The Legend Of BlindMaster...continues

Adil is a former combat, weapons, and military police, who works as a uniformed guard for High Threat Protection security services; while Adila is a former field surgeon and medic for the Unites States Army, and currently a research scientist for Restorative Technology.  High Threat is a very productive security agency with clients in Russia, England, Spain, France, Italy, and Greece.  Undoubtedly, HTP is working closely with Restorative Technology to develop an exoskeleton for combat troops as well as an armour for field medics that is powered by a special femto-chip.  As a result of this collaboration, the scientist at Restorative Technology create an integrated circuit that surpasses the nano technology, called the femto-chip.  It replicates like hundreds of DNA cells in femto-seconds by analyzing and combining molecularly with the wearer of the exoskeleton.  Allowing only that wearer to ever wear it, give it commands, and control the exoskeleton.  In addition to developing combat technology, Restorative Technology has developed highly advanced medical devices for combat, military, and commercial use that has revolutionized medicine.  Unbeknownst to Adil and Adila, they are being used as sacrificial pieces in HTP’s move to manipulate economies and governments in the Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.  While Adila is ironing out the wrinkles in Restorative’s femto-chip, Adil is searching HTP’s databases for a mystery person, BlindMaster, whose thoughts continue to invade their conscious.  Malik Muhammad, a.k.a. BlindMaster, knows what is happening to Adil and Adila; he also knows that they are two good friends that he has not yet met.  When BlindMaster hears about the dinner at HTP headquarters, his mind’s eye tells him that Adil and Adila might lose their lives because the exoskeletons are still questionable, so he takes to the L.A. night to assist his future best friends who don’t know that all their thoughts and actions are being viewed by his mind’s eye.  Consequently, Restorative and HTP are only a strong deposit, with no inclusion, in an international fill of corporate executives that leads BlindMaster and the Twins to the cause of corrupt corporations, demons, and deadly situations that brings out of hiding lame white-collar deadbeats, old street hustlers, and retired demons who see opportunities to settle old beef from times when they did not want to or were forced to retire or lay low.       

Why You Should Zip-Line

The newest addition to the Chattahoochee Valley is a zip line that spans from Columbus,
Georgia to Phenix City, Alabama, symbolizing the relationship that not only
these two cities have had throughout history, but the connection between the
state of Georgia and Alabama.  “Take flight on the Blue Heron Adventure in Columbus, Georgia!
Crossing the Chattahoochee River, experience the only dual-zip line that
connects two states reaching speeds up to 40mph. The fun doesn’t end there! The
Blue Heron Aerial Course, a treetop experience will meet you in Phenix City,
Alabama with a total of 10 obstacles. The adventure continues as you cruise in
the motorized Canyon Raft back to Georgia.”
Ascending the 100 foot tower I could feel the jitters coming on,
and those jitters brought doubt, second thoughts, and worries of going splat on
something down below.  As I stood at the
top of the tower being fastened and secured to the cable my knees started to
buckle, but I was not going to chicken out.
Being afraid of heights and the exhilarating rush of adrenaline, is the
reason zip lining 100 feet above the Chattahoochee River, across 1200 feet of
cable, at 40 mph, is an experience that I will never forget.  Fear and adrenaline are the reasons for
choosing this topic. 

With the zip-line
being a new addition to Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama most of the
locals are not aware of the zip-line or the fun one can experience while
zipping across the Chattahoochee. 

Also,
Citizens of Columbus and Phenix City frequent both sides of

the river to enjoy
the scenery, see the newly built wooden structures

that comprise the zip-line,
but never actually go on the zip-line because they don’t feel the narcotic
euphoria that zipping 100 feet high, 1200 feet across, at 40 mph
instantaneously brings. In addition, zip lines are non-existent in most
communities, and for a family or couple living in one of these non-existent
communities planning a vacation; zip-lining would be a fun option to consider
for the itinerary.  In addition to these
non-existent communities and locals, I also plan on using this as a blog post
for people who want to face their fears as I did, adrenaline junkies, and
persons who want to do something different but fun.

The first
paragraph tells of my experience on the zip-line, this is why I include the
video so the reader can actually see what I was experiencing from start to
finish.  Also, I speak of not only the
fear I experienced as I stood at the top of the 100 foot tower being securely
fastened to the cable, but the reader can see the excitement I felt after I
finished the first zip across the Chattahoochee River.  As a result of the excitement from the first
zip, I was extra excited to do the final zip

There are always
questions about events like the zip-line concerning safety, stability of
structure, what additions or optional features do they have with the zip-line,
how often or how many times can this exhilarating feat be performed a day, and
are the controllers experienced enough to make everyone feel safe and secure.  I felt that this was one of the safest
structures, the equipment is 100%, and the controllers are very well
experienced to assure your safety.  Only
one way to really research this topic, go book a zip for yourself, check the
website of White Water Express, and ask the people who run this establishment
all the questions you have, like I did with Lucas Brown.

The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi

The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi 

During the 2013-2014 season, Columbus State University was hosting several theatrical performances at its River Theater.  Located in the Corn Center on the banks of the scenic Chattahoochee River, in Downtown Columbus, Georgia, the Riverside Theater hosted an adaptation by Y. York from the book by Rudyard Kipling:  The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi.  I attended this event Friday, January 17, 2014 at 7:30 pm.  Upon my arrival in the lobby of the theater, I was taken aback by the display that showcased pictures and names of the actors who would be performing that night.  As I stood out in the lobby waiting for show time, I spoke briefly with two of the ushers and some of the people who were a part of the staff and faculty.  Excited to be there, all those in attendance were the cast, technical staff, staff and faculty of CSUs College of the Arts, members of the CSU student activities center, and other families with friends who came to see this magnificent performance.  Out of the eight plays that was presented during the 2013 – 2014 season (York, 2014); I chose to see The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi for two reasons:  1) Because I have liked Riki Tiki Tavi since I was a child, and 2) because I wanted to see how they would portray this delicate blend of reptiles, outdoors, digging, flying, and confrontations on stage.  But most importantly, I wanted to see what kind of costumes, color schemes, props, dialogue, and how each scene would play out what I had seen on television as a child in the 80s.   

 

The green color of the props used to represent the bushes, trees, burrowed holes or tunnels, and branches, reminded me of the buon frescos originally employed by the Minoan artist.  This technique was used by Renaissance artist nearly 3,000 years later.  The basket that Naag’s eggs were nestled in made it simple for the actors to carry and audience to see the eggs.  Also, the way they had them nestled in the basket gave an indication of how they looked on the actual ground.  “…as he watched RIKI TIKI the mongoose protect his human caretakers from snakes, but mostly the evil cobras Na[a]g and Na[a]gaina, whose nest was in the garden of the human home.”    The play was in the style of a children’s play, but one could identify the characters through the costumes.  In addition, the dialogue was brought to life by the wits and creative acting of its cast.  This satirical comedy was “an amusing [and] lighthearted play designed to make its audience laugh” (Sayre, 2011, p. 152). 

The actors who played Riki Tiki, Darzee, ChuChu, and Nag all displayed Komos as they phallically frolicked around stage.  The dialogue expressed the conflict well in this play, reminding me of the clashes between Romeo and Tybalt, as ChuChu, Darzee, and Riki Tiki scuttle, push, and fly for dominance in the garden of the human’s run by Nag.  The conflict is similar to that between Antigone and Creon.  Nag is the fierce cobra who has dominated the garden for years by keeping its inhabitants, ChuChu, and Darzee, in fear.  Along comes young and hurt Riki Tiki the mongoose, whom is taken in by Teddy, the human boy. 

 Riki Tiki falls in love with his new human caretaker, makes friends with ChuChu and Darzee, and plays with them in the garden.  When Darzee tells how she killed Nag’s wife, Nagaina, and how Nag wants to kill Teddy.  Riki Tiki becomes Nag’s mortal enemy as he protects Teddy, but Nag’s love for his eggs (unborn offspring), mixed with his evil intentions allows Riki Tiki to place himself in a very advantageous position as the snake and the mongoose square off in a battle for the garden.  “…as he watched RIKI TIKI the mongoose protect his human caretakers from snakes, but mostly the evil cobras, Na[a]g and Na[a]gaina, whose nest was in the garden of the human home… 

As I sat out in the audience I thought of the “plays [that] were performed [on] an open area of the agora [Greek Theaters] called the orchestra, or ‘dancing space.’  The Riverside Theater reminded me of the “Epidaurus Theater, built in the early third century BCE.”  The atmosphere was one that I could have set in for another two or three hours through another play; even an encore performance.  I was disappointed in the actor who played ChuChu, who just did not want to talk to me after the play.  I wanted to express my thanks to her, and tell her how good I thought her performance was; but she was too busy hugging her friends and fellow thespians to give me a minute of her time..

 

An Explanation of BlindMaster

I wrote a screenplay entitled, The Legend of BlindMaster.  The protagonist is a superhero created out of the natural.  I forged this character out of the confines of what the spirit of Elijah Muhammad revealed to Malcolm X while he was sitting in his jail cell in a Massachusetts state prison.   In the How to Eat to Live books, volume 1 and 2, written by Elijah Muhammad, are the complete dietary laws prescribed to members of the Nation of Islam.  These two books speak of foods that are good biologically for human consumption, those foods that are physiologically designed to build/destroy the body, and those foods that destroy the soul and inhibit the brain power of a Muslim.  Elijah Muhammad even gives scientific proof of how the wrong and right foods affect us biologically and physiologically.  I created BlindMaster or Mālik Muhammad as an influential role model for young millennials who learn delinquent behavior from “face-to-face interaction or by observing others in person or symbolically in literature, films, television, music, and video games.” I wanted to keep his powers within reach of human potential, inspiring viewers to strive for his level of achievement.  Jesus Christ came to us representing the perfection of human potential, showing us that if we lived by every word of God that we could become Christ-like or perfect examples of human potential, just as Jesus.  BlindMaster’s powers are not the result of a serum, not accidental exposure to a machine or experiment, not from an animal or insect bite, and he is not from Asgard, Mars, or Krypton.  Blindmaster utilizes his inner ear, third eye, possesses the strength of 10 men, and has the Magical Saber of Light that enhances his natural abilites.  BlindMaster’s powers can be attained by any human being, but only if the right conditions are consistently present; tapping into the conscious that we hear when we place a cup to our ear.  In How to Eat to Live, books 1 and 2, Master Fard Muhammad told the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that if a Muslim ate one meal every 72 hours and no meat, that one could hear an ant crawling on the ground, and manipulate the molecules of the four different elements around them.  As a result of obeying these dietary laws, the following is evidence of what is stated in the previous sentence.  A sufite Master named Bawa Muhayadeen was able to levitate himself one to three feet off the ground.  The “Tiger Swami” or Soham Swami harnessed his energies into his fist, and was able to render Tigers unconscious with one blow.  Wallace Fard Muhammad, aka, Master Fard Muhammad was able to manipulate molecules and create images of men praying in glasses of water.  And finally, Jesus performed a host of miracles that are indicated in the New Testament of the Bible. On MSN’s website, Robert Shmerling of the Harvard Health Publication wrote in an article entitled, Healthy Living, “I’ve heard psychics and fortune tellers use this 10 percent myth to explain their “powers” to predict the future, read minds or bend spoons without touching them.”  Further in that same paragraph it says, “…I think this is just another of the many myths told as “facts everyone knows” to attract a bigger audience.”  In Robert A. Baron and Micheal J. Kalsher’s Introduction to Psychology, chapter 2, page 47-49 it states, “Computers can “crunch numbers” at amazing speeds, but they cannot do many things we take for granted:  recognize thousands of different faces, speak one and perhaps several languages fluently, add just the right amount of salt or pepper to a dish we are cooking.  [Neither] can they experience the emotions we label “love,” “hate,” “sorrow,” those emotions BlindMaster needs to activate and control what normal people call super powers.  “So clearly the human brain is truly a marvel.”  I watched a video posted on USA TODAY’s website on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at 1:55 pm, EST, entitled, Do we really only use 10% of our brains?  “Most people have heard the myth, recently revived by the new movie, Lucy, played by Scarlett Johanssen that we only use 10% of our brains, but is it true?  Buzz60 takes a look at the myths and the science in this video.”  A brief synopsis of the main character in, The Legend of BlindMaster will help understand the science, and dispel the myth.

 

BlindMaster was born Mālik Muhammad in Los Angeles, California in 1975.  Blinded by an explosion at the age of one, his father and International Minister to the Nation of Islam, headed then by Elijah Muhammad, takes him to a Shaolin monastery in the hills of China where he is taken under the guidance of a blind monk named, Shadow Master Lin.  Shadow Master Lin teaches Mālik to adjust to his new found sight.  Mālik learns to read and write the language of Chinese by some of the Monks, and Arabic and braille by his father.  He learns to recite the Qur’ an, Hadiths, and the Bible.  He can naturally see thermal images, is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and close weapon combat, can naturally move with stealth, has vertical leaping ability comparable to that of a cat, and he can control his weight and energy standing still or in motion.  He learns all this in the first 22 years of his life, then he goes to Cairo, Egypt where he is trained by Sufi Master Yusuf Abdullah while attending the University of Al-Ahzar.

The magical saber of light is the symbol for justice in Islam, but it is a fictional sword created by the stories author.  The mystical energy of the saber only enhances BlindMaster’s natural agilities.  In addition, the mystical energy allows him to move vertically  along on buildings, protects him from high caliber weapons or explosions, high impacts, allows him to heal, manipulate the molecules of the four elements around him, just like in M. Knight Shyamalan’s, The Last Air Bender (2010), and it allows him to transmit instantly.

 

If you read the screenplay, you will see how BlindMaster acquired his natural abilities.  This story should educate you on “on the spot” cultural facts that would not be normally known.  Also, it should inspire you the viewer as a Christian to be more Christ-like; if you are a Muslim, to be more upright and one with Allah; if you are Buddhist, to better understand what the eight-fold path is.  Whatever your religion or path to God is, this story will inspire you to become more enlightened in not just the doctrine of your belief, but those universal aspects of it.

Plays of the Week

 The game of football takes on many different meanings for all who watch and participate in the sport.  Life lessons, morals and ethics, responsibility, balance, practical application, how to excel, how to fight, how to win and lose, and how to work well with others to achieve an end.  Football from the NFL down to area high school has been and will always be a tradition, a tradition that embodies “plays of the week,” “hometown spirit,” standings, and statistics that make not only players proud, but family and friends honored to attend games, tailgate, making sure players have water ready to drink, or just simply play the sideline. 

 

We have arrived at week 5 of area football here in the Chattahoochee Valley, and what some call rivalries or a “closer look at Friday night’s games,” I call “the fight schedule.”  Standings and statistics tell a tale of how these young men battle it out for supremacy in the area and their region.  Each player battles every week for omnipotence at their position and another win for their team, has a story to tell.  Looking at the “High School Roundup” in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer those Carver Tigers (4-1) have monopolized the area since 2008 with defensive and offensive standouts that have gone onto college and eventually the NFL.  Followed by other area teams like Northside Highschool, Shaw Highschool, and Columbus Highschool.  Teams like the Spencer Greenwave (0-4), the Kendrick Cherokees (2-2), Jordan Red Jackets (1-3), and Hardaway Hawks (0-4) have not put up numbers as individuals that would place them in the “HighSchool Football Statistics”  section of the Columbus (Ga) Ledger-Enquirer as an offensive or defensive stand-out, but they have put up a different kind of ‘high numbers’ on overall team moral, that add up to everything that has truly allowed them to “move the chains,” converting those loses on the field into improvements as individuals and as a team.  These improvements will eventually lead to winning seasons, playoffs, and championships.  On a team level as a whole, Smiths Station Panthers of Smiths Station, Alabama are a leading example of this different kind of “high numbers” that is reflective in seasonal statistics of running back K. Johnson who had eight carries for 79 yards; averaging 9.9 yards a carry, and one touchdown; or Quarterback D. Sinquefeld who threw for 422 yards and four touchdowns to three of his top receivers, T. Trimble, M. Bowens, and 123 yards receiving A. Reedy.  Smith Station was one of the schools that did not submit player statistics to the Ledger-Enquirer this week, but I found their school stats on Maxpreps showing how each player has improved on the field.  On September 20, 2014, “Chattahoochee County’s Brandon Jones receives a hug from Gina Cox as she inducts his brother Quin Jones into the inaugural class of the Chattahoochee County football hall of fame during halftime [game against Crawford County] Friday.  Quin Jones graduated in 2008, and died in March 2011.”  This halftime induction/dedication showed the sensitive side of a hard-hitting and dangerous sport.  The Central Red Devils of Phenix City, Alabama defeated past playoff nemesis Prattville in regular season play.  David Mitchell, of the Ledger-Enquirer wrote, “Central, which had already faced a gauntlet of top-tier opponents in its first four games was still looking for that real signature victory that signaled its entrance into the Alabama Class 7A state championship race.  Friday’s win is a step in the right direction.”  Mitchell quoted top offensive running back Treveon Samuel, “It’s a big one,” an emotional Samuel said after the game.  When asked how big, he said it was the biggest of his life.  “I’ve never had a win like this.”  If you examine the game by quarters you can see that it was truly a slug fest, like Optimus Prime and Megatron, as the Red Devils walked away with the 42 to 34 victory over the team that always knocked them out the first round of playoffs in past years, under former head coach Woodrow Lowe.  Incidentally, this week’s passionate victory over Prattville came after one of Central’s seniors lost his life to gun violence.  Another team who deserves big props this year are Columbus, Georgia’s Division 1-AA’s Calvary Christian Knights.  This is a football team whom is only four years old, and are currently 5-0 “for the first time in” the teams short history.  With two top offensive players in running back Jacquez Green and Quarterback Anthony Santiago, and four top defensive players in Cranford Ledbetter, Taylor Faulk, Tim Thomas, and Steven Fowler, this is what staff reporters for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer had to say about Calvary Christian in the “HighSchool Roundup,”  “Calvary Christian’s Anthony Santiago had 21 carries for 237 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Knights to a win over Covenant Christian.  Calvary Christian rushed for 311 yards.” 

 

When a water boy does not neglect his duties in anticipation of and at each week’s game, you know the spirit of the game is alive.  You can go to local TV station WTVM 9 website and vote for the best of three plays from the week’s games; it is called “play of the week.”  Raycom Network News has started airing weekly high school games in Alabama and Georgia on the Bounce network, station 9.2.  On Saturdays from 6 – 6:30, local NBC station WLTZ 38 has a show called Coach’s Corner where a coach from an east Alabama High School itemizes the week’s game.  When these games are itemized by quarterly statistics, you the fan catches a glimpse into the personality of each team, there individual personalities, how good is the offense, how good is the defense, how good is the special teams, what type of head coach, and what type of coaching staff.  “The fight schedule” implies how each team wages war on the opposing team, exchanging blows, scrapping to defend or “get it in” the end zone.  In fact, final scores and player statistics chronicle an account of four quarters of pulverizing play, pounding tackles, noisy snap counts, “plaguing turnovers,” breath taking interceptions, and relentless runs.  “The fight schedule” does not encourage violence, but encourages competition, constructive criticism, and moral and ethical engagements on and off the field. 

 

These Highs School teams run offenses like pro-set, wishbone, wing-t, I-formation, lone setbacks; defenses such as 4-6, 5-4, nickel packages,  and even 6-1.  When you watch them play, it is just as exciting as watching a Thursday or Sunday night NFL game.  The only thing missing are the pre and post-game shows.  Coincidentally, you can catch all the commentating and highlights of all the local games with Jonathan Husky of WRBL 3 with “In the Prep Zone” and Dave Platta on WTVM 9 with “Sports Overtime.”  Hearing or watching local high school stars like former Central Red Devil Deon Hill of Georgia Tech, whom was recently “nominated for the Orange Bowl-Football Writers Association of America’s Courage Award,” Jonathan Wallace or Gabe Wright of Auburn University, or Isiah Crowell of the Cleveland Browns, and Jarvais Jones of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday or Saturday, is prospect for all those top stars of Thursday or Friday night, who overcome those obstacles in their path as they play for the end zone.

Distribution of Government Power within a State System

Rehabilitation v. Deterrence is the leading motive for the light burning on the issue of proportionality in the 11^th and 3^rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals; the issue of preliminary investigations which has already been decided on in Greer v. Chao, but was not addressed in Wells v. Columbus Technical College when the issue was raised in Wells’ initial complaint.  The lack of impartiality and abuse of discretion by college hearing officers raises the question of whether or not the eighth amendment was a mistake by the courts and legislatures or are the courts and legislatures taking away the eighth amendment’s ability to restrain state sentencing laws, both mandatory and discretionary; statute and policy. 

Preliminary investigations are to stipulate the record of reason, for the purpose of ensuring that due process is followed.  A proper preliminary investigation into the building blocks of an incident is written in most state agencies internal policies.  In addition, a preliminary investigation ensures the hearing officer gives both parties a neutral and detached judgment that is in the interest of justice.  Also, official internal policies constitute official state regulations which govern due process.  Recently a young boy by the name of Micheal Brown was shot and killed by St. Louis Police.  Jim Salter of the Associated Press wrote on MSN’s website in an article entitled, Vandalism, looting after vigil for Missouri man, "Most came here for a peaceful protest but it takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. ... I can understand the anger and unrest but I can't understand the violence and looting …Deanel Trout, a 14-year resident of Ferguson, said.”  Most Administrative proceedings are in need of proper preliminary investigations.  If you scour the database of court cases of business and school disciplinary hearings you will see that most conduct a proper preliminary investigation into the building blocks of the incident before making a determination of guilt and imposing sanctions.  Rehabilitation is usually the result of performing a proper preliminary investigation because each building block of the incident sometimes has more weight to it than others; allowing for an unbiased outcome.  Alice Ristroph of the Duke Law Review wrote that proportionality has its roots in criminal sentencing of inmates sentenced to Life Without the possibility of Parole, and Death row, but the civil sanctions of punitive damages in State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408, 429 (2003), where “a judgment for $145 million in punitive damages on the grounds that the award “was neither reasonable nor proportionate to the wrong committed,” and BMW of N. Am., Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559, 585–86 (1996), where “reversing a judgment for $2 million in punitive damages as “grossly excessive”. ”  The issues of Proportionality and Preliminary Investigation were not even addressed by the courts in Wells v. Columbus Technical College due to the Plaintiff not utilizing the adequate state remedy of mandamus, as stated in the opinion of the 11^th Circuit court of Appeals and Middle District of Georgia, Columbus division, but were meritorious enough on their own, along with evidence presented, to warrant a trial.  The state’s interest of the states comprising the 11^th and 3^rd  Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is why college hearing officers can apply penological theories in preliminary investigations and discretionary sanctions, even when the language of their own policy is unconstitutional.  Even though the issue of proportionality is still percolating in the 11^th and 3^rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the 11^th Circuit decided on proportionality in two cases cited by the 3^rd Circuit.  First, in Barnes v. Zaccari 669 F.3d 1295 CA. 11 (GA) 2012,  it says, once a state creates a substantive interest in a government benefit, “federal constitutional law determines whether that interest rises to the level of a legitimate claim of entitlement protected by the Due process clause.  Secondly, in the controlling cite of  Loggins v. Thomas, it states that, “To create a sentencing scheme whereby life in prison without the possibility of parole is simply the most severe of a range of available penalties that the sentencer can impose after hearing evidence in mitigation and aggravation,” and that “The supreme court has made clear that a sentence that could constitutionally be imposed by a trial court in the exercise of discretion is no less constitutional because it is mandatorily imposed under the requirements of statue.”

People are speaking of these things and many more before, during, and after they have happened from Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley to New Orleans’ Lower Ninth ward to burros in Staten Island.  This talk is generated by “two great intellectual shifts of the late twentieth century.” Evinced by a flood that had New York subways looking like the bottom of an ocean, Russian hackers who amassed over a billion internet passwords from an American based company, a killer virus that infected two American doctors in West Africa, and a subway system in Los Angeles that has been being built since the 1990s.  The execution of a plan depends on the actors involved, the plan itself, and the plan being either known or unknown, in whole or part to the enemy.  A perfect example of this is in Marvel’s Thor:  The Dark World (2013), Malakeith leads an ancient race to take over the universe, Dr. Jane Foster is infected with the dark force.  Thor takes her back to Asgard to try and purge it from her system, but it is only one person who can purge it from her, Malakeith.  Thor forms a very untrusting alliance with Loki as he takes Dr. Foster to Malakeith.  Thor finally releases Loki from his restraints, and Loki stabs him in the “proverbial back”, gives Malakeith the girl, cuts Thor’s hand off as he calls for his hammer.  After Malakeith purges Dr. Foster of the dark force, the plot that was planned without words and played by ear, is well executed.  For Thor’s plan to work, Loki’s betrayal had to be real, in light of its overall result.  Can you see the imperatives that were followed here in order to reach one or more desired results?  This is a prime example of kantian ethics, prima facia duties, and rights-based ethics.

The lack of proper preliminary investigations and the abuse of discretion in imposing sanctions is the result of the “distribution of government power within a state system” or is it a mistake made by legislatures and the courts?  To the officials involved it is Rehabilitation v. Deterrence, but to the persons on either side of the ‘V’, it is Homicide v. Homosexuality.  Consequently, criminal deterrence is why government officials have not extinguished the light on proportionality, as it continues to burn.  It burns because it is a valuable tool used to discredit persons subject to administrative policy and proceedings in civil matters. 

Just an Honest Review

Understanding the Court System

The seminal facts of Wells v. Columbus Technical College are as followed.  

“Mr. Wells, a former welding student at Columbus Tech, was suspended for

12 months after multiple incidents of “unacceptable behavior.  In the first incident,

which resulted in a written warning, Mr. Wells was involved in a verbal and

physical altercation with another student. The exact details of the second incident

are unclear, but involved Mr. Wells and two other students. Dr. Linn Storey, Vice-

President of Academic Affairs, read Mr. Wells the [second- incident] report, and

warned him that another incident would result in suspension. In the third

incident, Mr. Wells confronted two of his teachers, Mr. William Cooper and Mr.

Ronnie McBride, and accused them of lying in the [second-incident] report.  After a

brief verbal exchange, Mr. McBride asked him to leave, but Mr. Wells refused.

Campus security eventually escorted Mr. Wells off campus (Wells v Columbus Technical College, 2013).” 

 “Vice-President Storey sent Mr. Wells a suspension letter, which set forth a

12-month suspension for violations of the Student Code of Conduct.  Mr. Wells

filed a written notice of appeal to the Office of the President.  President J. Robert

Jones upheld the suspension, citing Mr. Wells’ “inability to manage [his] anger.”  The procedural history of the case started from the district court and ended when the plaintiff was denied certiorari by the United States Supreme Court (Wells v Columbus Technical College, 2013).” 

 

 

 

The main laws that were violated in this case were procedural and substantive due process claims.  For example, denial of a pre-deprivation hearing and a post-deprivation hearing; not utilizing the adequate state remedy of mandamus.  In addition to these procedural and substantive due process claims, claims of qualified immunity and continuing danger were issues that derived from the core issues of denial of pre and post-deprivation hearings. 

 

The laws that were violated in this case are civil public laws that deal with the relationships and disagreements that individuals and institutions have with the state as a sovereign entity (Carp, Stidham, & Manning, 2014, pp. 8-9).  Most civil litigation lies within private law (Carp, Stidham, & Manning, 2014, p. 9), but are not always subject to prison time.  Most of these civil violations are penalized largely through monetary sanctions called compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief.   Incidentally no sanctions were imposed on the defendants, but the sanctions in this case would have been extremely large due impart to the asking of the plaintiff and in the interest of ethics. 

 

In Wells v. Columbus Technical College (2013), the plaintiff filed his initial complaint in the United States Middle District Court of Georgia, Columbus division.  The State Attorney General office of Georgia was assigned to handle this particular case, appointing Laura Lones and Devon Orland to represent the defendants.  Choosing to file his 1983 in the U.S. Middle District of Georgia over the state court of Georgia because his 14^th amendment rights were violated.  Mr. Wells had exhausted all his administrative remedies, and the extra year or two it would take going through the state system would have been a waste of the plaintiff’s time.  In Mr. Wells’ Rule 40 petition to the 11^th Circuit, the lawyers for the respondents argued that:  “Failing to use the adequate state remedy of mandamus under O.C.G.A. 9-6-20 (McKinney v. Pate) is why the District Court and the 11^th Circuit [said] Petitioner failed to state a claim of procedural due process,” because he did not exhaust all his appeal remedies with the state before filing with the federal courts.   Also that the adequate state remedy of mandamus did not have to be written in the official statutory language of CTC/TCSG policy (Reams v. Irwin, 2009).   

 

The outcome of the case is stated throughout the eight page opinion of the 11^th Circuit court of appeals.  The decision was handed down by Circuit judges Wilson, Jordan, and Anderson, affirming the decision of the district court.   The court ruled that the appellants were entitled to qualified immunity in both official and individual capacity, and that an adequate state remedy did exist; “precluding Mr. Wells’ post-deprivation procedural due process claim.”  As a result of the “continuing danger” exception being applied here, the appellant was not entitled to a pre-deprivation hearing. 

 

 

In conclusion, as in all college disciplinary cases a student is owed procedural due process safeguards that has well been established by the courts stemming from the 60s, 80s, and the 90s.  The courts made rulings that were inconsistent with the facts of the case as argued by the plaintiff.  Comparing the briefs submitted by the lawyers for the defendants and the decisions handed down by the courts, one can see how the courts ruled one-sided, in favor of the arguments made by the lawyers for the defendants.  The District court never made a ruling on the disproportionate imposition of the12-month suspension (Loggins v. Thomas, 2011); and failure to conduct a preliminary investigation according to college policy.  Both were stated in plaintiff’s initial complaint.  Even when these issues were argued in the plaintiffs non-oral arguments.  Even if the “continuing danger” exception is applied, the 12-month suspension and failure to conduct a preliminary investigation; is the argument enough to grant him a trial?  When the plaintiff was not given a post-deprivation hearing according to college policy, the District court judge should have given him a trial, allowing him the right to examine and cross-examine witnesses (Carp, Stidham, & Manning, 2014, p. 40).  Coincidentally, the last case decided on the continuing danger issue by the 11^th Circuit court of Appeals was Barnes v. Zaccari (2012). Nonetheless, if you look at the eight-page opinion by the 11^th Circuit in Wells v. Columbus Technical College, the issue is still percolating.  The 3^rd Circuit also had similar problems deciding on the issue of “continuing danger,” due to the percolating of the issue.  The plaintiff filed his case pro se, and was not very familiar with the civil process.  Consequently, the formatting of his complaint was not in the style that the courts would have liked, nor was he taken serious in the filing of his complaint due to the ‘cultural background’ of the area where the court is located.  “Like the law, judges are viewed ambivalently by Americans.  In general, judges are held in inordinately high esteem… (Carp, Stidham, & Manning, 2014, p. 18).”  The percolating of issues in our judicial system are based on timing, evinced by recent landmark decisions by the Supreme Court.  If I were a judge in this case, it would have gone to trial.  As a result of going to trial witnesses and evidence would have been disclosed bringing forth what the judge was not allowed to see through non-oral arguments.  Moreover, this case was one where facts and evidence that were presented by the plaintiff were not even considered due to unknown reasons not stated in either the district court’s opinion or the 11^th Circuits opinion.  I know that Allah does everything for a reason, I just want to know exactly why justice did not prevail in this case where facts and evidence were correctly argued and presented.