By Rusty Rubin, managing editor, of Ringsports.com, and the author of “Off the Canvas”, a view of American history and the social problems of the times, as viewed by an 80-year old ex-champion. “Off the Canvas is a book that has been getting rave reviews. With Christmas right around the corner, it would make a great, inexpensive gift for that boxing fan in your life. If you want to purchase an autographed copy, please e-mail me with the info. You can also purchase copies on-line at all major book retailers and Authorhouse.com ***

Back from a brief vacation and my yearly sojourn to the World Boxing Hall of Fame Induction. Great time. This was their 25th Annual Induction Ceremony and the best I can remember. Just about everything went off smoothly and the nine inductees showed all the class and humility that earned them their induction. True champions in and out of the ring. It was a full house with more than 1400 fans attending the event at the Commerce Crowne Plaza.

The six ex-fighters were: Jeff Fenech, Genaro Hernandez, Daniel Zaragoza, Ernie Terill, Jimmy Ellis and Kenny Lane. In the non-participant category Tom Kelly, Col. Bob Sheridan and Jesse Reid were honored.

As always there were many new faces, and sadly some old ones weren’t present. It’s always good to see Gene Fullmer and his lovely wife, but Carmine Basilio, his old ring nemesis and now friend, wasn’t on hand. Bob Foster was conspicuous by his absence. De la Hoya, Mosley and Vargas, who are usually on hand, were no-shows as well. On hand for a brief introduction at least was Sylvester Stallone, who is coming out with a new boxing reality show, “The Contender” soon.

I make it to LA every year I can for this event, and enjoy spending time with old friends and making new ones. It’s a great event and one you should put on your yearly calendar.

Personal thanks go to President Dr. Joseph Noriega and his great Board of Directors that made this event a huge success. Personal thanks go out to my good friend and photographer Ray Luna for all his help.

Ringsports.com is hosting a 15th anniversary party at Ile Cortile Restauante, 125 Mulberry St., NYC on Oct. 27 from 7 PM till??? Make your reservations now because seating is limited to only 75 guests. Mix and mingle with the who’s who in our sport and those who don’t remember…A great time for a tax free donation of $100 which goes to the Retired Boxers Federation. For reservations call Roland Munoz at (201)659-0279. You’ll be glad you did.***

Finally, I want all our great readers to keep in mind that Rick Schroeders new movie, Black Cloud, will soon be coming to a theatre near you. I urge you not to miss it! It’s a great boxing that deals with both Olympic style boxing and the evils of racism and other problems of the Native Americans.

My good friend Stephen B. Acunto, who founded the American Association for the Improvement of Boxing, along with Rocky Marciano, now has his book “Champions Boxing Guide” available in Spanish. For details visit Steve’s website: AAIB.org

Please help me with my upcoming new book. Send all boxing jokes, stories, quips and boxing oddities to Rngsports@aol.com, thanks, and members of the boxing media are free to send this most welcome information as well.***

Agree or disagree, feel free to express your views.

Glove2Glove:

Prayers requested for Sam Kellerman, younger brother of boxing guru Max, who was murdered in his Los Angeles apartment.

Prayers for the soul of Mike ‘Motormouth’ Morton, long time great boxing guy from Portland, Oregon who answered his final bell at age 92.

Herb Platzner, father of RS.com scribe Harrin is having heart problems. Prayers for his health would be much appreciated.***

Dub Harris, WWII hero and founder and past President of the World Boxing Hall of Fame has suffered a stroke in Southern California. Please pray for his quick return to health.***

Prayers needed for the return to health of Alfonso Luna, father of our outstanding photographer Ray Luna, who has taken ill in Southern California.

Please say prayers for the return to health of Helen Wambolt, wife of our East Coast World Boxing Hall of Fame writer Danny Wambolt. Cards will also be most welcome.***

Prayers are requested for Donna Jean Landers, boxing fan from Oklahoma, who has been fighting cancer for three years. She needs your help my friends.

Please say prayers for wife of RS.com writer Marty Carson (auto accident) who is having health problems) of Indiana. Marty is a long time friend and a boxing. expert.***

Please say prayers for the return to health of Orazio Esposito, father of our photographer Richard Esposito.***

Sandy Johnson a staff member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission is fighting breast cancer. A call, e-mail or card, along with your prayers would really do a lot to raise the spirits of an old friend.***

Special prayers go out to Mills Lane for his complete recovery. Mills, who suffered a stroke a few years back may be down, but knowing him, he’s far from out.***

Prayers for the return to health of Don Donelson, father of writer Tom, and Gene Sebastian, brother of former middleweight champ Billy Soose. Both are suffering from congestive heart disease. And to Arthur Terciera, father of writer Keith, also having heart related problems.***

Prayers are requested for Ringsports.com photo journalist Dale Hausner of Arizona, who is having problems with cancer.***

Prayers are requested for Kenneth E. Ryther father of our photo journalist Amy Green. Kenneth is suffering from Parkinson’s.***

Prayers for Ed “Whitey” Hadar, a former boxer who is having some serious health problems.***

Please say prayers for Phill Grazide of Santa Rosa, CA. a big supporter of amateur boxing, who is suffering the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis.***

Needless to say we need prayers for the return to health of both former champs Greg Page and Gerald McClellan, both confined to wheelchairs.***

Glove2Glove is a non-denominational group set up to aide those boxing folks and their relatives in need of prayers and cards. We accept no money and only contact our members when someone is in need. It’s free to join. Simply send us your e-mail address. And even if you’re not a member, feel free to contact us if you are aware of some boxing person in need.

Touching on politics briefly: The fact that I was away for 10 days doesn’t mean I wasn’t watching the debates, reading a lot, and making up my mind as to who I am going to vote for this year.

As I said, I have never, nor will I ever endorse a candidate, although for the first time, I have been seriously thinking about it. Then again, my views are not any better or worse than anyone else is so why bother. The only important thing is that you cast an educated vote on Nov. 2, not based on the propaganda filled TV ads, but on doing some research on the issues and come to your own conclusion. That’s not much of a sacrifice when you think of the sacrifices our braves soldiers have made for more than 200 years.

I intend to cast my ballot on November 2, for John Kerry and here’s a list of the reasons why. If it appears long, trust me it could have been a lot longer. The bottom line is that while I have some problems with Kerry, I think change is a must. Four more years of George Bush will be bad for the country and the world. Here’s why.

Foreign policy: A no-brainer for Kerry. Iraq was a mess that he got us into without any plans to get out. The President’s cowboy diplomacy embarrassed us in most of the free (and not so free) world. An endorsement by ‘freedom lover’, Russian leader Vladamir Putin means nothing as under his guidance Russia refused to help us with ridding the world of Sadaam.

And while Putin may be on Bush’s side, most other world leaders think our President is a buffoon who got his education at the Forest Gump school of English.

I understand the bitterness that the Viet Nam veterans still feel, even after 30 years. But isn’t it better to support a man who bravely fought for his country, and than had the courage to call the war wrong and perhaps save some lives, than a President that started an ill-timed war and still doesn’t admit it was a mistake. He doesn’t even think he’s ever made any mistakes as President and if that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, it should! Was Iraq a target? Even if they allowed some members of al Qaeda into the country, no Iraqi was involved in 9/11. Many of the terrorists however did come from Iran, which was listed as a member of the ‘axis of evil’, but Iraq was the target of choice.

Some ads blame Kerry for turning his back on his fellow soldiers in Viet Nam. Yes, you can look at it that way, but the real problem was that Viet Nam, was a war we were not trying to win. Another problem was the draft, which a lot of people didn’t like because no one wanted to risk their lives or the lives of a loved one for a war which besides not trying to win in a place that we didn’t belong in.

Of course it was absolutely wrong to spit on the veterans returning home from Nam, who did what they felt was right! Of course it’s easy to resent someone who burns the flag you’ve risked life and limb for. But there were a lot of reasons for the resentment, which we can argue forever about. But it serves no purpose…It was in fact, another time, another place. We have to move on.

Anyone who tells you that we have any chance of holding our own in Iraq, by staying the course, without bringing back the draft (and the hatred that goes with it) is selling you a false bill of goods. How can we avoid a draft when terrorists cross the Iraqi border faster than we can kill or capture them? Our brave men and women will have to be replaced sooner or later, and if people think that an all volunteer army will do it, just doesn’t understand the problem. And we have the obligation to support them 1000%.

We must do better.
The economy? Another easy win for Kerry. Bush has destroyed our best-jobs by sending them overseas, eliminated overtime and medical benefits for those who need it most and has done nothing worthwhile that I can see, other than make his rich friends even richer. The President says education is the answer. To what end? A college degree to make $7.00 an hour?
It’s obvious to this old scribe that the President misunderstood, when his wife read Robin Hood to him. He wants to be a modern day Robin Hood by taking from the poor and giving to the rich. Mrs. Bush please read the story to your husband slowly and make sure he understands!

We must do better!

Homeland (in)security? The President doesn’t like the tough Republican bill that would crack down in allowing illegal aliens into our country. And this guy claims he’s a leader who is supposed to make me feel safer? Sorry I don’t! 95% of the cargo ships coming into this country are not inspected for nuclear or biological weapons. Doesn’t make me feel any safer. And why does our ill-advised incursion into Iraq make us safer from the terrorists? That’s like comparing apples and oranges.

We must do better!

As for the polls that show that people think that George Bush is a strong leader. Why? All Bush did was lead us down the wrong path in Iraq. Sure he went into Afghanistan, but never finished the mission there. I’d love an explanation on these polls. I didn’t support Al Gore, but I believe that even as goofy as he came off in the debates, he would have done the same thing in Afghanistan without blundering into Iraq and opening a second front. The invasion of Iraq has created a haven for terrorists in a land that the President said ‘would welcome us as liberators’. How could anyone believe that? It’s their country, not ours. Like it or not, we’re the intruders here. And I thought imperialism was dead.

We must do better!

And the other issues that I believe our President is wrong on. Funding for stem cell research; not helping seniors; allowing outrageous drug costs; not stepping in to help alleviate the gas crisis, etc.

The flu shot shortage is a non-partisan problem, my only question is why haven’t we been told what agent ‘contaminated’ the flu vaccine in the U.K.? Was this an act of terrorism that we haven’t been told about?

At first I was thinking of voting against the President, not necessarily for John Kerry. In my eyes the man in the Oval Office has done nothing for me, to warrant my vote. Except for getting rid of Sadaam, which could have been done later, when we had allies and a plan to pull out, I see no accomplishments. Are they really free? Are they better off that we intervened?

Of late, I’ve come to actually see some of the real John Kerry, and I do like some of his ideas. I’m not a big fan of his liberal voting record, although it doesn’t take a genius to see how Karl Rove and company have twisted his record. Anyone ever hear of ‘pork’? And I’m certainly not doing better or feeling safer then I was four years ago. And I don’t think the label ‘liberal’ is any better or worse then the term ‘conservative’. I don’t like labels, period! Everyone is entitled to a point of view, as it should be in a democracy.

Another reason I cannot support George Bush is that if re-elected, he will be a lame duck, in other words ‘no more years’, and fortunately we don’t have to worry about having Dick Cheney having Presidential ambitions.

As much as I’d like to see Bush doing a better job if re-elected, he has nothing to lose by doing even more for his wealthy friends and further the agenda of the religious right. That scares me, but not as much as four more years as bad, or worse, than the last four.

We’ve all seen negative ads about John Kerry flip-flopping on the issues. Personally I’d rather have a man in charge who is flexible and willing to change when necessary, then a man who refuses to admit he’s wrong, and wants to stay the course, even if the course leads to disaster. I would rather trust someone who is willing to admit his mistakes, and admit your shortcomings then blindly compound them. A person who thinks he’s infallible can be very dangerous.

And our Vice President continues to use scare tactics on the voting public, saying if Kerry gets elected we will be subject to terrorist attacks because he can’t protect us. And Bush did? I’d rather have a decorated military man lead the war against Al Qaeda then two guys who never saw active duty and have no idea about the ugliness of war, and who think the way to win an election is to scare the voters. Kerry’s campaign, sadly, has resorted to negative and fear tactics as well.

The President said he was a uniter not a divider. Has anyone ever seen this nation so divided? On 9/11 we were one nation united against terror, by going into Iraq, we’ve become even bitterer and divided than before the WTC tragedy. A leader? Safer? While I certainly don’t hold him responsible, the World Trade Center disaster happened on his watch.

To me that is certainly not better!

As far as I can tell President Bush has done nothing, except getting rid of Sadaam, which was ill timed, to warrant my vote. By attacking Iraq the President created more problems than solutions, but in fairness, we would have to have dealt with Hussein at some point in the future. Will Kerry be better? Frankly, I don’t know, but I do know I’m not satisfied with what we get and so my vote goes for change, as much as it does for the Democratic candidate.

I believe that we not only can, but we must do better than what we have representing America today! These are some of my reasons for voting for John Kerry. But thank God it’s a free country, and you have every right to disagree with me on Election Day. In fact you have the obligation to do so. You don’t have to agree with me, but your vote should be educated. And no matter who wins, we must work together and support our elected leader.

Whoever you cast your ballot for on Nov. 2, make sure that you do vote! People far better then you and I have risked their lives for this very precious gift. Don’t dishonor them by staying home. You don’t have to agree with my views, I don’t expect everyone to. And you have every right as an American to express your agreement or disagreement with them on Nov. 2. As a proud American, it’s your duty to do just that.

Forget the negative half truth ads you’re been watching on TV or the spam e-mail that partisans have said, take the time and learn the real facts, not the ones the partisans want you to believe!

Remember, whoever wins, we must support him for the next four years and we must be united in this regard.

I’m Rusty Rubin and I approve this message.
For the 1003rd or so time, IRAQ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH SEPT. 11TH…EVEN THE PRESIDENT ACKNOWLEDGES THIS! We hold that truth to be self evident.

And I’d like to take some personal time to thank everyone who has taken the time to respond to these editorials, even those that don’t agree. It shows that you’re thinking, and that will help make your vote on Nov. 2, a very wise one. Here’s a free offer, the best e-mail (USA only), every week, will be given a free subscription to Ringsports.com the magazine (if they want it). You don’t have to agree or disagree, with me, just make your point correctly. It’s my way of saying thanks for caring….

Agree or disagree, I’d like to hear from you.