & Italy, on the western front & Africa; while the USSR engaged 80% of all German troops (and suffered the brunt of Nazi atrocities) on the eastern front
Map above: the Allies & the USSR link up by the spring of 1945, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, and the beginning of the US cold war with the Soviet Union (1945-1991)
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Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the increasingly fascist US ruling elite has seized the military initiative towards world domination (at the insane risk of a nuclear WW3)– in order to offset its economic losses
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Map scans are from Pictorial History of the Second World War (published in 1946) by Wm. H. Wise; with searing photos from the many sides of war, back when this type of historical accounting was encouraged and made publicly available
Message to Washington, the Pentagon, & Wall Street: it has always been impossible to militarily conquer the world
Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort (1695) in the continental United States; only Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico is older.
Both fortresses stand as monuments from the age of conquistadors, which flowed from the Spanish re-conquest of the Iberian peninsula over Islamic forces.
After the Moors were defeated, Portugal and Spain commissioned young men to seek out & conquer the New World.
Conquistador Pedro Menendez-de Aviles: St. Augustine’s founder in 1565
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés had commanded the galleons of the great Armada de la Carrera (Treasure Fleet), on their voyages from the Caribbean and Mexico to Spain.
In 1565, the Spanish decided to destroy the French outpost of Fort Caroline, located in what is present-day Jacksonville.
The crown approached Menéndez to outfit an expedition to Florida, and settle the region for Spain.
The settlement of St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menéndez in September of 1565, in the former Timucua Indian village of Seloy.
The location of the settlement was chosen for its defensibility and proximity to a fresh water artesian spring.
St. Augustine remains the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the continental United States.
The Timucua were American Indians who lived in north Florida and southeast Georgia.
They were the largest indigenous group in that area, probably numbering between 200,000 and 300,000.
Contact of indigenous North American tribes with European peoples began some time around 1502, as there exists a Portuguese map of the coast of Florida dating from this time.
Initial contacts were always violent and tragic; as the Portuguese were looking for slaves to work in their sugar plantations of the Caribbean and Brazil.
Earliest European map of Florida & Brazil (1502)
Old World microbes effectively depopulated huge areas of the New World, as Native Americans of this time had no resistance to communicable diseases beyond the common cold.
Measles, mumps, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, diphtheria, etc… carried off millions of Native American lives.
This began in the Caribbean in October of 1492, when Christopher Columbus under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain; sailed to the Bahamas (San Salvador), and massacred the peaceful & friendly Lucayan Indians.
Christopher Columbus journal entry, 12/13 October 1492:
Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador to capture them; they defend themselves the best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves. They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion. If it pleases our Lord, I will take six of them to Your Highnesses when I depart, in order that they may learn our language…I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased.
Columbus then sailed to Cuba & Hispaniola, where he encountered Taino/Arawak Indians, who met a similar fate.
Spanish colonization of the New World relied on slaughtering & enslaving Native American men, while taking their women as concubines.
Thus the Timucua, Lucaya, Arawak/ Taino Indians (among many others) were absorbed into Spanish mestizo culture.
Today, these civilizations are considered extinct.
Conquistador Juan Ponce de León hoped for something to find…
Juan Ponce de León landed near St. Augustine in 1513.
…but he could see no place to unwind
Located on the shore of Matanzas Bay, Castillo de San Marcos was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza.
Matanzas Bay, looking out from Castillo de San Marcos
Slaves were imported from Havana, Cuba to build it; construction began in 1672, and was completed in 1695.
Castillo de San Marcos is a masonry star fort, made of coquina; a porous and versatile limestone consisting of seashells which have been pulverized by the ocean and become cemented together.
Coquina: ubiquitous in St. Augustine, FL
Castillo de San Marcos has been improved, renovated, and renamed many times over its centuries of existence.
It has transferred sovereign flags seven times in its history, all peacefully; despite repeated attempts to take it by force.
The British Navy twice unsuccessfully laid siege to Spanish St. Augustine.
The first time was in 1702, a two-month duel that ended when the Spanish fleet arrived from Havana.
St. Augustine the town, was destroyed as collateral damage from the siege.
A second English siege occurred in 1740, but was abandoned after a month– due to low supplies & failing morale.
Both times, the approximately 1,500 St. Augustine residents and soldiers packed into the fort.
Castillo de San Marcos’ coquina walls are notable for their strength and durability; withstanding centuries of weather & enemy cannon fire.
Cannon loaded at Castillo de San Marcos
Cannon balls from attacking ships were simply absorbed into the thick coquina walls, much like a BB into a dense mass of natural styrofoam.
Holes were easily refilled with fresh coquina, making the fortress impregnable to the artillery of that era.
Never taken by force, it has been truly claimed that Castillo de San Marcos has balls of steel.
Castillo de San Marcos’ coquina blocks close-up
From the water at sunset
Under US sovereignty, Castillo de San Marcos was renamed Fort Marion.
It functioned mostly as a military prison for Native Americans– until it was decommissioned in 1900.
Castillo de San Marcos was designated a US national monument in 1924.
The Seminole Wars were the US-initiated conflicts in Florida, between the Seminole Indians and the US Army between 1816-1858.
They were the bloodiest US conflicts between the War of 1812 and the American Civil War (1861-65).
A US military victory in the Creek War (1813-1814), made Colonel Andrew Jackson a national hero.
In 1816, General Andrew Jackson attacked the Seminoles, and the Spanish at Pensacola.
Jackson was ultimately victorious again, as Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821.
Andrew Jackson later became the 7th President of the United States (1829–1837).
The Seminoles were ultimately defeated, removed, and imprisoned.
Creek braves were recruited and paid as mercenaries/scouts to assist the US military, in rooting out the resourceful & courageous Seminole Indians.
Seminole chief Osceola was taken prisoner during the Second Seminole War (1835-42), while attending a peace conference near St. Augustine, under a flag of truce.
He was imprisoned at Fort Marion, and soon after died of disease– as did many of his followers.
Chief Osceola Statue in Silver Springs, FL_ photo by NeilEvans
In January 1861, Florida joined the Confederacy, seceding from the United States.
Union troops had already withdrawn from the fort, leaving only one caretaker.
When Confederate troops marched on its walls, the solitary Union soldier refused to surrender– until he was given a receipt from the Confederacy.
A receipt was produced, and Fort Marion was taken by the Confederacy without a shot fired.
Most of the artillery was stripped and sent to other Confederate forts, leaving only five cannons in the water battery.
The Saint Augustine Blues were a militia unit enrolled into the Confederate Army at Ft. Marion in 1861.
Fort Marion, along with the rest of the city of St. Augustine was reoccupied by Union troops on March 11, 1862.
Confederate forces left St. Augustine the previous evening, in anticipation of the arrival of the Union fleet.
Saint Augustine Blues– Confederate militia flag (1861)
After the inevitable Union victory, Manifest Destiny was fulfilled.
Capitalist industrialization developed breech‐loading rifles and machine guns; dooming Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Comanche civilizations.
Numerous Native Americans of these tribes (and many others) were held prisoner & died in Castillo de San Marcos; as a result of the Plains Indian Wars (1854–90).
Tolomato Cemetery is a private Catholic graveyard located on Cordova Street in St. Augustine, Florida.
Its wood structures were scrapped for firewood in the 19th century, leaving only the original coquina bell tower intact today.
Members of the Saint Augustine Blues are buried in a row [front left] at Tolomato Cemetery.
Tolomato Cemetery in St. Augustine
Another historically significant burial at Tolomato is that of Georges Biassou, a leader of the Saint-Domingue slave uprising in 1791.
Biassou became a Spanish general, supplied with guns & matériel to fight the French, until slavery was abolished in Hispaniola in 1793.
France maintained its control of Hispaniola until 1802, when a renewed rebellion began.
Napoléon Bonaparte ordered Hispaniola (along with the rest of New World) to be abandoned in 1803; the territory declared its independence from France, establishing the Republic of Haiti in 1804.
Biassou was ordered to St. Augustine in 1796, as Spain’s monarchy feared his leadership of the black rebels, more than the French military.
Renamed Jorge Biassou, he remained in Florida until his death in 1801.
He is buried in an unmarked grave.
