The Senator from Comcast?: Arlen Specter and SpyGate

[Wildo7]

I strongly urge people to read beyond these first paragraphs because this article gets to the heart of the issue better than any I've seen yet.

http://edgeofsports.com/2008-03-03-329/index.html

The Senator from Comcast?: Arlen Specter and SpyGate
By Dave Zirin

SpyGate is the sports scandal du jour. It centers on the New England Patriots surreptitious videotaping of the New York Jets last September and the subsequent destruction of the evidence by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In response to Goodell's gaffe, Senator Arlen Specter has been raising hell on the Hill. Sounds normal enough. We all know politicians have a chemical addiction to the ESPN/C-SPAN simulcast. Well, something stinks in the world of SpyGate. Call it a spectre over Specter. Call it a distasteful conflict of interest. Call it manna from heaven for Coach Bill Belichick and his morally impaired Patriots staff. Call it an unfair accusation against an august Senator with motives more pure than a Troy Aikman spiral. But whatever you call it, don't say that tongues aren't wagging in NFL suites and behind the closed doors of Congress.

The story begins with the righteous anger of the cancer-surviving, 78-year-old Senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter. He has presented himself to the sports world as the populist of pigskin, pushing back against the big, bad NFL in what has become known as SpyGate. Specter has shredded NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in the press for destroying videotapes of the Patriots spying on the New York Jets during their Sept. 9 season-opening game.

The longtime GOP Senator from Pennsylvania effectively called Goodell a liar, saying, "The commissioner's explanation as to why he destroyed the tapes does not ring true."

Specter says he has taken up this crusade because he is a football fan haunted by the Patriots three-point Super Bowl win over his Philadelphia Eagles.

He has also said, "I think the Congress has a legitimate interest. It really all melds together with their other practices, which are not really too concerned about the fan and the consumers. We have a right to have honest football games that are played according to the rules."

 

[JoeSixPat]

If there's new information there, I'm missing it as everyone already knows of Specter's conflict of interest and the high amounts of money he continues to take from Comcast employees - in any event I'm not sure it needs its own thread though as there's a current discussion about Specter and I don't want this guy filling up our message board with multiple links about him.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=79356

As mentioned on that thread, since he's currently fond of issuing challenges to Goodell, I'd hope he'd respond favorably to the challenge of releasing all his correspondence with Comcast, holding himself to the same standard he expects of others.

After all, what's more important? Cheating in football or corruption in Congress?

 

[363839]

Sure. It's nice this writer is taking Specter to task but the writer still wants to pee on the Patriots.

 

[AllabouttheVinces]

Wildo, I think you're onto something here. The stench of Specter's conflict of interest is far worse than anything the Patriots might have done. Why does this man have any credibility at all?

 

[spacecrime]

Holy Cow! There's a Senator interested in Spygate?!?!?!!?!

Why hasn't there been a thread about this already ?????

 

[Jimke]

I strongly urge people to read beyond these first paragraphs because this article gets to the heart of the issue better than any I've seen yet.

http://edgeofsports.com/2008-03-03-329/index.html

Specter's latest request is for Walsh's lawyers and the NFL's lawyers

to make public all the e-mails they have exchanged. This would be

the first time that legal negotiations have been conducted in public.

I suspect that Specter has already been made privy to the e-mails.

If the Pats ever give Walsh total immunity and let him off the hook,

they should have their heads examined.

 

[Mr.Muhozi]

a guy is making all this noise because his team lost to us in the superbowl, this is a joke, a complete joke, thanks for the article cleared up a lot of things

 

[Wildo7]

Holy Cow! There's a Senator interested in Spygate?!?!?!!?!

Why hasn't there been a thread about this already ?????

Yes because that's all the article says "there's a senator interested in spygate." Thanks for your contribution.

 

[Wildo7]

If there's new information there, I'm missing it as everyone already knows of Specter's conflict of interest and the high amounts of money he continues to take from Comcast employees - in any event I'm not sure it needs its own thread though as there's a current discussion about Specter and I don't want this guy filling up our message board with multiple links about him.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=79356

As mentioned on that thread, since he's currently fond of issuing challenges to Goodell, I'd hope he'd respond favorably to the challenge of releasing all his correspondence with Comcast, holding himself to the same standard he expects of others.

After all, what's more important? Cheating in football or corruption in Congress?

I thought that was from the Onion or something. Any way, yes it's been talked about but I haven't seen an article written on it yet so I thought I'd share.

 

[BPF]

I agree with Florio on these points below, well said.

http://beta.profootballtalk.com/2008...et-walsh-talk/

We agree with Specter. The letters should be released. But why isn’t Specter asking Walsh’s lawyer to release them? The letters aren’t secret; if Walsh and/or Levy want to make them public, they can.

“Any objective or accurate reading of the correspondence would show the [NFL] is trying to discourage Walsh from coming forward,” Specter said. Fine. If so, Walsh should release the letters.

In our “objective and accurate” assessment, Specter has finally gone too far. If there’s no confidentiality agreement, nothing prevents Walsh from talking — other than Walsh’s desire to get immunity for anything he might say.

Our advice to the NFL? Call Specter’s bluff. Release the letters. And, while doing so, the league and the Patriots should take out a full-page ad in every major paper in the country with an open letter to Walsh explaining that there will be no litigation pursued for anything that he previously has said or done.

And if Walsh still wants immunity from the legal consequences of anything he might say in the future, the league promise to indemnify him for any such claims, as long as he agrees to tell his story under oath.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I thought that was from the Onion or something. Any way, yes it's been talked about but I haven't seen an article written on it yet so I thought I'd share.

Sadly - very sadly - there's at least a dozen threads on Specter and his conflict of interest with Comcast, as well as one started earlier today regarding Florio's comments and the New York Times story.

I'm with you in trying to make sure we draw attention to such hypocrisy though... look around for the "Patriots fans for the Truth" thread and you'll see quite a bit more, as we're trying to consolidate all the instances of teams cheating and hypocritcal comments in one place.

There's some media attention to his conflict with Comcast - 3 pages of Google News items going back to 2/7 - but of course corruption in Congress just isn't as important as cheating in the NFL apparently

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=specter+comcast

 

[jmt57]

“Any objective or accurate reading of the correspondence would show the [NFL] is trying to discourage Walsh from coming forward,” Specter said.

So Senator Specter, how can you have an "objective or accurate reading" and reach the conclusion that the NFL "is trying to discourage Walsh from coming forward" if you have yet to see the correspondence that you are asking for? Sure sounds to me that you have already made up your mind without having seen anything yet!

 

[IcyPatriot]

If there's new information there, I'm missing it as everyone already knows of Specter's conflict of interest and the high amounts of money he continues to take from Comcast employees - in any event I'm not sure it needs its own thread though as there's a current discussion about Specter and I don't want this guy filling up our message board with multiple links about him.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=79356

As mentioned on that thread, since he's currently fond of issuing challenges to Goodell, I'd hope he'd respond favorably to the challenge of releasing all his correspondence with Comcast, holding himself to the same standard he expects of others.

After all, what's more important? Cheating in football or corruption in Congress?

Good read there JSP ... looks like Spectacle has his bloviating spin masters
hard at work to cover up his bile and spew because his Eagles suck.

 

[DarrylS]

After all, what's more important? Cheating in football or corruption in Congress?

Unfortunately the former for many of the whores who write columns and spew their venom on national sports shows. Heard somewhere that Comcast is the second biggest contributor to Arlen, the first being the law firm that represents Comcast.. talk about an appearance of impropriety ( the standards for ethics violations).

 

[PatsFanInVa]

yep, those figures are true... As noted above, you can find the story that notes them in the Pats Fans for Truth thread.

Arlen is apparently miffed about it too... said to an aide something along the lines of "we gotta get ahead of that one... how much total did they give us? 1%?"

Of course, the guys who send 50 bucks who aren't affiliated with a big donor don't ask for or expect the personal favors the big donors do. And by the way, Arlen, those two contributors together are more like 5%.

PFnV

By the way "Pats Fans for Truth" finally settled as Fans for Responsible Accurate Media as a name (FRAMe.)

Anybody who's interested in helping out w/the legwork, let me know in PM, especially people with web skills. Simple would be fine.... no need for a lot of glitz.

 

[DarrylS]

yep, those figures are true... As noted above, you can find the story that notes them in the Pats Fans for Truth thread.

Arlen is apparently miffed about it too... said to an aide something along the lines of "we gotta get ahead of that one... how much total did they give us? 1%?"

Of course, the guys who send 50 bucks who aren't affiliated with a big donor don't ask for or expect the personal favors the big donors do. And by the way, Arlen, those two contributors together are more like 5%.

PFnV

By the way "Pats Fans for Truth" finally settled as Fans for Responsible Accurate Media as a name (FRAMe.)

Anybody who's interested in helping out w/the legwork, let me know in PM, especially people with web skills. Simple would be fine.... no need for a lot of glitz.

Great idea, about all I can do is support your site with a lot of hits..

 

[fgssand]

yep, those figures are true... As noted above, you can find the story that notes them in the Pats Fans for Truth thread.

Arlen is apparently miffed about it too... said to an aide something along the lines of "we gotta get ahead of that one... how much total did they give us? 1%?"

Of course, the guys who send 50 bucks who aren't affiliated with a big donor don't ask for or expect the personal favors the big donors do. And by the way, Arlen, those two contributors together are more like 5%.

PFnV

By the way "Pats Fans for Truth" finally settled as Fans for Responsible Accurate Media as a name (FRAMe.)

Anybody who's interested in helping out w/the legwork, let me know in PM, especially people with web skills. Simple would be fine.... no need for a lot of glitz.

Need media contacts:

If anybody could forward via pm or by posting here....any PUBLIC media email addresses that we can use for future emailing, that would be helpful.

I am just going to add these to my list.

Thanks