Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Vick triggers salacious speculation
Dear Readers, The
stunning announcement of
the indictment of Michael
Vick, for participating in an
alleged dog-fighting ring,
has triggered an avalanche
of salacious speculation.
However, I’m not sure
that the full extent of Vick’s
legal troubles has been made
clear.
In many ways, the Vick
Indictment is rather simple;
after all, there is only one
count for Conspiracy (there
is also a forfeiture count that
is not a criminal charge).
Even the number of defen
dants (four), each identi
fied by name and nickname
(Michael Vick being known
as “Ookie”) is a relatively
small number of participants
for a conspiracy - two being
the bare minimum.
The criminal enterprise is
named “Bad Newz Kennels,”
complete with hats and shirts
and other paraphernalia.
The base of this enter
prise was Vick’s Moonlight
Road (Virginia) property,
purchased personally by
Vick on June 29, 2001;
essentially, the beginning
date for the conspiracy.
Federal jurisdiction must
be based on interstate com
merce or activity crossing
state lines.
In Vick’s case, this is done
by alleging that “Bad Newz
Kennels” bought dogs spe
cifically for fighting from
other states, transported
them to Moonlight Road,
staged fights there, with par
ticipants from other states,
and transported dogs from
Virginia for fights in other
states.
Aside from the jurisdic
tional issue and the num-
Letter to the editor
Universal healthcare
Mr. Gadbois is absolutely in love with “universal health
care”. Interestingly, he firmly believes that government
qan $o for healthcare what, it fails to .do in every , other,
endeavor Provide quality service with a minimum of cost.
Even'tße girthing Mr‘Gadbois recognizes the failures of
government as he sees evidenced by its Katrina Relief
Effort, military spending and the profoundly wonderful
healthcare environment found at WWW Medical Center
in Washington D.C. Still, he champions socialized health
care as envisioned by the neo-Marxist Hillary Clinton.
Let me address the issue by providing a few recent facts
and a simple statement that we cannot afford govern
ment run healthcare. More than a question of afford
ability is the certainty of healthcare rationing which
will diminish the quality of healthcare already avail
able to ALL Americans, whether insured or not.
Medicare insures all citizens over age 65 and those under age
65 with certain disabilities. Medicaid provides healthcare
for our poor citizens. State children’s’ health insurance pro
grams cover uninsured children (there is some overlap with
Medicaid). Public Health Offices offer primary healthcare
LETTERS
From page 4A
to do so for the foreseeable
future. Couple this with the
fact that the so called “trust
fund” is an absolute myth
perpetrated by the crooked
politicians in * Washington,
and you have the mak
ings of a financial disaster.
Well documented studies
estimate that the unfunded
liability in Social Security
and Medicare is some $44
trillion (that’s trillion, with
a “T”) that future workers
the ]
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ber of individuals, the crime
of conspiracy is defined as
an agreement to commit
certain crimes or what are
called “predicate acts” or
“predicate crimes.” So long
as there is
the agree
me n t
amongst
the vari
ous mem
bers of
the con
spiracy to
commit
some type
of illegal
act, they
Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
are all guilty of what any
one co-defendant has done.
Moreover, these acts can
be a violation of any law,
not just a federal one. This,
of course, is the dramatic
“guts” of the case, which
has been characterized in
the media with words like
“sickening” and “horrific.”
The 19-page Indictment,
painstakingly describes the
enterprise’s alleged illegal
activities from early in 2001
until as late as April 25,
2007.
Over a dozen dogs were
killed, primarily by shooting,
with two (2) being executed
by electrocution, and others
killed by hanging, drowning
and, a least one, by being
thrown to or smashed on the
ground.
Vick is not alleged to have
killed any of the dogs, but he
is described as knowing of
one electrocution and being
present for one shooting.
Each of these executions
were done to non-perform
ing dogs, either from “fail
ing” in training or after los
ing a fight.
are going to have to some
how come up with to keep
this scheme afloat, despite
the fact that current payroll
tax rates have increased to
more than five times the
1960 rate. So, to address
the shortfall, any logical
estimate would say that the
payroll tax rates, currently
at 15.3 percent (on earn
ings up to $97,500), would
have to be raised to near 50
percent. The Commissioner
of Social Security some 10
years ago estimated that
new workers coming into
the system at that time
(southern ORCHARD
The tone of the Indictment
suggests that Vick may have
a tough time mounting a
strong defense.
While witnesses are
described variously as being
“known and unknown to the
Grand Jury,” there are also
four witnesses described
as being “Cooperating
Witnesses,” known as CW
No. 1 through CW No. 4.
The first of these CWs
appears to be someone with
intimate knowledge of the
operation and the other
three are out-of-state spon
sors of fighting dogs, who
were participants in gam
bling on the fights.
One of these CWs describes
Vick as retrievingthe “purse”
cash proceeds from a book
bag; another, describes Vick
as directly handing him his
cash winnings.
Hence, it appears that an
“inside” player has turned
on him.
We also know that there
was a substantial amount
of incriminating circumstan
tial evidence found on Vick’s
property.
As we will see next week, it
remains to be seen if Vick’s
co-defendants also turn on
him, for which they will have
a strong incentive to do so.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center
and is a former Houston
Co. Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former
Miami Prosecutor. E-mail
confidential legal questions
to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com. Visit www.rockefeller
lawcenter.com for Frequently
Asked Questions and
Jim’s blog, The Rockefeller
Report.
services for anyone and charges services based on income. If
there is no income, there is no charge. Hospital emergency
rooms provide emergency services for all citizens, whether
insured or uninsured. It should be noted that these indigent
charges are typically financed via various tax programs and
by the practice of “cost shifting”, which means that addi
tional-charges or oviet charges are made to insured clients.
In 2003, Medicare Served 41 million Americans at a cost'of
$277 billion or roughly 13 percent of the Federal budget. The
prescription drug benefit adds an estimated $395 billion of
obligations to a program that is projected to be broke by 2019
as aging baby boomers begin mandated Medicare coverage.
There are estimates that within 25 years the number of
beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare will increase to 70 million
while their out-of-pocket expenses will increase 80 percent
during that same period. That means Medicare alone will
encompass a minimum of 25 percent of the Federal budget
within two decades. AARP provides an even more alarming
estimate of total Medicare costs in year 2000 as $470 billion.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, Medicaid enrollees were estimated in 2004
to be 42.9 million Americans at a cost of $295 billion.
As can be readily seen, the costs of Medicare and
See GADBOIS, page iiA
would never be able to
recover through future ben
efits anywhere close to the
amount paid into the system.
So, Mr. Gadbois, Social
Security and Medicare may
be a great deal for your gen
eration, but we are leaving
a debt legacy for our chil
dren and grandchildren that
will spell financial’ruin, at
best. It’s really sad when
people like President Bush
try to take just a baby step
to address this problem, that
he is vilified by ignorant vot
ers, special interest groups
and politicians whose sole
LOCAL
The paradox of 'self
This article is for me. I
will ponder it repeat
edly until it finally
sinks in. Why?
Because I am selfish.
Because I am self-focused
and self-indulgent. Because
I want to control things I
can’t. And because I don’t
adequately * control the
things I can.
Are you a leader? You
may derive some value from
this article, too. Just reread
that previous paragraph.
Consider whether you can
admit that those sentences
describe you, too.
Another leader, one I
admire a lot, said “I came
to serve, not to be served.”
That’s what I aspire to.
That’s what you could
aspire to, also.
Let’s examine what I
(you) control. I control my
thoughts. Oops, there’s
the first stumbling block.
I usually assume that cir
cumstances control my
thoughts. However, that
concept is false. The pre
sumption continues to exist
because it’s so convenient
(and because it’s such a
common belief).
If you doubt that you con
trol your thoughts, spend
some time contemplating
this point. You may be such
a creature of habit that you
only know of one way to
respond to a given stimu
lus.
Assuming I control my
thoughts, I can generate
options for how I respond
to a given circumstance.
interest is staying in office.
Bring on the Fair Tax. It’s
our only hope.
Robert S. Messer, Perry
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Then I can choose what
option I prefer to pursue. If
I desire, I then can choose
to execute that option or
not. (More on “executing
choices” next week!)
OK, let’s recap. I control
my thoughts, the options
I generate, the choices I
make from among those
options, and the behaviors I
execute. Wow! That’s a lot!
So, why is it that when my
wife makes a simple com-
W .V
■TJi
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
dhooper2 @ juno.com
I admire the one who
advocates service to others.
My making a disgruntled
look or a sarcastic comment
sure isn’t serving my wife
very well!
Oh, the paradox of self!
My purpose is to serve: my
wife, my employees, my
customers. Yet I often don’t
control the things I know I
can. And I want to control
things I know I can’t!
I want to control my wife
the things she says, her
tone of voice, and the looks
she gives. But I am not able
to do that. I can’t control
my wife; she has an inde
pendent mind and her own
opinions.
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
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You may want to control
those over whom you have
authority. They probably
have independent minds,
too. Sorry! You can’t con
trol them! And you’ll never
change that.
So, with this article, I
acknowledge the truth of
the paradox of self. The only
thing in life I can control is
my “self.” Yet, my “self”
can control very little. Still,
I am here for the sole pur
pose not of serving me, but
of serving others!
Here is what I think is
possible. Be intentional
about your thoughts, choic
es, and behaviors. Use them
to productively influence
everything else.
Influence? Sure! Many of
the circumstances I face in
life, I can influence. For
example, I can influence
my wife.
She respects me, and she
considers the alternatives
I offer as she makes her
choices.
You can influence those
over whom you have
authority, too. Share with
them the options you are
considering when faced
with a tough challenge.
Let them help you evalu
ate likely outcomes of each.
Encourage them to rou
tinely look for better, more
productive ways of doing
their work.
Dennis Hooper is a certi
fied leadership development
coach, inspiring leaders to
build organizations of excel
lence. Call him at 478-988-
0237 or send an e-mail to
dhooper2@juno.com.
ment, I
some
times fly
off the
handle?
That’s
not at
all con
sistent
with the
guid
ance
from
that
leader
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237 dhoopcr2@juno.conf
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