Texas Archives – Bent Corner

Card collector sues Panini America over redemption cards

One of the most ethically questionable things sports trading card companies do is insert special redemption cards into packs. Upon finding one of these cards in your pack, you can mail them in to redeem them for an actual card. Why not just insert the cards? Because they don’t exist yet. The card manufacturer has not created them yet.

It is ethically questionable because collectors often have to wait for months or even years to get their cards.

One collector is fighting back. He’s suing Panini America in U.S. Federal court.

From Sports Collectors Daily:

Kevin Brashear, a collector from the Dallas area, has filed suit in federal court there, accusing Panini America of violating the State of Texas Deceptive Practices Act.

Brashear and his attorney, Scott Bickford of New Orleans, filed the putative class action lawsuit last week, alleging that the process often leaves collectors holding the bag when the promised autograph never materializes. He also claims the expiration dates on redemption cards shouldn’t be allowed and that the stated time of 4-8 months for receiving an autograph after inputting redemption card data is often ignored.

I’m not a lawyer. I don’t understand why Brashear is suing Panini America in U.S. Federal court. Shouldn’t he be suing them in Texas? The law in question is the Texas Deceptive Practices Act.

Card collector sues Panini America over redemption cards - Bent Corner — A typical Panini redemption card. Instead of waiting on LeBron James to sign stickers that can be placed on cards, the wait is due to Panini figuring out how to etch crystal meth with a laser.

If I pulled a redemption card from a pack of cards, I’d immediately sell it on eBay. I never want to wait on a sports card company to do the right thing. Thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather get money for the card while I could.

I do not know Kevin Brashear, but I wish him a lot of luck with his lawsuit. I’m hoping the judge orders Panini America to pay Brashear lots of money and then for good measure, orders CEO Mark Warsop to be Brashear’s personal butler for at least 90 days.

Then and only then would justice be served.

John Wetteland arrested for sex abuse of a child

Police in Texas arrested former Major League Baseball pitcher and World Series MVP John Wetteland. Authorities charged Wetteland with continuous sex abuse of a child under age 14.

From ESPN:

According to a consolidated complaint and probable cause affidavit, Wetteland is accused of having a child perform a sex act on him, beginning in 2004 when the child was 4, and that it happened twice more during a two-year period.

John Wetteland is a disgusting person

I don’t understand people like Wetteland, people who view children as sexual objects. Are there people who sexually objectify children but never act on their depraved and twisted urges? Are there celibate pedophiles? It’s impossible to know. It’s not like someone is going to admit they’re sexually attracted to children, but they refuse to act on it. However, unfortunately, it seems like there are no shortages of pedophiles acting on their urges.

John Wetteland arrested for sex abuse of a child - Bent Corner — After playing for the New York Yankees, John Wetteland played for the Texas Rangers.

Looking at children as sexual objects is a mental sickness. Acting on it is a crime against humanity. The world and society would be a better place if pedophiles took their own life before acting out on their sexual desires.

The problem with collecting sports memorabilia

I pity any John Wetteland memorabilia collectors out there. I’m sure they exist. I have to imagine their collections are now worthless. Beyond worthless. They would have to pay someone to take their collection to the landfill.

That’s one of the many problems with collecting sports memorabilia. You never know when an athlete is going to do something horrible. As a rule, it’s better to collect dead player memorabilia. There’s zero chance they’re going to do something awful. That said, just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they’re immune from controversy. You never know when an old woman is going to come forward and recount the five years your favorite dead athlete held her against her will in his secret sex dungeon.

You just never know. That’s why you’re better off collecting coins. You don’t have to worry about discovering your a 1909-S Lincoln Wheat Penny was a heroin addict or cheated a charity out of a lot of money.

Man kills 26 people while they attended Sunday church services

Devin Kelley killed 26 people Sunday. He went to the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas armed with a Ruger AR-556 assault rifle. He purchased the weapon at Academy Sports & Outdoors in San Antonio, Texas.

From USA Today:

The 26-year-old gunman responsible for the deadly mass shooting at a Texas church had a long, troubled past – divorce, domestic battery and a failed U.S. Air Force career that ended with time in military prison – before he carried out the macabre attack on Sunday worshipers, authorities said.

I’m not sure why USA Today had to lump divorce in with domestic battery and spending time in prison. Divorce is a normal thing, especially for people who join the Air Force and marry in their early twenties.

If he had a criminal record, why was he allowed to buy a gun?

The Ruger AR-556 assault rifle, the make, and model used by Devin Kelley to murder 26 innocent church goers.

I don’t get it. Is this another example of the powers that be not enforcing our laws?

Also from USA Today:

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Kelley served in Logistics Readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge in 2014. After he was court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his spouse and a child, he received a bad conduct discharge, was confined for 12 months and busted to the service’s lowest rank.

It’s pointless to even think of passing new gun control laws until existing gun laws are enforced. Devin Kelley had a criminal record. He spent time in a military prison. He put his hands on his ex-wife and her child, causing them severe bodily harm. That said, he was still able to walk into Academy Sports & Outdoors in San Antonio, Texas and buy a Ruger AR-556 assault rifle.

Devin Kelley attacked the First Baptist Church because his ex-wife’s family were members. His ex-wife’s grandmother was among the dead in yesterday’s attack.

Devin Kelley did not suffer from mental illness

There is zero evidence indicating Devin Kelley had mental health issues. Some people will argue that he was crazy. He wasn’t crazy, he was a homicidal asshole. Having a mental illness doesn’t mean you are a homicidal asshole and being a homicidal asshole doesn’t mean you suffer from mental illness.

Academy Sports & Outdoors should have to erect a plaque honoring the dead

If you sell an assault weapon to a mass shooter, you should be forced to put up a large plaque in front of your business honoring the victims you helped kill. Maybe than businesses might think twice before selling military-style assault weapons like they were the equivalent to tennis rackets and catcher’s mitts. They’re not. Assault weapons are designed to kill people on the battlefield.

Free Comic Book Day 2016

Didn’t you bring a can of soup? No free comic book for you!

Jen King, owner of Texas comic book shop Space Cadets Collection Collection, wrote an op-ed published on Bleeding Cool in which she complained about Free Comic Book Day and the people who show up at her store expecting to receive free comic books. Imagine that.

From Bleeding Cool:

It seems to happen every year. A customer comes in and wants to pick up 20 copies of one of the FCBD titles being offered. When they are informed that they are limited to one per customer, they loudly yell that the comics are supposed to be free and how dare we limit the amount they can grab. What’s even worse, in my mind, is that even though we clearly advertise our FCBD as a charity fundraising event (and have been doing it this way for 6 years), there are still attendees who get red-faced mad when we ask them to donate a canned good or one dollar for every 3 titles that they pick up. These donations go directly to a food pantry a block away from our store and directly benefit our community.

It seems hard to believe that every year, someone comes into the store and tries to take 20 copies of a single book and when they are denied, they then begin yelling. That seems a bit hyperbolic to me. Then again, this is Texas. Hyperbole is as common in Texas as armadillo roadkill or inaccurate license plates.

I didn’t realize shops participating in Free Comic Book Day could require people to donate canned goods or money in exchange for books. According to the official website for Free Comic Book Day, participating comic book shops give comic books “absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops.” It’s Free Comic Book Day, not Exchange a Can of Soup for Comics Day.

That’s not to say collecting canned goods for a food pantry is necessarily a bad thing. Just don’t make it a requirement for Free Comic Book Day. That’s not what the day is supposed to be about.

Why does Texas have the Space Shuttle on their license plate?

I was driving through Hagerstown the other day when I happened to notice the license plate of the car in front of me. The driver was from Texas. At least their car was. It was a white plate with a tiny cowboy riding a horse. The was some oil derricks and some sage brush. In the top right corner was a crescent moon. What got my attention what was featured in the top left corner.

It was the Space Shuttle.

Texas has nothing to do with the Space Shuttle

What did the state of Texas have to do with the Space Shuttle? It doesn’t launch from there. The Space Shuttle launches from Florida. It doesn’t land there, even though it is shown landing on the Texas plate. The Space Shuttle lands in either Florida or California. It once landed in New Mexico.

It was not built in Texas. I happen to know for a fact that every Space Shuttle ever built was constructed in Palmdale, California. I know this because I grew up only a few miles from the actual plant where every shuttle was built.

Californians built the Space Shuttle, not Texans.

As a kid growing up, I took great pride in the Space Shuttle. I guess I still do. It bothers me to see that Texas asserting some sort of ownership on something it has nothing to do with. Something like the Space Shuttle.