Blackhawks Knocked Out

The 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks were knocked out of the playoffs for the second year in a row, this time by the Phoenix Coyotes. Being an avid Blackhawks fan I was just as disappointed this year as I was last, when the Blackhawks went down 4-0 to the Vancouver Canucks, but fought back only to lose in game 7. You can't expect to win every year, but I always find myself doing exactly that. Is it because we have already won the Stanley Cup that coming up any shorter is a disappointment? Or is just an American expectation to always be first? In their final loss to the Coyotes, Mike Smith (the Coyote's goalie), had a shutout with 39 saves (Chicago Tribune Article) He played sensational through the entire series and was just too much for the Blackhawks to handle. The Phoenix Coyotes advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. I can't quite understand the hysteria behind playoff sports as every team is competing for that one final spot, but each time your team loses it is almost unbearable. Nothing other than first is acceptable and that is an American value seen over and over again in American society.

American Born Masters Champion

This past weekend, the Masters was hosted at Augusta National, in Georgia. The pressure was there once again, and the need to compete and place also. Tiger Woods, America's golf "hero" was favored to win the Masters, but fell short once again. Instead, this year's winner was Bubba Watson, with a miraculous last shot in a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen. In tears accepting his green jacket Bubba finally was a winner, saying in tears, "I never got this far in my dreams" (ESPN article). The winner of one of the best golf tournaments of all time.
While watching the Masters, I couldn't help compare the competition to that of New Trier. Everyone is fighting for that one spot, but there can only be one winner, one person gets to put on that Green Jacket at the end of Sunday.
No one likes coming in second, but the competition to be number one is just so great. I think that it is an American value to settle for nothing less than first. As Ricky Bobby famed in the great Talladega Nights, "If you ain't first your last", and it is the truth for Americans. What a way for Watson to win with a crazy hook out of the trees onto the tenth green. It was almost like the American dream, with a little bit of luck, and the right amount of hard work and determination you can achieve anything you dream of. As Watson tapped in that last putt to become a Masters champion, he conquered his.

Whistleblowing Legislation

In the past few years, there has been a push for a new piece of legislation, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. What this proposed bill would essentially do would be to ease up on the restrictions on federal whistleblowing, most importantly implementing that federal whistleblowers would get the right to trial by jury. However, in the bill's most recent push through the House of Representatives didn't go as intended. In a blog written by Richard Renner, a lawyer who was worked for more than 27 years advocating for whistleblower rights, he wrote that the amendments to the bill made by the House would, "Cut out the right to a jury trial for federal employees". The amendments also backfired on another platform where it now would empower the board that reviews whistleblower cases, the Merit Systems Protection Board, to be able to summarily dismiss whistleblower cases. The government also would be able to view the cases in the special court system that has been notorious for being unfair to whistelblowers, with a track record of 3 successful appeals out of 210 (taken from Tom Devine's Interview with On the Media). It seems that the advancements that are trying to be made in this ordeal seem to backfire, and no progress is being made. The government seems very content with the system to censor federal employees and does not want to change it by the constant refusals to pass any amending bills. Why? If national security was the sole issue, by at least giving whistleblowers the right to trial by jury, these decisions could be made case by case if the whistleblower was at fault for releasing the information. Simple amendments like that could be made so the government could show whistleblower advocates that they are trying to find a fair middle ground, but the government refuses to cooperate. What changes could be made so both sides are happy? Is there no middle ground, just protection or no protection at all?