Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A Wasted Draft Pick

I like Peyton Manning. Great arm. Probably no quarterback in the history of the NFL can read a defense like he does. He's tall, athletic, maybe even good looking and arguably is the prototype of all quarterbacks to come. Seems like a nice guy too.

But, put him on the line of scrimmage with the Detroit Lions and he sucks. He's got no one to throw to, his backs have butter-fingers and his defensive teammates are going to give up more points than he can usually put up on the board. Your only as good as those around you let you be. You gotta have those sure-handed receivers and quick backs...

America is the Detroit Lions. We suck. We have sucked for years. Nine now, to be exact. The people who own this team went out and got Barack Obama to quarterback this team but neglected to get him the TE's, WR's RB's and the defense to back him up. Management loses more games than any player. I'm a Cub fan. I know. It makes me wonder if it isn't on purpose like in the sports movies like "Slapshot" or "Major League". Does someone want the team to lose for a tax write-off? Hmmm...

Barack Obama is the right man for the job. Timing is everything in life though. If he "had succeeded Bill Clinton nine years ago and kept that going...Wow. America would be as great as the lip service we ALL give it.

However, the way this country works is we have to take turns every four or eight years. Whether the democrats or the republicans are running things, the first four years of an administration are spent trying to ensure that there is a second four years. If you do *pretty good* and/or have a war going on...you get a second term as president, the titular head of the country, and your party gets four more years. You fail, and there is a regime change. You can look it up. If you need a link: American History.

There are trillions of dollars at stake. The way we print and worship money- make that gazillions. The losing party each term still gets paid handsomely but, lets face it, the big money is in winning and controlling things. Obviously, in politics anywhere in the world, no one in defeat ever really shakes the hand of the winner and says, "Good game!" The pat on the back in politics is searching out a good spot for the knife to go in.

This is human nature both politically and socially. If you don't think so, take a look at your job- if you still have one. For most of us, a job is the way to pay the bills. I don't care what you do for a living or how seriously you take your job, there is ALWAYS someone in your work place who takes the job far more seriously than you do. They will do ANYTHING (maybe) short of murder to get ahead. You know that. It's happened to all of us in the work place. Everyone's job is like Survivor Island but without the chicks in bikini's, the exotic locales and the million dollar prize. The goal for some, if not monetary, is to have as much control as possible. Why would politics and the bottomless pit of money and power that it offers be any different?

There was no way the republicans were going to retain the presidency after 8 horrible (but profitable) years of Cheney/Bush. No fucking way. And the democrats had a Heisman Trophy winner in Barack Obama coming into the league. The republicans knew it was time to punt. They put up a dog and pony show of McCain/Palin to make an effort and got back on defense knowing that the democrats were so deep in their own territory, they would regain possession on the next series.

They will, too. I don't think any president has ever been sand-bagged like Obama. There's no way that "we the people" are coming out of this no matter how great Obama is. "Change" has been coming to this country since John F. Kennedy was murdered. Eisenhower warned of the danger of the "military-industrial complex". Kennedy took a bullet for it. And now the SCOTUS has determined that corporations are free to "contribute" unlimited dollars to candidates. Think your vote counted before? What's in YOUR wallet?

It isn't "our" country any more. It isn't democratic, it isn't republican. "We" are a corporation. "We" are fucked.

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