Professional athletes who try to pad their million-dollar paychecks with paid autograph signings won’t be welcome in Rhode Island under a bill approved by a Senate committee. Senator Roger Badeau introduced the measure. He says he’s fed up with athletes charging upwards of 100 dollars for an autograph at large-scale autograph signing events.

Badeau’s bill would ban professional athletes, entertainers or promoters from charging a fee for an autograph to a child under age 16. They would be fined 100 dollars for each violation. The Democrat says he got the idea after seeing Red Sox players getting paid for autographs at an event in Providence after their World Series victory.

I suppose the bill for all those steroids is taxing these “poor” athletes. Some revealing numbers. Tiger Woods charges $750.00. Michael Jordan $1,000. The claim that children seeking autographs sell them on eBay. In some cases this is probably true, for the adults. However, this is simply exploiting children to pad the bank accounts of these egocentric prima donnas.

A recent rally by MoveOn.org brought attendance from the sleazy left. Who else would attend? The idea for this rally came from Senator Robert Byrd (D-WVA). Mr. Byrd trained in rallies while a member of the KKK and is an expert in filibusters.

A list of attendees also included Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and fellow Democratic senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Edward Kennedy, Charles Schumer, Barbara Boxer, Patrick Leahy, and Richard Durbin.

What a lovely group! Similar to a training session for al Qaeda.

Richard Gere, actor, political activist and Hollywood hack is also the Chairman for the International Campaign for Tibet and founder of the House of Tibet New York.

Mr. Gere promotes non-violent action to resolve the issue of Tibet as well as speaking out against the Bush Administration for involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Gere believes mass graves; torture and subversion of a people can only be corrected by non-violent means.

To his credit, Mr. Gere is calling on the European Union to maintain the current arms embargo on China. To his discredit, Mr. Gere lives in the Utopian world of denial. Sanctions only allow governments to become more creative finding methods to “beat the system” while only its people suffer. Close observation of North Korea is an example Mr. Gere avoids to discuss.

“Maintaining the embargo provides strong leverage in encouraging progress toward a resolution of the status of Tibet and toward sustaining stability elsewhere. The key to Tibet’s self-determination lies in China’s transformation. In supporting Tibet, we need to consider the changes that are happening in China today — its increasing sophistication and influence on the world stage and the desire of the Chinese people for progress,” states Gere.

Mr. Gere brings to our attention decades of stalemate in freeing Tibet. Yes, decades of suppression of an entire population. Where have “discussions” led? Is Tibet any more free? Violence is not the only means to freeing societies but inaction for decades is torture in itself. We should remember the Paris peace talks during the Vietnam War where years of discussion took place over the shape of the conference table and seating arrangements. Mr. Gere lives in the liberal world of idealism and fiction. Mr. Gere, torture and mass graves are reality, not something found on celluloid.