Current Events

December 16 2025

Paul Kraushaar

The writing of a 33 Club Current Event Paper is the most challenging of the two papers, in my opinion. I see the Current Event Paper as one that should stimulate  discussion amongst the members.  With that thought in mind, here I go with my rendition of the December Current Event Paper.

                In the December 14, 2025 edition of the Des Moines Register there was an article from USA TODAY dealing with the military strike on a boat in the Caribbean on September 2^nd  where 11 men were killed and that the boat was carrying illegal drugs to the United States. The article was based upon two members of the committee that were in attendance of a meeting between Admiral Frank Bradley and members of Congress. These two individuals, spoke on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. They reported that Admiral Bradley had legitimate information regarding the 11 individuals on this boat that were deemed “narco-terrorists” and had been cleared to be targeted. It seemed that the major focus was not on the initial attack but more on the fact that 40 minutes after the initial destruction of the boat had taken place two people who had survived the initial attack were later killed. The September 2nd strike was the 1st of at least 22 known strikes by the Trump administration on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean which has resulted in at least 95 people being killed. The strikes have not been approved by Congress. These boats are reportedly thousands of miles from trafficking routes for fentanyl which flows into the United States from Mexico. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to USA TODAY that “Since the department of War began striking these vessels, we have consistently said that our intelligence did indeed confirm these boats were trafficking narcotics destined for America. That same intelligence also confirms that the individuals involved in these drug operations were narco-terrorists and we stand by that assessment.”

                Mr. Parnell went on to say, “Every presidentially directed strike conducted against these designated terrorist organizations is taken in defense of vital U.S. National interests and to protect the American homeland from narco-terrorism. These strikes send a clear message directly to the narco-terrorists: you will find no safe harbor if you continue to poison our people with deadly drugs.”

                Wes Bryant, is a former senior Pentagon adviser on mitigating civilian harm during military operations. He served as a branch chief at the Pentagon Civilian Protection Center of Excellence which worked to improve the military's procedures for minimizing and reporting civilian casualties. The Trump administration dismantled that center in the spring of 2025. Briant states “This is summary execution and somewhere in the chain someone knows that this is either blatantly illegal or somewhere near illegal.”

                When I have seen the footage of these strikes I have felt like I was watching a movie depicting a Brad Thor or Tom Clancy book. In those books and in action movies depicting those kind of books this sort of action is deemed OK or justifiable. But is it? I am interested in hearing the opinions of our membership.

                By now we are all familiar with the term NIL which stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. This refers to the rights of individuals, especially college athletes, to control and profit from their own identity for commercial use like endorsements. This allows athletes to build personal brands and create revenue streams and develop entrepreneurial opportunities. For the college athlete it should be like an internship for what they can accomplish after graduation. Athletes must disclose NIL deals worth over $600 to their schools within 30 days to be in compliance. This is not pay for play. Deals must require an actual deliverable product such as a social media post or an appearance for payment preventing disguised payments for athletic performance. The NCAA promotes standardized contracts and offers resources to educate athletes on obligations, and this latest legislation provides a major shift which allows universities to share athletic revenue directly with athletes where the universities are able to spend up to $20.5 million per institution.

                The student athlete therefore can profit from their name, image, and likeness through endorsements, appearances, social media, autographs, etc. But all NIL compensation must be for services performed not just for playing a sport.

                So the key rule changes for 2025 is 1) revenue sharing, Schools can share Athletic revenue with athletes which is estimated to be about $20.5 million per school for the 2025-2026 year creating direct payments to players. 2) a new enforcement body called the College Sports Commission which overseas compliance, 3) Stricter tax rules as the IRS is watching all NIL earnings and they are all taxable which means that all businesses that are paying athletes must issue a 1099 for more than $600.00 worth of service. 4) There must be a valid business purpose so deals must have clear, real business reasons and not just be recruiting incentives and pay-for-play. 5) No employee status meaning the athletes remain nonemployees but compensation is expected to be substantial like independent contractors.

                Now the student athlete must remain eligible. To remain eligible in Division I a student athlete must complete 40% of the coursework required for a degree by the end of their second year in college. They must complete 60% by the end of their third year and 80% by the end of their fourth year. This is what's called the 40-60-80 rule.

                So, in 2025 who are the highest paid student athletes? According to Sports Illustrated, the 2025-26 highest paid athletes are: #1 is Arch Manning, QB at Texas who is receiving approximately $6.8 million. In 2nd place is Carson Beck QB at Miami at $4.3 million. 3^rd is Jeremiah Smith Wide Receiver at Ohio State at $4.2 million, 4^th is AJ Dybantsa Baseketball forward at BYU with $4.1 million and in 5^th place, Garrett Nussmeier, QB at LSU at $3.7 million.  Caitlin Clark’s NIL valuation peaked at $3.1 million during her final college season.

                On Saturday December 13th the 126th annual Army - Navy football game took place. This game is a must-see for me. I have always loved the tradition of the game, and I have always loved the pregame activities where among other things, the combined Army - Navy singing groups sing our National Anthem. I love to watch it even more now that I know that neither of these teams can receive any NIL monies. These student athletes are considered government employees who receive a salary and benefits. They are not allowed to receive any additional money from endorsements. The academy's ethos emphasizes selfless service and education over individual financial gain from sports. As one of the game’s announcers said, “The difference in this game compared to any other college game, is that every man on that field is willing to risk their life for everyone watching.” 

                I’ve now referenced the two different athlete situations in the USA. NIL vs Non-NIL. When I was in physical therapy school, I had to complete residencies or internships in order to qualify for my professional title. I worked for a hospital or a clinic for three six week internships where I was not paid, but in fact, I had to pay the University for this opportunity.  Now I know that most of these student athletes are not going to become professional athletes. But here is what I think needs to be added to the NIL rules to deal with these high NIL athletes. If a student athlete is being paid through NIL more than twice the cost of their academic scholarship, then they should pay for their education just like all of the other students at the university. In so doing they will still profit from their student athlete performance and NIL deal. At the very least they will graduate with no debt. And if the student athlete does not get NIL payments greater than twice the cost of their education then they are receiving the same type of scholarship payment as college athletes have always received. But once they exceed the two times the cost threshold, they are acting as a true entrepreneur who is financially benefiting from their arrangement. Plus they are actually receiving an entrepreneurial education that will benefit them for the rest of their life.  They should therefore, in my opinion, have to pay for their education just as any other student. This means that the 3^rd string offensive lineman who is on scholarship but gets only a little NIL money from their local car dealership, won’t have to pay anything for their education, just like it was before NIL. Until he gets enough NIL money to exceed the 2 times scholarship threshold.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

                On Friday Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed a bill into law allowing some adults with a terminal illness to take their own lives with medical help. In so doing Illinois now joins 11 other States and the District of Columbia in allowing medical aid in dying. Those states include California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. And in case you were wondering, yes those are all blue states. It allows terminally ill adults with a six month or less prognosis the option to request a prescription which they can self-ingest to die on their own terms. They make that request to their physician. Any adult patient 18 years of age or older requesting end-of-life medication must 1) have a terminal illness that will result in death within six months as determined by two physicians. 2) be informed by their physician about all of their end-of-life care options. 3) have the mental capacity confirmed by their physician to make medical decisions and 4) written and oral requests to receive the aid in dying medication can only be made by the patient and not by a surrogate or advanced care directive.

                In a statement, the Catholic Conference of Illinois said, “The signing of the bill into law puts Illinois on a dangerous and heartbreaking path. One that legitimizes suicide as a valid solution for life's challenges.”

                The legislation also requires that insurance plans, including Medicaid, not deny or alter benefits to patients with terminal disease based on the availability of end-of-life care, their request for medication, or absence of a request. Death certificates of those who take end of life medication under the law will attribute their cause of death to the underlying terminal disease not assisted suicide. And obviously patients who qualify and receive medication can withdraw their request at any time and choose not to take it. I am unsure what the law states in regard to returning the medication if it is not used by the initial requester.

                I personally have had to watch the slow painful death of my three brothers, my mother and my father-in-law due to cancer. I also know the pain of suicide as both my paternal and maternal grandfathers, and my nephew died by suicide. I know that this is end-of life decision is probably the most personal decision any one of us would ever have to make. Based upon my family’s religious beliefs, assisted suicide was never a consideration even if it had been available. I understand that everyone has their own opinion and that legislation such as this stirs up a lot of emotion.  But I see this as a slippery slope that eventually leads to euthanasia for convenience. Be it from insurance companies trying to save money or greedy family or non-family members wanting their inheritance. Or maybe even the need for organ harvesting. I don’t like it and I pray that this sort of legislation does not become federal legislation.  I find it morally and ethically wrong and see it as a further degradation of our society. I’m interested in your opinions.

                And lastly, here is a headline from November 23rd that I just had to include in my paper. It was in the Des Moines Register. The headline was: Dynamite Bomb Left in Women's Dormitory at Iowa State. The Des Moines Register reports that women at Iowa State College in Ames, drawn from bed by a loud buzzing, found a mysterious box chained to the stairwell in their dormitory about 2:30 AM and inspected it before a janitor arrived and determined it was a bomb filled with dynamite. He disarmed it by pulling out electric wires. There were no arrests, but police are taking the incident seriously, “This wasn't just a college prank.” says Ames police chief Orville Erickson “Anybody who puts 5 sticks of dynamite in a bomb means business.” Is that the understatement of the day or what? Oh, I think I forgot to mention this was in 1955. This didn’t even merit the front page in 1955. Oh how reporting has changed in 70 years.  

Thank you.