Wed
Feb 13 2008
07:51 pm
By: Justin

Isn't there a war going on? Isn't our economy in shambles? Are we not worried about terrorism? Illegal immigration? Rising energy prices? Jobs being sent overseas? Global warming? Health care? Apparently Rep. Henry Waxman believes that congress should focus their attention on a couple of baseball players who allegedly used HGH and steroids. Meanwhile over in the Senate chamber Arlen Specter has some "hard hitting" questions for the NFL commissioner about the destruction of tapes related to the infamous Patriots/Jets "spy" scandal. Carry on America...your congressman and senators are here to serve and protect.

R. Neal's picture

I was thinking the same

I was thinking the same thing watching some of that crap today. If only Osama bin Laden had attacked us with steroids and HGH. We'd be all over that case.

Or if Dubya had been caught giving injections to Rumsfeld before sending him out to lie and shill for the war. The impeachment hearings would be well underway or concluded with a conviction by now.

KC's picture

I kind of agree with you

I kind of agree with you all, but with the money being made by the sports industry, and all of the people who pay ticket prices to see a game played and won without cheating, I think its important that Congress address this issue.

It also sends a message to kids and parents alike that even if you think Junior or Juniorette should win at all costs, cheating won't or shouldn't be tolerated.

With the increasing use of steroids by high school and middle school athletes, the professional players who use this junk need to be taken down and run out of the league.

lovable liberal's picture

Waxman's normally good, but

Waxman's normally good, but this is Congressional hearings as entertainment.

Liberty and justice for all.

My new home

Johnny Ringo's picture

I'm waiting for

I'm waiting for congressional hearings into whether professional wrestling is fake.

Seriously, aren't the only peple really so affected by the use of performance enhancing drugs in professional sports as to warrant governmental interference those people who make a living betting on professional sports? If fans are bothered by this, they can simply not go to the games, like they did after the baseball players strike.

RayCapps's picture

It's entirely sensible within the logic of politics, folks:

The truth is, our population is probably a lot more concerned with whether or not a player is "juicing" than they are about the War in Iraq, and just as concerned as they are about the economy. It's not a new phenomenon and we're hardly at the apex of public obsession with sports. Read about the fallout from the "Black Sox" scandal and Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis. Consider that major league baseball is the only business specifically excluded from having to comply with anti-trust laws. Face it folks, if a scandal like this had come during the Great Depression, the New Deal would have ground to a halt until we got to the bottom of it all.

We might worry and fret about the separation of church and state, but both bow down in subservience to Sports. Congress holds hearings about steroids and HGH. Baptist Churches cancel Sunday night servies and invite the faithful over to watch the Superbowl "on the big screen." Welcome to America... gotta love it.

gonzone's picture

Where's the Anthrax?

Since all the important issues of the world have obviously been thoroughly addressed, perhaps it's time to find the anthrax attacker? Yeah, they thought I had forgotten that little scare. And BTW, where's Osama?

Bread and circuses are so much more important than war and torture and terrorists.
Shred the Constitution, that's OK, we didn't need our rights anyway.
Feed the corporations, not the poor, it's the 'Murikan way!

Must keep the masses entertained and full of Soma.
Next on FOX the show that will replace American Idol: Senators Gone Wild Over Sports!!! Don't miss it!! Must see TV!!

Gawd, I hate our government sometimes.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

Factchecker's picture

One of the Bushes' closest and favorite BFFs

I was trying to find the words to respond to this. I failed. But this person at Slate did not. Excerpt:

Clemens is a rich and politically well-connected Texan, who upon being named in the Mitchell Report immediately received a consolatory phone call from George H.W. Bush and who was chaperoned to his pre-hearing meet-and-greet sessions with committee members by Congressman Ted Poe, a Republican from Harris County, whose major urban center is Houston. The aggressive lawyering on his behalf and the Rocket's own high-and-hard indignation is heavy with implication: Don't mess with Texas; Don't mess with the Bushes. Whoever's direct bidding it was, the Republican committee members were more than happy to grandstand about the supposedly degenerate character of Brian McNamee, even as one of the worst and most flagrant cheaters in the history of American sports sat five feet to his left.

jbr's picture

Kids on steroids willing to risk it all for success..

Obviously I am in the minority, but I think it is important...

(link...)

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