Putting the steroids hearings into perspective.

[paineinthearse]

Today the House Government Reform Committee began hearings on steroid use in professional baseball. But at what cost? If one visits the Government Reform minority office website, one will see multiple issues, that in my mind, that are much more pressing.

http://democrats.reform.house.gov/

“Social Security
Civil Rights Commission Considers Biased Social Security Studies.
Democratic Leader Pelosi, Rep. Waxman, and six other members of Congress express serious reservations about the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' consideration of proposed studies on Social Security's impact on minorities that appear to be politically biased. Letter to USCCR.”

“Public Health
Audits Undermine Care for Children with Mental Illness.
Rep. Waxman and Sen. Collins ask the HHS Inspector General and the Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to halt an initiative to cut off federal funding for the medical treatment of children with severe mental illness. Letter to HHS IG and CMS.”

“Administration Secrecy
Evidence of Administration's Misuse of New Information Restrictions Grows.
In a letter calling for a congressional investigation, Rep. Waxman provides examples of how proliferating information designations such as "sensitive but unclassified" have been used to block the release of important government records. Letter to Chairman Shays.”

“GAO Asked to Investigate Election Day Lines
Rep. Waxman and Rep. Conyers ask GAO to investigate the long lines and excessive waiting times experienced by voters in the 2004 election.
- Letter to GAO.”

“HHS Questioned on Continued Use of Video News Releases
Reps. Waxman, Miller, and DeLauro write to HHS about a recent report that the agency continues to use prepackaged video news releases as part of the Department's public relations efforts. - Letter to HHS.”

“Iraq Contracting and Reconstruction
Rep. Waxman and other members of Congress have been seeking information on contracts entered into by the Administration for reconstruction and development work in Iraq, including several billion dollar contracts with a subsidiary of Halliburton Corporation. Many questions have been raised about the Iraq contracting process, including questions on the seemingly inflated prices charged by Halliburton to import gasoline from Kuwait into Iraq and Halliburton's admission of kickbacks to company officials.”

The list goes on and on. You get the jist. If these issues are significant to you, work to insure the House 2006 mid-term elections returns a Democratic majority.

[Nothing Without Hope]

1. The blivet** also got all exercised about steroids in sports at the press

conference yesterday. When someone most obligingly asked about the steroids-in-sports thing, he became more animated -- he was obviously prepared for that question -- and spent some time on it. And he got to sound all virtuous and manly, one of his favorite pastimes.

Yes, given everything else that is of critical importance, I think that baseball question was a deliberate plant. Do you know who asked it and what their history of interaction with the White House is? That Washington Times reporter who asked the most horrifically softball "question" of all (about whether the blivet** is feeling vindicated now that democracy is spreading around the Middle East) is clearly standing in for "Gannon" (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1666484). Is the person who asked the baseball question another stand-in? Here's the excerpt from the transcript you provided (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1317240)

Q Mr. President, you have spoken out about the need for owners, coaches and players in all sports to stop steroid use. And you've also voiced reservations about government getting too involved in that. And as you know, Congress is issuing subpoenas to Major League baseball players during spring training. Do you think that that's an abuse of power, or is it appropriate, in your view?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Congress generally has an independent mind of its own. I spoke out and was pleased to see that baseball responded, and they've got a testing policy in place for the first time ever -- a firm testing policy in place. And it's very important that baseball then follow through and implement the testing and, obviously, deal with those who get caught cheating in the system.

And the hearings will go forward, I guess. I guess that's the current status. But I'm wise enough not to second-guess the intentions of the United States Congress. I do appreciate the public concern about the use of steroids in sports, whether it be baseball or anywhere else, because I understand that when a professional athlete uses steroids, it sends terrible signals to youngsters. There's -- we've had some stories in my own state, one of the newspapers there pointed out that they thought there was steroid use in high schools as a result of -- in order to make sure these kids, at least in the kid's mind, could be a better athlete. It's a bad signal. It's not right. And so I appreciate the fact that baseball is addressing this, and I appreciate the fact that the Congress is paying attention to the issue. This first started, of course, with Senator McCain, who basically said, get your house in order. And baseball responded, and my hope is the system will work.

Q You have no problem with the subpoenas?

THE PRESIDENT: No.

Yes, there are so many other issues of critical importance. This is a faux issue in the sense that it is chosen as a distraction and an opportunity to spout moral-sounding platitudes on issues which interest a lot of Americans -- sports, drugs, and gossip about celebrities. It turns my stomach to see him pretending to be so morally superior about something he undoubtedly deliberately ignored when he had that sports team some years back.

It's just a distraction and a PR ploy, that's all -- I agree with you.

But we can draw up a list of the things he DID say in that conference about important government policies in that conference and hold the administration accountable for the lies, distortions, and fascist agenda.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Camera hog Joe Biden is eating his heart out with envy.

Lots of millionaire celebrities to dazzle the populace, politicians looking stern, big money, reporters everywhere, talk about protecting children....

Poor Joe won't get any face time to make idiotic statements and show off his hair and pearly white teeth.

[H2O Man]

3. It's not entirely clear to me

what role the federal government is attempting to play. I have some concerns that they are trying to take a high profile situation and exploit it. But I'm not much of a baseball fan, usually until the fall.

I will say that I am a boxing fan. I fought a lot of fights as a kid and as a young man. I helped to train and manage a number of fighters, both amateur and pro.

Boxing is a dirty, crooked sport. I love boxers: they tend to be the kindest, most gentle people I've ever known. But the promoters and many managers are terrible human beings. As a youth, I didn't believe that "organized crime" ran the upper levels of the sport. Now I know better.

When I fought, at any level above "bootleg" matches, the good promoters have the fighters take physicals, and every pro fighter had to take urine tests, etc, to make sure they were not using any performance-enhancing drugs.

I admire John McCain's efforts to try to establish some honest commission to help oversee boxing. I don't want my son, who trains entirely in the honest, old-fashioned way, to fight someone who is chemically-enhanced.

So, my question is: do you think that there is any "good potential" to an increased oversight of sports, including baseball? Maybe I'm too old to get it, but I'm not as impressed with a steroid-enhanced athlete breaking Henry Aaron's record, or being compared to Babe Ruth. My favorite players were Mickey Mantle and Al Downing; it's true Mickey drank on occassion, but that's different.

It just seems that, much like boxing, the owners/promoters are all about money, and will allow anything that increases profits. While I recognize the players are responsible for their actions, I do see it in terms of business owners using the players to rip off the fans.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

4. America's pastime is full of hyposcrisy, secret drug use, greed,spin, lies

how appropriate that it should represent this country.