The Unending Hunt for Common Sense...

For all of you who proudly wear your Republican or Democrat party buttons, I have a little quote for you from a Founding Father.  Now I know both parties like to quote the Founding Fathers, in an attempt to link themselves with their wisdom.  But, I'm willing to bet y'all don't hear this one from either side too often.  It's from George Washington, after he finished his second term in office.  (Incidentally, he made the decision not to seek a third term, even though he was under great pressure to run again.  A self-imposed term limit, you might, a notion that would be COMPLETELY foreign to the esteemed men and women of today's Congress.)

 

Anyway, back to the wisdom of our founding father and first president:

 

George Washington:  “Political parties (factions) are a source of corrupting evil, perhaps the greatest threat our new nation faces.  Government leaders must be elected on their reputations for disinterested public service … He must pursue no partisan program … (his) only aim should be for the good of the nation as a whole.”

 

I guess the Parties ignore this little pearl of wisdom, lest they lose their meal tickets and the adulation of blind partisan adherents.  The ONLY thing your party stands for, ultimately, is the promotion of its own “brand."

As the funerals are held and the victims are buried, the time is nearing for these communities to decide where they go from here.

Meacham Park is a part of the larger Kirkwood community, but feels isolated and abandoned.  What can be done to combat this and bring this community together?

Should a seat be created on the city council to represent the Meacham Park area?  I've heard the argument that Meacham Park can't find a candidate that gets enough votes to win a seat as it stands now.  However, isn't Meacham Park a definable area in the city?  If they are the minority, how can they vote in a person to represent their interests?  Doesn't this speak to the broader issue of taxation without representation?

If you feel that Meacham Park should not have a seat on the council, why?  What harm would it cause that would outweigh the greater good of giving a definable segment of the Kirkwood area a voice?  What are other ways to address the obvious racial tensions that this tragedy has brought to light?

What are the responsibilities of the Meacham Park residents themselves to deal with their neighborhood problems, such as crime, property values, etc?  Are their community leaders doing all they can to address these issues?

Let me say this: this blog is about moving forward from tragedy and working to move these areas away from racial divide and into being some sort of cooperative, inclusive community that addresses the needs of all its residents.  Any post that spews hate speech against either side or supports the actions of animals like Thornton or Johnson will be deleted flat-out.  There are plenty of other blogs on this tragedy filled with hate speech.  If you don't have anything constructive to say, go find one of those.

OK, this all started with my middle son tonight.  He snuck a second plate, so that his salad and peas didn’t touch his chicken and garlic bread (meaning I had more dishes to wash).  It ticked me off, because he’s too darn old for this and he’s just being defiant because I make him eat salad and peas at thirteen.  You parents know the drill when you get ticked – do you think I love washing dishes (even with a dishwasher)?  What, I’m made of money and water and electricity are free?  Just eat your d*** salad and peas with chicken breading mixed in it!

(Grumble, grumble, utilities are high, gas is high, I’m aggravated, wasting water, no sense of conservation, grumble – see where I’m going?  I’m back to politics – LOL.  So, this is all his fault.)

But, then I got to thinking, once I was back on the political track – why hasn’t someone told the conservatives to just eat their peas and salad and get over it?  Oh, wait, they are being told - in these primaries – they’re just still in the defiant stage.

If the Religious Right and Fundamentalist Conservatives are the backbone of the Republican party and no one in the party can get anything done without them, then WHERE IS THEIR GUY?  I see several posts everyday, lamenting the absence of Romney, but if their influence is the force to reckon with that they would have you believe, where were his delegates?  I mean, he had waaaaay more money than anyone else on EITHER side.  He had the conservatives in the palm of his hand!  He was touted to be Reagan resurrected!  He had everything the conservative formula calls for in spades!  So, WHERE IS HE NOW?

When Bush ran against Gore, the Christian Conservatives embraced him, he got the nomination with little muss or fuss, and BAM, he was President.  It all went like clockwork (well, with the little exception of the Florida debacle, but up to the point of the nomination itself, he was a shoo-in).  But, now it’s 2008.  The extreme right is still walking the walk of the real Power behind any Republican throne, yet the numbers are way short for their guy (guys, if you count Huckabee, who’s the second choice behind Romney for the faith-based voter).

They say their numbers are the same – they haven’t lost any of their “core” conservatives.  If that’s the case, then again, where is their guy?  They overcame the Independents in 2000.  If their numbers haven’t dropped, why are they gnashing their teeth at having poor John McCain as the all-but-certain nominee of their party?

If their numbers AREN’T the same, then why do they think that is?  If you are losing club members, don’t you want to know why?  Isn’t there a message not being expressed effectively?  What’s changed?  Why aren’t people embracing the messages they embraced eight years ago?  Where were all these people to rally behind the Pro-Life, Anti-Gay-Marriage, Stay-The-Course standard that Romney was purported to be?

It seems to me that, no matter what they say, they’ve lost their numbers.  I can tell, because John McCain’s got them – 723 at this point, to be specific.  People on both sides are turning out in record numbers to embrace candidates that, while representing most of their basic values, are also representing themselves as willing to work with the other side with courtesy and respect.   Someone who’s trying to resolve broad issues, tough problems, and a divisiveness that’s bone-deep in this country right now.  Even the Clinton Mean Machine was muzzled quickly when its attacks on the opposition suddenly turned people off, unlike it did in the '90s.  It appears the regular folks have had it with ideologies and are looking now for definable actions and resolutions – things that can only be achieved with cooperation.

Another blogger referred to a third group of voters – The Rational Middle (or something like that – my apologies if I got that wrong).  What could possibly be the attraction?  Could it be that, regardless of what the wingnuts on both sides claim (and boy, do the Democrats have their fair share), regular folks are getting fed up with the bickering stalemates that define our government?  Are they starting remember that this government only works when there’s respect and cooperation from both sides of the aisle?  Are they actually tired of being red states and blue states and trying once again to be the United States?  Not backing Obama here, necessarily, but could he be that his success is due, in part, to the fact that he's tapped into a REAL issue with voters?  That's going to be tough for the wingnuts - politics has always been divide and conquer for them.

Tonight, when I was doing dishes, I wasn’t worrying about whether my next-door neighbor was sleeping with someone of the same sex.  I wasn’t contemplating whether I came from a monkey or not.  I was aggravated with my son for trying to get out of eating his peas and salad.  Then, I had to write out checks for hospital bills for a broken nose, a surgical procedure, a broken finger, and to write a letter explaining yet again that a facility used was actually in-network, not out, and that it was the doctor’s choice anyway, and HE’S in network.  But, hey, I thought, at least we have healthcare.  I was thinking, ugh, I didn’t put gas in the car on the way home tonight and I have to put aside $2 for my daughter’s lunch money, so that leaves me $13 for gas, or I have to stop at the ATM, which I need to NOT do until the rest of the bills are paid.  But, hey, I thought, at least we live in St. Louis, which is lower than the rest of the nation in gas prices.  I did think about my in-laws, who are getting ready to be moved by the Navy to Italy for my sister-in-law to become the base Commander, but that was because my little niece’s birthday was today and I won’t get to see her for another two years – maybe longer, depending on the war.  That was my sole political thought tonight, until now.

What I realized is this: the Republican party that was hijacked several years ago by their extreme fundamentalists don’t speak to what MY concerns are anymore – and by the numbers we are seeing and the frontrunners we seem to have, they aren’t speaking to a lot of other people’s, either.  Seems to be the same for the Democrats, too.  Fortunately, as an Independent, I still have the ability to speak for myself – and for the candidate that speaks to me.  Party affiliation need not apply.

I was very pleased to hear a news report that Staples and OfficeDepot had severed ties with an Asian paper supplier that wasn't doing enough to preserve rainforests and other forested areas!  Good for them!

It's actions like these that will force companies and governments to do more to preserve our natural resources.  I feel it will do more than any government regulation can on its own, with laws and regulations that these types of businesses regularly circumvent.  It's the bottom line that talks and when suppliers lose customers because of their practices, they either have to change or go out of business.

As hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles become more available and most consumer-friendly affordable, you'll see oil and gas companies have to change the focus of their businesses, as well, with more R&D into alternative fuel production, resulting in more jobs in the "green" collar sector.

The Free Market can succeed where the government bureaucracy fails by making changes for the betterment of our country and our people quickly and effectively.

I'm just sitting here trying to absorb what happened in Kirkwood last night and am wondering if there are broader lessons to be learned from this, on BOTH sides.

Meacham Park has long been an area with issues and while residents I'm sure have some justifiable grievances, it's also been no stranger to crime, with some residents claiming some sort of justification for that behavior, as well.  Comments I've heard over the years usually go something like, "Well, (fill in the blank crime) is wrong, BUT..."  Mr. Thorton's brother and mother said the same thing last night.  Now, they have to be grieving, and I feel terrible for them, losing their family member and now having to try to explain his inexcusable actions in the camera's glare, but this sense of "they have it coming" in that community is pervasive  The innocent victims of this shooting did everything they could to put an end to Mr. Thorton's complaints, but even having the books wiped of his tickets wasn't enough.  He thought, obviously, they "had more coming."

Well before Kirkwood Commons was built, pizza deliveries were stopped in that neighborhood, I was mugged in the old Howard Johnson's parking lot, there were plenty of police calls in the neighborhood itself, the list is ongoing.  And then, in a neighborhood that was already rife with tension, they decide that eminent domain is a good idea, people lost their homes for a Lowe's, a Target, etc.  Now I think there's been a lot of excuses and justification for some very bad elements in Meacham Park, but I'm also willing to admit that I think losing your home so a Target can move 3 or 4 blocks up the street to a fancy new development seems a little raw.

I wonder if the Target had threatened any of the stately homes in Kirkwood proper, that it would have been embraced quite so strongly.  I don't think so.  I think abuse of the eminent domain system is growing.  I think of the dentist in Arnold who's fighting the same battle.  Eminent domain for a firehouse, a hospital, or maybe even a highway is necessary.  For a spiffy new strip mall?  I think that's crap.

Now, residents of Meacham Park have long lashed out at its surrounding communities and never bothered much to clean up its own act.  And people like Kevin Johnson and Mr. Thornton act like animals and are completely beyond any sympathy, regardless of what their grievances are.  In fact, their grievances, even had they been right, are lost now and people who may have supported them in their fights, now look at them as the criminals they apparently are.

But, I do think that communities, in the zeal to attract business, need to start thinking of people's lives before they try to get into people's pocketbooks.  To families that live in them, an historic house is no more important than a tiny, two-bedroom ranch.  But, when you won't clean up your own neighborhood, don't complain when no one comes to your defense, either.  Eminent domain may have not been a direct cause for this incident or Kevin Johnson, but may be among the fuel that keeps the tension bubbling at a slow, steady rate.

For both sides of what I think is a broader problem, keep this in mind - when you have a possible volcano that's bubbling just under the surface, it's probably best not to throw gasoline on it.

Let me talk to you on your own turf – you should be ashamed of what you've done to the Republican party and this country as a whole!

The voting at the polls on Super Tuesday reflects that WE THE PEOPLE, as a nation, are sick of the filthy divisiveness the so-called Christian Conservatives have wrought by hijacking the Republican party.  As a group, your agenda has been to create deep divides in our country's psyche, tearing its citizens apart, by demonizing those conservatives who are more moderate.  You have made moderation and cooperation, things we teach our children in kindergarten, bad and the results have been disastrous to our country, our foreign policy, and our economy.  You are losing your relevancy and it's killing you.  You must now look for reasons why the conservative voters across the entire country are wrong – every Republican who votes McCain isn't a true conservative.  McCain's conservative rating is 80% and you people scream he's a liberal.  Really?  Will you be happy with the judges that a Democratic president appoints to the Supreme Court?  Are you SO far gone that you would rather have Roe V Wade, your poster child of judicial liberalism, upheld beyond all shadow of a doubt?  Are you so sick in your fevered brains that you would throw a good man to the wolves simply for having the audacity to try to make government work for more than your select few?  John McCain spent years in a Viet Cong prison, tied by the arms, for this country.  Not a single one of you have done a thing for it by comparison.  Not one!

 "United" is part of our very soul, it's in our name as a country.  But, you people seek to divide, not unite.  You seek to spew hate-filled rhetoric as opposed to find ways to bring the REAL conservative message to the broader masses – smaller government, lower taxes, strong economy equaling growth, strong defense, and above all, FREEDOM to worship and to live as you wish.  You decided to hang your hats on marginalizing amendments to our Constitution.  And look where it's got us.  You've made "family values" a mean-spirited, divisive term.  You don't vote for freedom of religion – you vote for LEGISLATION of religion.  You seem to know better than our founding fathers AND Ronald Reagan.  While you and your mouthpieces, like Falwell and Dobson, railed against Telly Tubbies and worried about what goes on in people's bedrooms, the economy has gone into recession, we've lost 4,000 lives to a war that lost sight of where it belonged and who its target was, and our borders are nothing more than a chalkline in the dust.  You've talked, talked, talked and achieved nothing but splintering a once-great party and made us far less than ONE nation under God – now we are many bickering, hate-filled demographic red and blue groups under God.  I'm sure that's EXACTLY what our forefathers had in mind.

Incidentally, the real Ronald Reagan, as opposed to the one you seemingly channel, would stick his thumb in any eye he felt necessary, Ms. Coulter, since you stated that McCain "sticks his thumb in the eyes" of supposed "real" conservatives.  Reagan was above all a brilliant, strong, independent leader who could think on his own – something you yourselves demonize when anyone who might consider themselves a Republican disagrees with so much as a tenet of your brand of conservativism.  Right now, he'd stick his thumb in your eye, Ms. Coulter, for saying you would rather vote Clinton than vote McCain.  You people either don't actually remember Ronald Reagan or you have no compunction rewriting history, up to and including the legacy of a TRULY great leader.

The "heat" you claim you would rather a Democrat take in the next presidency will be inherited from YOUR Christian, Evangelical, Right-Wing conservative.  Clinton is eight years gone, people.  The statute of limitations for laying every ill that befalls this country at his door has long since expired and apparently your guy has been incapable of fixing it in his own eight years.  There's more wrong with this country than just 9/11.  Whoever comes into the Office next, be it Democrat or Republican, will be dealing with this heat, but it's of YOUR candidate's doing.  So, talk-radio devotees, it's time to reevaluate, grow, or become extinct.  At this point, as a former Republican and now proud INDEPENDENT, I actually hope it's the latter.

Don't abdicate your responsibility!  Do I mean to Vote?  Sure, but that's not all.  I mean to read, to learn, to study, to evaluate all sides, and then and ONLY then to make an INFORMED decision and vote.  Your husband, wife, mom, dad, marketing executive, spin doctor, candidate, pundit, priest, pastor, reverend, even GOD can't do this for you.  If anyone in that list dictates your vote, then you have failed as a citizen in your duty.  It's YOUR responsibility to learn the issues, vet the so-called "facts", cross-reference the media, and research the issues.  It's not enough to pray and it's not enough to sit pat as a registered member of either party.  We have a saying in our family - if you don't vote, don't BiOtch, and if you don't know, don't go!

To help spread the flow of information, I've compiled a small list of some of the best political news out there.  It's not liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat - it's a mixture of all of them.  I read from all sides, all the time.  To saturate oneself in your own viewpoint and not be knowledgable of the other side is idiocy and who wants to converse or debate with an idiot?

Red & Blue America

Barack Obama

John McCain

Hillary Clinton

Mitt Romney

Mike Huckabee

Ron Paul

Mike Gravel

Politico.com

National Review

CNN.com - Politics

The Conservative Post

Slate.com - Papers

Lou Dobbs

Glenn Beck

Healthcare Reform - Comparisions

I'm including this link to The Drudge Report, primarily because if you scroll to the bottom, you'll find a gajillion links to just about every news, opinion, political outlet you could possibly be interested in:  The Drudge Report

And lastly, for those of you who think you're informed because you got a forwarded e-mail (i.e. Obama doesn't cover his heart when saying the National Anthem, Muslims are getting a Postage Stamp, or Canada has indicted Pres. Bush for War Crimes), here's a link to Snopes.com, specifically the Politics section, so you can send the Village Idiots packing for not vetting their stupid forwards!!  Snopes.com/Politics

Is Education important?  There are thousands of links online.  Veterans Rights?  The Iraq War?  The 2008 Budget?  Google it!  But, don't just spout a party line or something you hear at the pulpit or over dinner.  This is the first time since 1926 that we haven't had a sitting president or vice president in the race, so it may be a real chance to start fresh, make real changes, and move in a positive direction as a nation.  If you say you're an American, then do your duty and be informed!

I was listening to my favorite commentator (Lou Dobbs, the last man standing in the media with any common sense, IMO) and I heard a story that the Republican party in California is banning Independent Voters from voting in that state’s upcoming primary.  The Democrats are courting them, but not the Republicans.  If you aren’t a registered party voter, then you are out.

There are so many reasons why the just SCREAMS how stupid the Republican party has become.  The RNC chairman said the reason is that only the hard, partyline Republicans will get to vote for the party’s nominee and that if you see a Republican candidate you like, you should hie yourself down to your local party office and register yourself as a member of the party.  He said (and I quote) ONLY MEMBERS GET TO ENJOY THE PRIVILEDGES AND BENEFITS OF PARTY MEMBERSHIP.

Well, doesn’t that pretty much sum up how the Republicans have come to see the middle-class Americans (or what’s left of us).  Putting in your vote for the nominees is a perk – how nice for those who ride the elephant!  Basically if you say you have a brain and vote according to who think the best person is for the job, as opposed to their party affiliation, you aren’t welcome.  And if you aren't a Republican or Democrat then you aren't going to get to have a viable run for the White House, either.  And if you don't think the exact way they want you to think, you aren't going to get the nomination.  But, otherwise, the system works great.

Unfortunately, this is the reason that there can’t be a viable 3rd-party candidate.  Any choice, other than jackass or elephant, isn’t heard, doesn’t count, and isn’t welcome.  They can talk about “topics” they invent, as opposed to what people are really concerned about – job security, education (has anyone even MENTIONED education thus far?!), etc.  The latest flame is race – Obama says Hillary brought it in, Hillary says Obama brought it in, but the minorities I know personally talk about the economy, educating their children, making ends meet, etc.  Uh, just like I do.  It’s the POLITICIANS that have a vested interested in dividing the country into black and white, red and blue, male and female, and so on.  We aren’t constituents.  We’re voting blocks to them.  They invent flamer issues that divide us up into blocks that they can pander to and, once they get the votes, we are nothing more than yesterday’s newspaper.

The electoral process is outdated.  I don’t need an unseen electoral officer (or whatever in the heck these phantoms are called) to speak for me.  The popular vote is counted at the same time as the electoral votes.  Eliminate the electoral process and let the people speak for themselves!  Remove the primary system, which helps commit electoral votes to candidates, and let the Republicans and Democrats worry about actually having to BE the best person for the job IN EACH VOTER’S MIND, rather than getting votes because they tell their mindless registered “members” what they had better think.  I’ll tell you what, Governor Schwarzenegger is one of the most visable members of the Republican party and many people like him because he is more moderate.  The Republican party is STILL more interested in pandering to the wingnuts within and becoming more and more NEOcon than looking at the country at large and realizing that PEOPLE are moderate, for the most part, and simply looking for a person who can manage this country back onto a prosperous, secure course.  Who got God when and what church is he a member of and when he prays – NONE of this should be of any consideration, for God’s sake.  Is this a person who delivers on their promises? Is this a patriot?  Is this a person who will put the good of the nation and its citizens before anything else?  That’s what matters.

I’m an independent.  I can think independently, vote independently, make my decisions independently, and if I’m not welcome at your party because of it, then I have to say, it doesn't seem to be particularly American, does it, us being the melting pot and all.  I won’t take the blue pill for membership in an outmoded, out-of-touch, big-business-loving party.  It’s gonna take one H-E-double-hockey-sticks of a Republican to get my vote.  But, I will make up my own mind on that, too, there's still one guy I like.  The two parties can get back to telling their sheep how to think now.  California Independents, I feel for you.  But, don't take the pill!  Think for yourselves!!

A year already, it just amazes me!  And Shawn looks so different now, so happy and healthy!  That makes me smile to see him winning and not that evil man.

Shawn had loooong been a cautionary tale in our home, because my oldest is almost exactly the same age.  He truly felt (at that time) that he was "too big" to be harmed by predators when we would have discussions on safety rules, etc.  I shut him up when I pointed out that Shawn was a boy his age doing nothing wrong, but was still abducted.  From then on, we had a special place in our hearts for him, because he was so much like my son.  Every time a child would go missing, we always thought about Shawn.  My oldest was a baby when that horrible rash of child killings and abductions seemed to be going on, from that little boy, Jamie, in England, to the Senter and Houseman girls, and of course, Shawn and Arlin, among many others.  I would often think of these parents and my heart would hurt for them, so I'd say my little prayer for these lost children.  I've raised my children to be strong and independent, but I've long hidden a real fear of this type of horror happening.  I've always been very careful not to act on my over-protective instincts in any way that could stunt their growth, but sometimes it's a struggle.  So, safety rules and discussions of emergency plans have been as much a part of their upbringing as brushing their teeth and doing their homework.  And that was very much a direct result of Shawn's disappearance.

But, Shawn and Ben taught me that hope is never lost, as did Mr. & Mrs. Akers.  I always marveled at their strength and selflessness, thinking how truly inspirational they were, while continuing to search for their own son.  So, I cried when I saw the breaking news and then my husband called from his cellphone to tell me, knowing how I've always felt about this case.  Several times over the ensuing few days, we laughed and marveled and cried.  I've never in my life been so happy for people I've never met.  Happily now, when I see pictures of Shawn and Ben, I see real hope - and a reminder that miracles still happen.  And my hope for Shawn and Ben is that they have the happiest lives God could possibly bless them with, full of good things and happy memories through the years.  God Bless both families.

When I was a kid, I went to A LOT of Cardinal games. My grandpa, being a semi-bigshot at Rold-Gold Foods and close friends with those at Loy-Lang Box Company and Frito-Lay, always had seats right behind the Cardinals' dugout at the Old Busch Stadium. The roof of the dugout held our sodas and beers at countless games when I was growing up. It was awesome! My favorite player was Lou Brock and I was there when he set his stolen base and hitting records. I cut out and assembled the flip book printed in the old Globe-Democrat. I had the tennis shoes with 3000 printed on the rubber toes. Gerry Templeton was the shortstop. Ted Simmons was the catcher. Auggie Busch and his Clydesdales opened every season. I have pictures taken of the inside of the dugout during the games.

It was a wonderful part of my childhood.

In fact, at one particular game, Ted was being heckled, some drunken fans yelling "Go back to Tulsa!" Ted finally turned around and fired back with some really blue language. We were in attendance, my grandpa having let me bring one of my best friends at the time to the game with us. When Ted fired off his colorful language, my grandfather stood up and shouted to him that he should shut his mouth, ignore the drunks, and do his job, because he didn't bring his granddaughter and her friend to be subjected to that kind of behavior. Ted opened his mouth to talk back, but saw this elderly gentleman and two little girls staring at him from right behind the dugout, so he shut his mouth and caught a great game. At the time, I was sinking down in my seat, embarrassed at my grandfather's actions. Now I can appreciate his confidence and willingness to express what many in the crowd were probably thinking. He loved the game and brought me up to love it. He expected the highest in standards.

I wonder what he would say now.

With the Mitchell Report, I didn't feel we really learned anything new. Clemens, maybe, was the surprise name, but I wasn't really surprised. But, the truth is, we, the fans, have known something was wrong for years. When I was a kid, a homerun was a thrill – a rare and awesome thing to witness. The 1982 Cardinals won the World Series with solid fielding and base hits. Whitey's gameplan was to get runners on base, other hitters to drive those runners in. Ozzie's game-winning homerun was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Now the game is considered a boring one if there's not two or three homeruns a game! How does that suddenly happen?

Is baseball a sport or a spectacle of freaks and their tricks? Jason Christianson is 6' 6" or so and something like 300 pounds! My God, Bob Gibson would look like a math teacher by comparison. The Mad Hungarian would look like the Keebler elf. These were seriously scary dudes on the mound in their day. Do you really think in the span of a decade or two, suddenly humans have evolved naturally into these monster-machines? But, every fan seems to want one of these human brick walls on their team. They are the media darlings, fans buy their jerseys first, they have segments of the sports report every evening, chronicling their progress in breaking the next big record. In blogs and message boards, over dinner tables, and in bars, we all shake our heads and claim that MLB needs to clean up their act. But, we don't demand it. We point fingers at players on other teams that are caught, but "our" guy is "different." We buy tickets, we don't write letters, we just shut up.

If Cooperstown inducts Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and the like, yet refuses to allow Pete Rose his rightful place in the Hall of Fame, then the public should scream HYPOCRISY at the top its lungs. In no way has Charlie Hustle damaged the game's integrity to the extent of the combined efforts of today's players, owners, trainers, and commissioner! Barry Bonds could walk into Bud Selig's office tomorrow, drop to his knees, and confess to using steroids every day this past season during his race to break the Home Run record, and Selig would find a way to let the record stand. He has no intention of doing the hard jobs to reaffirm the integrity of the record books and Cooperstown. He said as much in his statement Thursday, after the Mitchell Report was released. He spoke in vagaries, generic marketing statements, and double-talk. He said not one word of substance, if you listened closely.

And the Players' Union statement was even worse. It's no surprise that the players' union is falling all over themselves to discredit the report as much as possible. For years they did everything they could to let the players juice to their hearts' content - like opposing random drug-testing vigorously. They want to be allowed to do whatever they want, demand any salary, and if it dishonors the sport, well, so be it. It's only about contracts, big money, pandering to corporate fatcats, and getting the endorsement deals. Yesterday, like any good defense attorney, they attacked the prosecution, while hoping to sweep evidence of their guilt under the rug.

On the flip side, the owners and the clubhouse officials are all saying they had NO idea what was going on. They probably didn't, because they deliberately put on blinders and stuffed their ears with cotton, while they demanded homerun kings, big name players, and corporate accounts. Steinbrenner doesn't care if he's got cheaters on his roster. He only cares that they don't get caught – an attitude mirrored in boardrooms and clubhouses throughout the MLB. The MLB is too arrogant to give a damn about integrity.

We need a commissioner that will work on behalf of the integrity of BASEBALL. We need scientists to create tests that can detect human growth hormone, as well as anabolic steroids. We need owners and managers who put the integrity of their team above the fame of any one player. We need players who uphold standards and integrity and challenge their teammates to do the same. We need fans to embrace the players – the good, solid, utility guys - who stay clean, not just those who chase records at all costs and attract the media glare.

In the short-term, this report may be as damaging to the game as the strike was, but unless someone steps into the Commissioner's office with an agenda of internal, on-going investigation, serious enforcement, testing, and, above all, CHANGE, there will be no long-term benefit to it and all Senator Mitchell will have done is waste his time. And the fans will be the losers.

In gearing up for the 2008 campaign season (which started earlier than any preceeding campaign season in history, because the presidential hopefuls were apparently frothing at the mouth to start the bloodshed), I'm realizing that there is a big problem with the two-party system.  I believe our elected officials think it's a game, like baseball, and that they are all players who get to visit the White House when they win the World Series. 

They are concerned with getting the most hits (hanging their "esteemed colleague from across the aisle" out to dry as often as possible), getting the most runs (winning their platform positions at all costs), and making the most outs (blocking any legislation from that opposing side of the aisle, regardless of its merit).  Base running is simply collecting votes to get that run.  They are concerned with their salaries, their perks, their rank, and their popularity, just like their major league counterparts.  It's a game and truly the national pastime. 

But, the problem is, it's NOT a game.  We have to live with the fallout and it's costing us a heck of a lot more than an overpriced hot dog and a parking space.  It's costing us allies among other nations, it's costing us good idealistic people who still think that they can change the system, the very leaders we are going to need down the road.  It's cost us unity as a nation, at least enough to get something accomplished, other than the little pork barrel projects and earmarks that the fatcat senator or congressman files away for the next season with a wink and a nod to the same "esteemed colleague," who is doing the same thing. 

There used to be some attempt, at least, to work with the other side.  There was a time, in my lifetime and I'm not THAT old, where we worked out our party issues before involving our fellow nations, because we would be darned if we showed a divided front on the world stage.  We got our crap together, if for no other reason than to keep us from looking like complete idiots at the next summit meeting. 

We apparently don't care about that anymore.  After Vietnam, we were tired of the constant upheaval, so we at least tried to work together.  Apparently, we learned no long term lessons from that.  We should have and I don't mean "kum by ya" or "give peace a chance."  I mean, "war is hell, it's costly, and when we fight one, we'd best fight to win."  We lost the definition of winning, as well.  Winning seems to be primarily defined by which side gets the better photo ops first or spins the facts the best.

We are supposedly helping all these different people in the world, but, we've actually lost the ability to even help ourselves.  We have always been a capitalistic society, which is great.  We love our big business, big profits, big bonus packages, don't we?  How did you spend your $58 million dollar bonus last year?  Oh, you didn't get one?  Did you get a raise above three cents an hour?  Or were you just happy not to lose your job in the newest round of layoffs?  When did that become the majority's definition of a good year - your CEO gets millions extra and you can either lose your job or vote to give up benefits you've worked all your life to earn?  But, that's what happens when the Big Business Reds face off against the Bleed 'Em Dry Blues in the big home game.

 

How can a country of this size, with the resources we have, have an urban area like New Orleans and its citizens still in the state they're in after TWO+ YEARS, for God's sake?  How can we, a country that used to celebrate entrepreneurs and inventors as heroes, be so concerned with an industry's profit margins that we deliberately sabotage research and production into new forms of power, even though it would make us less vulnerable to the very hostile countries we are at or will be at war with?  We've left our infrastructure rot.  We've left the middle class out in the cold.  We used to be fiercely patriotic, building what we needed by whoever was left at home to kick the enemy's butt as a unified front.  Now, we ship jobs overseas wholesale.  Patriotism is wearing flag pins and pointing fingers at those who don't and we can't conceive of someone from the "other side" being "one of us."

 

It seems we would rather surrender our economy than surrender our dependence on fossil fuels, which isn't limitless, even regardless of politics.  Do we honestly think that Henry Ford would have thought that "status quo" is good, long-term business strategy?  We comfort ourselves that we are no different in our thought-processes, ambitions, and wants than previous generations, but we're lying to ourselves.  Look around your nearest Starbucks.  Which of the MoveOn.org crowd are going to throw down their laptop and their latte and jump into the fray to defend our nation by pulling a Rosie-The-Riveter?  Alternatively, which Friend of Hannity and Coulter is going to say, you know what?  The CEOs are going to have to do without a bonus package this year, so we can invest in some alternative technologies?  Or how about just which party is going to worry about the vanishing middle class and what that REALLY means to the long-term economy?  Both parties want to hand our money out - just one panders to the welfare crowd and the other panders to the billionaire boys' club and they both pander to their respective wing-nuts.

 

We've abdicated our responsibility in our government for a quick, easy, multiple choice quiz between red and blue.  There aren't many people who live without these days, but if, even by our own actions, we have to make serious adjustments in transportation, services, and some goods, today's spoiled generation will be the first ones screaming.

 

I believe we need the field open to more than two parties or, even better, no party at all.  To get the nomination for either party today, the candidate must tout the complete party line, to the letter dictated by the most extreme within the respective party, with little to no room for independent thought.  In any successful company, brainstorming is a viable tool to the rejuvenation and growth of the company.  We don't value that in our political system.  Think outside of the box and you're off the roster altogether.  Just ask the Religious Right or MoveOn.org.  There is no way to realistically run for President as anything other than Republican or Democrat and that's wrong.  If registered party voters can't think independently enough to determine who to vote for without the "brand", then the problem in our system is even more insidious.

 

Abraham Lincoln once said, "A house divided upon itself cannot stand."  He was a Republican, but one, I think, the Rupublicans of today would hang out to dry as a traitor to "the team."  And would Truman recognize today's Democrats?  I don't think so.  We haven't evolved as a country, we've changed as citizens.  Dangerously so.

 

Let the frenzy begin...

There's a point that's being debated here about whether or not the woman who created the fictional profile of "Josh Evans" for the sole purpose of harrassing Megan is responsible for her death.  To me, it seems like a no-brainer, as the woman and her family were close friends of the Meiers, they knew of Megan's history, etc.

But, let's take the suicide itself OUT of the equation for a minute.  If another ADULT created a fictional online persona to torment and harrass another CHILD, who here wouldn't consider that ADULT a child-predator?  I'm realistic and I understand that there are no criminal charges likely for this group of pond-scum, but this DOES create an opportunity to expand the LEGAL definition of a child-predator to include these type of people that most of us have the common-sense to recognize as such.  This is CLASSIC predator behavior!  Fictional personas, targeting a particular child, etc. - WHAT DON'T YOU GET?

I've seen numerous "she was screwed up to begin with" comments regarding Megan, which, IMO, are irrelevent, as an ADULT Megan KNEW deliberately TARGETED her for the purpose of HURTING her, in this case, emotionally.  Her comments weren't particularly fishing for information comments, they were pointed and mean, by the woman's own admission in a police report she filed.

I've seen numerous "her parents should have never allowed a computer/MySpace/Online" blah blah blah.  Again, while close supervision is what a good parent chooses for their child (as these parents did), this woman made a deliberate choice to target this child.  If you plan a murder, but your target is super-careful and not giving you an opportunity to kill them, you are still going to be prosecuted if you're caught TRYING.  IMO, this woman was GUILTY before Megan ever took her own life.

When you start talking about any adult, targeting a particular child they know, with the intention of harming them (in any manner), I'm sorry, but I start to hear John Walsh's voice in my head talking about CHILD PREDATORS.  Now, this woman, I'm sure, would have never labeled herself a child predator, but then again, a NORMAL adult and mother would have NEVER come up with such a scheme to harm a child.  This woman is not innocent in this child's death, albeit a suicide.  She was complicit they day she first logged on as "Josh Evans." 

How can this NOT fall into the cyberstalking laws?  The police have a report FROM THE OTHER FAMILY when they filed against Megan's parents for destroying their foosball table where THEY ADMIT what the did!!

Why should the last four hours of the computer time break the case when that SICK family admitted what they did to the police THEMSELVES?  I swear, if this involved an actual murder, the district attorney would FIND a way to make that confession stick.  What is wrong with law enforcement?  INVESTIGATE THIS!  This family KNEW the girl, her family, and KNEW her history!  There are other adults involved, as well.

LAW ENFORCEMENT - FIND A WAY TO HOLD THESE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS or the public should hold you responsible for your INaction. It's not murder, but it absolutely IS child predator behavior!  This is an opportunity to restructure these laws to cover ALL child predator behavior, not just that of a sexual nature.  As a parent, I certainly look at these people as predators and I would want to know if someone with this type of abuse history were living in my neighborhood where they could come into contact with my child.

In lieu of criminal consequences, I hope that the Meiers file a civil suit against these people and that they receive a substantial judgement.  First article of evidence should be that police report those monsters filed over their foosball table.  Money won't bring back Megan, but at least it can cripple this cruel woman, bring some justice to the case, and force this woman to have to live daily with a tangible reminder of what she's done - no more fancy houses, cars, vacations - the same things that she helped to steal from Megan and her family.  It's not enough, but it's better than nothing.

When all this news broke of the torture Shawn had been put through, I immediately thought back to the weeks just after he was found.  I was a relatively active member of this forum then and those comments that were being made about how Shawn didn't want to leave, was enjoying living with Devlin and not having to go to school, etc, made me sick.  After a couple of heated debates, I left here and never looked back.  But, this story brought all those spiteful people back to mind, including Bill O'Reilly, who made similar accusations on his show.  A fan up until that time, I quit watching his program after he spewed his bile, as well.

Now hopefully these idiots can begin to understand that an 11-year-old boy was taken from his home, watched a monster attempt to take his life, suffered toture beyond comprehension in an on-going effort to stay alive, had it filmed and shown, and, by some miracle, survived to be reunited with his family - but also, of course, to be faced with condemnations of how he managed to stay alive.

An 11-year-old boy had his mind altered - altered by a monster, by nearly dying, by being kidnapped, raped, beaten day in and day out for years.  A child who didn't think like an adult yet, because he wasn't one at 11.  Why didn't he just pick up the phone?  Because he wasn't thinking - HE WAS SURVIVING and by the tiniest thread.  Those of us who have lived a normal course of life, tragedies included, still have no concept of this child's suffering or of the drastic means his mind had to go to to stay intact.

However, I knew this from the get-go: there was no way a clear-thinking person could accuse an 15-year-old young man, kidnapped at 11 and held for years, as COMPLICIT in his imprisonment.  I did wonder, though, at the cynical, warped, judgemental, un-Christian, and filthy minds that were ready to jump on this particular speculative bandwagon.  I was floored at the accusations and some made by self-proclaimed Christians, too.

Devlin, I hope, spends a long, long life being abused and beaten behind bars. An early death is too benevolent for him.  But, I hope all those nasty people who accused Shawn in such a scurrilous manner spend long hours looking in the mirror and wondering how they became so stunted in wisdom and compassion.  Instead of trying to find justifications for their behavior, they should be ashamed of themselves for a long time to come.