Congress, Baseball, Steriods; Why?

I've been hearing all this "news" on the Congressional hearings regarding steroid use in baseball, Bush even referenced in this State of the Union speech, and I wonder Why?

Why is this so damn important to the Government of the US? Why Can't Baseball handle and control and instigate whatever measurements they want?

Why isn't School Reform, Global Warming, Iraq, etc more of a priority for Congress? Like others have been saying in the media, Doesn't Congress have more important things to do?

Queueing Up as if It Were Opening Day, Baseball Fans Relish Chance to See Hearing on Steroids

btw I've heard the argument that steroids doesn't affect eye/hand coordination, a requirement for good baseball players, so it is still a big deal?


[edit on 3-17-2005 by worldwatcher]

This is an easy one:

Members of Congress who support Bush give him free reign so they have nothing else to do.

Members of Congress who do not support Bush are to beat down, out numbered, and scared of repercussions they don’t even bother anymore so they have nothing else to do.

So we have a Congress that’s basically sitting there twiddling their thumbs so they worry about baseball, Howard Stern, feeding tubes, etc.

I wish they would grow a set and start representing the people.


[edit on 17-3-2005 by skippytjc]

IMO- it's jsut one of many distractions that are being used to divert popular attention away from any number of real issues.

Have you noticed US news lately? It's all about Steroids in Baseball, Scott Peterson's death sentence, and Robert Blake beating the murder rap... all fluff stories that maybe deserve 30 seconds of air time at most.

I think what bothers me most is that this congressional committee has the power to pretty much investigate anything they see fit... and the decided to look into baseball instead of something like prisoner treatment in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba or even the irregularities in this past presidential election.

Okay so let's say's this is part of the administration's agenda, Why would the current administration find this to be so important more so than any other of their agendas?

Shouldn't social security reform or another adminstration cause come first?

So the agenda is the distract the public from real issues? Well if that's the case why is it that it seems like the public really isn't that distracted. We're even saying it, and the media even mentions it, yet it continues.

I don't blame the administration or congress for this, the blame has to fall on the media. It is the media that creates the agenda for the day. If they didn't give so much air time to some of these stories, they would resolve alot faster and real issues that require change could be addressed.

Originally posted by worldwatcher
Shouldn't social security reform or another adminstration cause come first?

I really dont think SS reform is as hot an item as it was a few weeks back

www.usatoday.com...

President Bush said Wednesday that he's confident he'll succeed in overhauling Social Security despite polls showing that most Americans don't agree with his ideas.

He also said twice that the personal investment accounts he wants to create for workers under 55 won't "permanently fix" the retirement system.

IMO it just doesnt have the support they had hoped for.

Anyway that's a whole other thread in itself. All i'm saying is that this sort of fluff news is the sort of means to distract the public en mass. Give 'em something to gossip about at the water cooler instead of tlaking about current events or something.

i really have no idea what they would want to distract us from at this time, just seems like the pattern.

Just like negativenihil said: It may be a deversion.

In a way I HOPE thats the case. I couldnt live with the fact that if there isnt an underlaying reason these people are that daft.

Originally posted by worldwatcher
...Why Can't Baseball handle and control and instigate whatever measurements they want?

People want to see homeruns, plain and simple. Homeruns equal excitement. Nobody wants to fork over $30 per ticket to watch these guys play small ball (i.e. bunting, stealing, manufacturing runs, etc...). Owners and the MLB have looked the other way for so long because the positives (putting fannies in the seats) outweighed the negatives (illegal use of steroids). So, in answer to your question, it's all about the bottom line.......money! As long as the owners are happy with "don't ask, don't tell", the problem will never be solved in-house. I'm glad the government is stepping up to the plate (no pun intended) on this.

btw I've heard the argument that steroids doesn't affect eye/hand coordination, a requirement for good baseball players, so it is still a big deal?

Yeah Barry Bonds said that, but I disagree to a point. You can have great hand/eye coordination without steroids, but with bigger muscles in your wrists and forearms, the bat is sped up, thus generating more power. Power is all about bat speed. Just look at how Bonds' stats jumped when he got to San Francisco (Balco). He had great hand/eye coordination in Pittsburgh, but he wasn't close to putting up the ridiculous numbers that he's putting up now. So I think he's right to an extent as well as being wrong to an extent. It's all about how he words his argument.

It really matters not to me. He's the greatest ever................period!!!


Peace

[edit on 17-3-2005 by Dr Love]

strange thought, but is it possible that they are trying to distract us from earth changes that are occurring?

but that doesn't really make sense, does it? since we can all see and read for ourselves all the wierd natural occurrences.. I don't know. I just want to know why we are being distracted.

In one hand, they bombard us with threats and in the other hand, they try to lull us to sleep....i am confused

Originally posted by worldwatcher
strange thought, but is it possible that they are trying to distract us from earth changes that are occurring?

That's quite possible. I have yet to see anything on any US media outlet regarding recent volcanic and seismic activity (especally with so many volcanos acting up all around the same time... odd stuff if you ask me)

I just want to know why we are being distracted.

Hah don't we all?!

[edit on 17-3-2005 by negativenihil]

In my personal opinion I'd guess I'd have to go with the distraction idea. There's so much that goes on in the world everyday it's not like the media couldn't find somthing else to cover, and as for congress, well, it's congress! I'm sure they have better things they could be doing. I don't know if it's the media's fault though. People these days are so dense and couldn't care less for what happens in their world. Nobody cares when Clinton gets in trouble for fund raising scandals but they find out he's sleeping with interns and they don't miss a second of Fox News. People seem to be under the assumption that if they don't hear about something, or just ignore it, then it doesn't happen. The government doesn't need mind control devices, people volunteer their ignorance these days. Todays top stories on Fox News have been St. Patty's Day, Scott Peterson, Martha Stewart, Steroids in Baseball and the Pope speaking out against the Da Vinci Code. It's rediculous to think that a news agency as big as fox news can't think of anything else to cover, they're just out for ratings. "A coup in Damascus? booooooring, Mark McGuire's on steroids?!?! The world is coming to an end!" People are getting stupider at an exponential rate.

Now, since we're on the topic of steroids in baseball I'll put in my two cents. First I didn't care, then I saw a clip of McGuire hitting yet another home run, the guy is huge, his neck is bigger than my thigh. He rounds first, he's twice the size of the first baseman. Second and third, same story. He crosses home and all his team mates, all half his size, come running out to pat him on the butt, he then effortlessly picks one of them up like a child and starts tossing him into the air He's tossing a 250 lbs man around like a baby and he's saying he's not on steroids??? I mean come on, the guy can't even pitch, catch or run, that's why he hits home runs, so he can lumber his steroid swollen mass around the field at his leisure. Honestly though, I really don't care, I don't even like sports. I fail to see why I should admire someone because they can hit a ball with a stick, or throw a ball through a hoop, but can barely read let alone form an insitefull thought. Hell, even the atheletes need steroids to do it, if I was willing to inject chemicles into my body on a regular basis I could be an MVP too

Let me also offer a reply of a conspiratorial nature. For each generation that goes by, more and more control is being exerted by the powers that be over our youth. The media controls how they think, how they treat their parents, and how they treat each other. Kids' low self-esteem is constantly being fed by the media, in direct but subtle ways. You have to really be looking for it to see it. So the ultimate goal here is to isolate our youth in order to control them. The idea of the family unit, as it were, is slowly being destroyed. Why? I think the answer is so sinister that people would really have a hard time believing it.

So to make a long story short, kids that use steroids to counteract the low self-esteem that's been bred into them are less controlable. Control the athletes using steroids that are being idolized, and you regain the foothold you've been losing on the youth.

Man it's scary how my mind works sometimes!!

Peace

[edit on 17-3-2005 by Dr Love]

interesting thought there Dr. Love, but I don't see how the steroid issue plays into counteracting low esteem for most kids, it's doesn't address or touch issues like little girls dressing like sluts or the absence of a parental figure to keep these things in check. The problem of low self esteem among our children goes way beyond steroids in baseball.

Originally posted by worldwatcher
interesting thought there Dr. Love, but I don't see how the steroid issue plays into counteracting low esteem for most kids, it's doesn't address or touch issues like little girls dressing like sluts or the absence of a parental figure to keep these things in check.

You're right when you say "most kids". I was speaking of the male youth. Most boys don't take steroids to perform better on the playing field, but rather they do it to look good for the females, and that's it! That's a pure self-esteem issue. As far as little girls dressing like sluts, well, once again this is a self-esteem issue, but for another thread I suppose. Please don't think of me as sexist because I'm certainly not, but if you control the male population, the females will usually fall in line. God that sounds horrible I know, and really, I treat my girlfriend like she's the most precious thing in the world, but I'm speaking purely in general terms. Kids/boys are the most important issue when it comes to steroids, not health concerns, that's just on overused, preventative scare tactic.

The problem of low self esteem among our children goes way beyond steroids in baseball.

I agree it does, but we're not talking about anything else other than steroids right now.



Kids are addicted to the visual media, and it will be their downfall unless parents make a concerted effort to not necessarily shield, but counteract the mixed signals that they are recieving from the visual media. Teach your kids to see what the media is trying to do to them. That's real love, and they'll be better human beings because of it.

Peace

I think it's simpler than a conspiracy, I think people look up "Steroids" int eh dicitonary and see "Shoot this into your veins and be the best athelete the sport has ever seen" It's just cheating, people have always cheated

I think all drugs should be legal. However, currently they are not. Plus, in the setting of competitive sports, having some people using steroids may force people who would otherwise not use them and wouldn't want to use them to feel they must do so just so they can remain competitive. In that sense, I'm against the use of steroids by professional players.

Originally posted by Shadowflux
I think it's simpler than a conspiracy, I think people look up "Steroids" int eh dicitonary and see "Shoot this into your veins and be the best athelete the sport has ever seen" It's just cheating, people have always cheated

I see your point, but the conspiracy involves the youth, not the professional athletes. Don't confuse the two. You see, like I said before, boys take steroids to look good for the girls. Professional athletes take it to perform better, because performing better makes them more money, and the women come with the money.

Peace

Originally posted by djohnsto77
I think all drugs should be legal. However, currently they are not. Plus, in the setting of competitive sports, having some people using steroids may force people who would otherwise not use them and wouldn't want to use them to feel they must do so just so they can remain competitive. In that sense, I'm against the use of steroids by professional players.

I can't believe I'm actually typing this, but good point dj.

I actually agreed with you for once. Does that mean Hell has frozen over???

Peace

Originally posted by worldwatcher
I've been hearing all this "news" on the Congressional hearings regarding steroid use in baseball, Bush even referenced in this State of the Union speech, and I wonder Why?

Why is this so damn important to the Government of the US? Why Can't Baseball handle and control and instigate whatever measurements they want? [/uote]
Steroids are an illegal drug. Baseball players are a major influence on the population. The people that run baseball don't want to prevent steroid use. Its a national level problem, therefore congress has to investigate it. Conceivably other federal departments could investigate it. It just came down to congress.

I agree, its not particularly important. But baseball is part of the american identity. If there was a hockey scandal, would it be too surprising if the Canadian government investigated it? Or that they'd tightly regulate maple syrup?

Certainly, there are other things that their time can be spent on. And there are other things that the media can report on.

Of course, we're all discussing it now, so there's obviously an interest.

This is not a Bush agenda.
This is not a distraction agenda.

This is about Baseball and the current deterioration of the the greatest of all American sports: Baseball!

The argument of baseball players supposed to have the requirements of hand and eye cordination is null-in-void to the subject of steroids, period.
It is the augmentation of strength.

Football has condemed the use of steroids.
Basketball has condemned the use of steroids.
Soccor has condemned them.
Hockey has condemned them.
Competition weightlifting has banned them.
Even boxing has condemned them.
NASCAR drivers don't use them.
Why the hell does Baseball players need to use them?

They are banned as use by even the Olympic Committee, duh!
The answer is self-evident, is requires no distraction methods or presidential agendas.

Its a matter of principle (ethics) and Baseball knows it and Congress seeks to get answers as to why they have not banned such use of steroids, as other great sporting events and arenas have.

Ask what Baseballs past truly great record makers would have to say on this issue and the answer is again, self-evident.....






seekerof