Stoopid Stuff

STOP!! READ THIS! It's Important!!

Ok, look. It's not that I believe my readership is stupid or unaware, unable to recognize the lies of the Bush administration--Especially when they are typically so egregious and obvious. But this whole "Social Security Reform" issue is one with deep historical roots and a built in faulty public perception. The faulty public perception is that Social Security is in a terrible crisis and must be "fixed". Please. Stop now and read this. Go ahead. I'll wait. Ok, back now? Good.

So now you're asking "Ok, but then what's with all this urgency that the administration is attaching to Social Security Reform if the problem is just not all that big a deal?" This is the big, scary lie part. You see, going back to the Reagan administration, a group of influential conservative Americans such as Grover Norquist, William Kristol and Richard Cheney (yep, THAT Richard Cheney) , who in later years would be indentified as the Neo-Conservatives, have been espousing a program called "Starve the Beast". They absolutely HATE the New Deal/Great Society programs, primarily Social Security and MediCare. But they know that the American people are basically kind and decent at heart and would like to see programs like those continue. Hence, "Starve the Beast". The plan is simple--they want to financially destroy Social Security and Medicare--so they can go to the American people and say "Sorry, but no more Social Security, it's out of funds". Maddeningly (to them) it was originally formulated as a pretty solid program that, with minor ongoing fixes, seems quite sustainble for the forseeable future.

So look at what they're doing. They're perpetuating this theory that the system is broken and only they have the political courage to step up to the plate and fix it--they only have our best interests at heart, you see. Then, using this "Privatization" solution their pet lapdog economists espouse, they can add over two trillion dollars of debt into the system all at once. Crash. The debt service kills the program and they say "Sorry, but at least we had the courage to try" and move on. It is the most evil, venal, disingenuous thing they have done yet.

They said they went into Iraq to make us safer. They said we would all get tax cuts. They said jobs and prosperity are just around the corner. They said they would make the environment better, the world safer and expand human rights and liberty. All lies. But this is the most craven of all. Because they are saying they are helping us when they are doing the exact oppsite. Because the rhetoric is that they are "fixing" social security when the actual plan is to destroy it. We must be aware, do the research and spread the word. No thank you, mister president. We don't believe Social Security needs a fix like this, and we won't support it.

Listen, I know. I'm just a guy with an opinion. PLEASE don't just believe me--Just don't just believe THEM either. Do your research. Read--All the facts are on the web and in Libraries. You have to read the "enemy's" documents in order to understand their motives. Here's a few places to start:

The project for a new american century
The Hoover Institution
The Heritage Foundation
The "Weekly Standard"

Honestly, their plans aren't secret, they are published for all to read. These men do not think of themselves as evil, they are the true believers in what they are doing, and they do not hesitate to communicate their "vision". Once you see that vision, I think you'll know what to do...

posted by mikey @ 11:32 AM 0 comments

It's Only a Game

Balco! Steroids! The end of Baseball and the decline of western civilization!! Jeez, talk about a tempest in a syringe. A couple of things.

First, guys, it's BASEBALL. Not life and death, not war or peace, not even municipal politics. Baseball. A game. Popular sure, but a game. Why is it popular? It's ENTERTAINMENT. It doesn't change lives, it doesn't change the world, but it gives us something pleasurable to do, like theater or garage sales. And I think I speak for most when I say I enjoy baseball, and I enjoy it more with Bonds, Sheffield, Giambi and the like hitting the ball very hard and very far. Now listen very carefully. I DON'T CARE IF THEY TAKE DRUGS. Clear and simple enough? What difference does it make--it's entertainment. Does it make the pennant race any less exciting? Does it change the gritty courage of a junkball pitcher facing the heart of the opposing lineup in the seventh with a one run lead? We like to talk about the players and their stats, but the real joy of baseball is the game, and the bigger game, the season. Baseball is exciting, and special in the world of sports, due in a large part to the 162 game regular season. It's a grueling marathon, a great leveler of playing fields, the greatest equalizer in the history of sport. It's why Anaheim, or Florida, can win it all. It's why no matter how much money Steinbrenner throws at making a winning team, he can lose year after year. It's why players taking drugs don't matter--they still need skills and reflexes and health and luck.

Which brings us to the whole Barry Bonds issue. There are many pundits calling into question whether Bonds should be recognized as a great player in light of the possibility that he used steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. Well, let me ask one question. Apparently, many players have taken steroids. Hundereds, perhaps thousands. So if steroids are the source of Bonds' greatness, why aren't all these other players as great as Bonds? If you say he started out with more skills than they did, then he is a great player. If it's as easy as taking some drugs, why don't more players have 700 home runs? 500 stolen bases? More intentional walks than other TEAMS? The argument that Bonds' greatness must be attributed to steroids will only hold water if he's the ONLY guy in the game taking them. And we're pretty certain at this point that's not the case.

You want my perscription for solving the steroids "problem" in major league baseball? Easy. Make steroid use MANDATORY at the major league level. When a player gets called up from the minors, the last thing he must do before joining the team is take a drug test. He MUST test positive for steroids or he will not be allowed to join the team. You see the elegance of this solution? The field is level, for if all are using performance enhancing drugs, no one will have an advantage over anyone else. And the quality of the game will improve, as pitchers begin to throw in the low 120s and hitters routinely average .375. Plus, to offset the millions that players are paid, there is the additional consideration of a significantly shortened life expectancy. The players dillema: Take the millions and perhaps die by fifty, or get out and become an insurance adjuster. Problem Solved. Next?

posted by mikey @ 1:24 PM 0 comments