Your tax dollars at work
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- March
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The Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have issued a 109-page report on baseball and PEDs.
“Weighing the Committee Record: A Balanced Review of the Evidence Regarding Performance Enhancing Drugs in Baseball†was meant to counter an 18-page memo that the Democrats sent to the Justice Department asking that Roger Clemens be investigated.
In stunning news, Rusty Hardin said he was happy to hear about the report.
So let me get this straight. We’re at war in the Middle East, the economy may be going in the tank, an enormous ice shelf in Antarctica is collapsing because of global warming and al-Qaida is issuing directives urging attacks on America.
Well by all means, let’s have our elected officials and their staff members look into whether a retired ballplayer took steroids eight years ago. Then let’s have partisan bickering about it. Then let’s write a 109-page report about it. These nitwits can’t be serious, can they?
Eliot Spitzer isn’t busy. Let’s assign him to the case.
I know I’ve gone off on this before. But I’m trying to pay attention to politics to decide who I want to vote for in November and stuff like this drives me crazy. I’d vote for whoever disbands this committee.
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on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 9:26 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
How can you possibly come up with 109 pages about this crap?
Couldn’t have said it any better myself.
which is why we will all vote for hillary clinton!
I could not agree with you more Pete. It is a travesty. Maybe we should test congress for drugs.
Did you hear the one about how the US *accidentally* sent missile parts to Taiwan?
I’m gonna announce my candidacy for congress any day now.
For some reason, it drives me absolutely crazy to see our politicians wasting their time by grandstanding on this issue.
On the other hand, I suppose they could be wasting their time by grandstanding on some other meaningless issue.
I already have.
“Eliot Spitzer isn’t busy. Let’s assign him to the case.”
Oh he’s busy alright, dodging lamps, knives, plates and whatever else his wife can throw at his dumb arse.
Peter, while God knows I agree with you, I have to admit I get a little tired of this rant. It seems you make it every single time anything with steroids and the government comes out. Yes, the government should have other priorities, but there’s no need to dwell on it for a full paragraph every time.
“but there’s no need to dwell on it for a full paragraph every time.”
He could dwell on it for 109 pages.
I ask you guys, what do you guys do all day long? As for me, I go to school, I work, I do homework, I watch sporting events, I browse the internet, I play some intramural sports, I watch TV, I sleep… You see, with 24 hours in a day, and 7 days a week, I have plenty of time to do all of it!
Same thing with these senators and house representatives. They work on this bill and that bill and this situation and that situation, and everything else they do in their lives.
Why are people incapable of understanding that just because they are looking at steroids and stuff, that they are not able to do anything else? Maybe some of you guys can only do one thing in your life, but not everyone is like that.
lol murphydog
and best of luck to you, Gramazio!
Ryan:
You and I aren’t elected to do the country’s business. These guys are. Whatever time they are spending on baseball should be devoted to something else. Like, say, ending the war or any one of 1,000 issues that are more important.
You can thank Selig and Senator Mitchell. When you issue a one sided report, using a drug dealing rapist as your key witness, you can expect some sort of response.
Pete, I would not blame the pols too much. They reflect the will of the poeple who are more interested in Hillary’s tax returns, Obama’s minister and Patterson’s hotel bills than real issues.
Pete, the government is a big place. Believe it or not, they actually do have time to do multiple things. There are 435 members in the House, and they each have at least a dozen staff members. A 109-page report is a drop in the bucket.
The whole steroids thing became a stupid circus with those Clemens hearings, but Congress should absolutely be looking into it. MLB receives exemptions from monopoly laws, and that obligates the government to keep an eye on them.
Suggesting that big problems should force Congress to overlook the small problems is silly. Congress is big enough to look at the big and small problems. And if you’re really upset about government waste, you’re gonna need some systematic changes beyond complaining about 109 pages.
QVC alert–live from Yankee Stadium 10-12 tonight. Don Larsen is on right now.
I agree 100%, Peter. Well said.
Peter, I’d like to humbly suggest that you and your colleagues keep the pressure on MLB and the Players Association to focus on better testing going forward. We should all show MLB we care that they clean up the game and deter kids from getting involved.
But Congress, please focus on things that really matter. Peter’s list is a great start.
Pete, if I’m not mistaken, you’re point is there shouldn’t even been a single person devoted to this issue because it in no way affects what is happening now and I apologize if some of you give a crap about what Roger Clemens probably did 8 years ago. Baseball is the greatest sport on the planet, in my opinion, and it occupies a great deal of my attention, because I need a distraction from all of the real crap that’s going wrong with the world. It should in no way blend with these real world events because that would defeat it’s purpose. What these people do to their bodies is their own concern. If they broke the law in some way, the police and the District Attorney’s can investigate that. But, there are so many more threatening drugs penetrating this country that the police and District Attorney’s no not to waste their time with a few hundred over-paid athlete’s destroying their bodies for more money. If parents don’t want their kids taking steroids, they should pay more attention to what their kids are doing. The fact is there are so many more real things going wrong right now, that not a single elected official should waste any portion of his or her day looking into the steroids problems of Major League Baseball.
Pete,
Rant all you want, but without Congress getting involved there would be no steriod testing in baseball today. None.
They’ve had a positive impact on a billion dollar industry that millions of Americans hold near and dear. It’s one of the few things they’ve done right in the past ten years.
Pete, I work on Capitol Hill and I have refrained from saying something every time you have made a comment like this, but you just won’t let it go. I don’t undermine your profession so don’t undermine mine and the hundreds of other staffers on the Hill who work tirelessly to address the concerns of constituents every day! Congress has held plenty of hearings on the economy, I know because I attended them. The result was a stimulus package that hopefully will get the economy going again after several years of sustained growth. Also, there is really nothing that can be done on Iraq until a new president is elected. President Bush is committed to the surge, which has effectively decreased violence and casualties in Iraq, and we will not know the next course of action in Iraq until we fund out who will succeed him. And Congress may have gone too far with Clemens, but as “randyhater” has pointed out if Congress never held those original hearings that exposed McGwire as a cheater then Selig and his cronies may not have had the resolve to clean up the game once and for all. The game is cleaner today because of Congress.
Such shallow thinking, Peter. Please don’t think about politics. I don’t want you voting.
People want politicians out of sports but silly posts like these make it clear that sportswriters should avoid commenting on politics.
The earlier poster is right that without political involvement MLB would have done nothing at all.
And the whole ‘better things to do’ bit about Congress is akin to the teenager busted for drinking who rants about why the cops aren’t out preventing murders or solving real crimes (i.e. whining). If the big problems could be helped by the time spent on this report I think it probably would have been used accordingly.
and once again another journalist shows his ignorance regarding the House Committee and Government Reform Committee.
Take a look at their website, and the schedule of topics being discussed. Sure, when you look at JUST the steroid madness, it seems like misdirected funds and time by elected officials – but when you see it’s just a small part of a Public Health hearing – it makes a lot more sense.
The job of the Committee is to review the laws and procedures of this country – some of which were established in the 1700s – and adapt them to today’s society. PED use, and an attempt to either regulate or ban them all together is very much an important issue in regards to Public Health.
And if you’re so concerned about the war in Iraq, they have a hearing dedicated to that too.
But I suppose it’s easier to just make silly uneducated statements….reading is hard.
http://oversight.house.gov/
This is EXACTLY what I want Congress to waste time on. The less they focus on other issues, the less they foul up!
The gvt shouldn’t go after your bread and butter (artificially enhanced baseball players AEBP)…maybe that’s what you should say in your adolescent, political ramblings. Oh my, don’t go after illegal druggies lmao.
Pete,
There is no need to lend your liberal leanings into your postings. Both parties are responsible for all this grandstanding.
Also, let’s win the war, not run away and declare defeat.
One more: no more Springsteen postings. No one cares about this mediocre musician outside of small, hardcore group. Please spare us from this and your political leanings.
Yeah, what a dope I am. I’m worried about kids leaving Iraq in coffins and not steroids in sports. I really should have my priorities in place.
Those heroes in Congress are right all along I guess. Any of you people defending Congress have relatives serving in Iraq? Or somebody who lost their job in the last six months?
Any minute spent or penny spent on this at the expense of more important issues is a waste. A 109-page report on Roger Clemens. Great. I feel so patriotic.
What you have here is what a quarter of a million Confederate soldiers died to prevent.
Southron
Peter,
I kind of have to agree with NoTax. If they’re spending all their time on Clemens, they’re not out screwing up something important. Imagine if Congress had been unable to vote on Iraq because they were investing all their time on, say, exploring the faked moon landing. Or the illuminati.
And its not going to get any better. 330 million people in this country and we have to choose between these three clowns for President? Just thinking about it gives me a headache…
To Peter Abraham: Peter, think about all those “kids leaving Iraq in coffins” the next time you fill up the tank of your gas guzzler or buy a toy made of plastic for your kid. It’s all about keeping the oil flowing to Europe and the U.S. It’s all about keeping the Chinese and Russian economies in line by controlling the world’s oil supply. It’s all about creating the world’s greatest economic power. All that flag waving and pledging of’s is just so much pap for us dupes in the hoi polloi. It’s a rigged deck, pal, and we’re the sucker at the table.
After ten years living and working “Inside the Beltway” I have learned this: congressional committees reach for anything high-profile that is within the purview of that committee. Sometimes they do something meaningful, sometimes they just add to the noise.
In this case the committee is called “House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.” They cannot do much if anything about Iraq or about the economy. The Congressman whose staff produced the report worked quite hard a few years back to bring baseball back to DC.
I agree that it does not rise to the level of Iraq or Economic Problems. But it also seems that the level of effort devoted to this has been relatively low.
And in response to Pete’s Questions (Any of you people defending Congress have relatives serving in Iraq? Or somebody who lost their job in the last six months? ) First, no I do not have relatives serving in Iraq, though I have had a couple in Afghanistan. I already served my time in the Navy back in the ’90’s, and my kids are too young. Second, yes I know one person who has lost a job in the last six months.
Lastly, I am really looking forward to opening day. (I will be at the opening of Nationals Park in DC on Sunday, and glued to the radio on Monday afternoon to listen when John Sterling steps up to the microphone.)
“The result was a stimulus package that hopefully will get the economy going again after several years of sustained growth.”
I’m sorry, but that ’stimulus package’ is a horrible waste of money, and won’t work to ’stimulate the economy’. Maybe buy some extra votes for the incumbents? Sure. But the economy will get along all right on its own.
Forget all you politicos. I say amen, Pete. Lets see…
-Home heating oil number 2 is just BARELY cheaper than a gallon of milk.
-The US just surpassed the 4k mark for dead sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends over seas. AND, to be clear here (Boy I hate politics), it has been proven that Saddam did not support Osama bin Laden nor Al-Queada. Georgie jr. went to Iraq to avenge his father’s failures.
I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same. If someone plotted to kill my dad and failed, and I had the chance to go after them? Tough to turn the cheek, no?
But I wouldn’t spend almost five years and 4K lives to do it.
And to top it all off, bin Laden is still out there plotting American death.
The economy is in the dumper. My .com job went belly up and I’m brezzing through the savings I have trying to find other decent employment.
Any right-wingers in here applauding the assault Congress has made on MLB (and the Pats/spygate nonsense) should be tarred and feathered.
There is so much more going on in the world, I could care less if Clemens and Canseco shot cattle hormones into their wives’ rear ends. Or their own…
End the war! Reduce the cost of gas, milk and essential food! Fix the economy!
Ohhh, but wait! A $600 stimulus check is coming! That’ll take care of everything !
Pete, I disagree with the idea that Congress has more important things to do. Everytime they get involved in important things they totally screw it up and it cost me and every other person with a job more taxes!! Congress has a far lower approval rating than the Executive or Judicial branchs for a reason, they are corrupt, lying crap!!! As for the Clemens thing, If he did something illegal, then lock him up!!
Congress, MLB, the Players Union, and every team has a direct responsibility for the drugs mess. They knew it was going on and they ignored it because their ‘heros’ were bring in money. I have absolutely no use for the union as they let the minor leaguers work for less than minimum wage for 6 months, and they do nothing about it except demand more for the major league stars. Why dont you rant about a player getting $900 a month in A ball, or $1500 a month in AA????? That is sleazy and you say nothing about that!
Anyway, other than our political differences (every Democrat for 5 years before Bush2, raged about the Iraq weapons of mass destruction, in fact they coined the phrase, and 9 months after Bush 2 is elected we are attacked by Arabs, and fellows like you say Bush lied, well how about the thousands of videos of “Democrats” saying the asme things) you do a very good job for us and keep us informed in an excellent manner.
Lastly, there are few honest congressmen/women, and no honest senators!! Although I do like Joe Lieberman.
Thanks
Jay
I would prefer it if people didn’t turn these comments into a forum for a political discussion. There are PLENTY of blogs out there that can serve as an outlet for that purpose. Please don’t make me lower my opinions of my fellow Yanks fans by finding out more than I care to know about your political beliefs.
As to your point, Pete, I happen to agree with you that Congress’ involvement here is unnecessary grandstanding. While your argument that “they should be spending their time on other things” is a bit of a red herring, I do think there is a legitimate discussion to be had about whether Congress SHOULD care about PEDs in baseball at all (regardless of what else they have on their plate), both in terms of institutional authority and competence. That said, Pete, I would urge you not to fall into the “Politicians are all crooks and it’s just a waste of time!” trap. The government spends a lot of time and money doing things that I disagree with, but that doesn’t mean the solution is to disengage. I happen to think the solution is to engage yourself FURTHER, figure out what you DO want your government to do, and, if you care enough, try to do something about it.
Peter, both my parents served in the military. Both of my grandfathers served in the military. At least two of my uncles and one of my aunts are currently serving in the military. And my best friend just graduated from a military academy last year. So, please, don’t start the “do you have someone in Iraq” bull. It’s a pathetic rhetorical move.
Those of us “defending” Congress are simply saying that Congress is big enough to do a lot of things. 535 members in Congress, and the last estimate I read put the total number of staffers on the Hill at 16,000. That’s more than 600,000 man-hours every week. A 109-page report barely scratches that surface.
It’s one thing to say the steroids thing turned into a media circus, that it’s too partisan, or that those ESPN hearings were unnecessary. But suggesting that Congress shouldn’t be investigating it at all is downright naive.
If you’re opposed to Congressional action like this on principle, then start voting for far-right Republicans who want to make government smaller. But until the scope of Congress’ responsibilities are slimmed down systematically, they are absolutely obligated to investigate things like this.
“But until the scope of Congress’ responsibilities are slimmed down systematically, they are absolutely obligated to investigate things like this.”
I’m curious about where this “obligation” comes from. I’m not saying you’re wrong – I’m just wondering what you mean here. Since you seem to work on the Hill, I wonder if you have some particular knowledge.
MLB is exempted from monopoly laws by Congress, which obligates Congress to keep an eye on things.
This isn’t just Congress seeing if a bunch of guys used drugs- the “it’s their body” argument misses the point. If MLB allows, or has allowed, cheating like this to go on, that would be an abuse of their monopoly to cheat the public. Or, at least that’s the argument.
I’m not saying it hasn’t gotten out of hand. And there is certainly an argument to be made that the government shouldn’t be policing companies like this. But that’s a much broader issue.
One minute investigating baseball is one minute too many as long as we’re at war and there are homeless people in our country. Or people who can’t read, etc.
This is total needless grandstanding and those responsible should be ashamed of themselves.
Peter, I am perfectly happy with Congress keeping busy with meaningless stuff like Clemens. It will prevent them from doing real damage by continuing their long term trend of consistently screwing up important issues.
I can’t recall exactly but either Thomas Paine or Jefferson said “The government is best which governs least.”
Bring on more steroid investigations.
sure, it shouldn’t have been in Congress at all, no doubt.
but now that Waxman brought it to Congress, it is good that Davis is balancing the record. bad job by Pete to characterize this particular one as the act of ‘nitwits’.
since Pete is tossing around the term “nitwits”, the biggest nitwits in this have not been Congress. Rather, they have been the baseball writers, who have basically rewritten Mitchell’s & Waxman’s talking points and passed it off as “reporting”.
Being a bigger bunch of nitwits than the current Congress – congratulations baseball writers, that really is hard to do.
Pete: Do you honestly think a single thing would have been done regarding Iraq, if they hadn’t looked into steroids? Do you think these kids in Iraq would be home? Until January 20th, 2009, and only if McCain doesn’t win, these kids are going to be in Iraq, no matter if Congress is looking into pimples on Britney Spears face in How I Met Your Mother, Steroids, or Iraq issues.
And Pete, why aren’t you talking about Baseball right now? Why are you posting political posts? Because you can’t talk sports all day, there just isn’t enough Yankee news for you to post about. Same with Congress. They don’t need to spend 24/7 working on Iraq stuff, in order to adaquately addres the issue.
One dollar spent on Springsteen tickets is too many when you pass homeless people on the street to get there!
You have to love it when someone with the most non-essential job in the world calls out people for wasting time and resources.
Pete’s basic point about Congress is correct; they use various techniques to distract the public from what they really are, or are not, doing. A circus such as the Waxman hearings being the perfect example.
and then there’s the money issue – taxpayers pay for Congress’ activities, such as the investigators, etc. it all adds up. you want your taxes to go down without cutting essential services? part of that is for gov’t to spend every dime wisely.
Peter
Investigating MLB players isn’t good for business…that’s the truth for writers as well as players and it is quite painful to point the source of your pain: the overly zealous self-righteous DEMOCRATS . You need to hold the Demoncrats responsible for the excessive investigation, but you can’t. Your boss is a lib and wouldn’t accept the inconvenient truth. Pity.
~~~~Yeah, what a dope I am. I’m worried about kids leaving Iraq in coffins…~~~~
——————————————————-
Oh THAT is awesome. Hell, I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone betray the mission our troops are on in Iraq in such a naive, simplistic way. Way to go.
So I suppose you are a “No War” peacenik, eh ? Like if we just think happy thoughts about flowers and puppies, the world will just become a super nice place to live and all the bad guys will just lay down their guns and join a quilting group.
The funny thing is, it’s not so much the liberal sentiment that bothers me, but the arrogance in thinking, “Duh, everyone with a brain thinks this way”, like only idiots support the war in Iraq.
If people like you, Pete, were running this country in the 1930s and 40s, we’d all be speaking German now.
More brilliance (although, this time not from Pete):
-Home heating oil number 2 is just BARELY cheaper than a gallon of milk.
Imagine that. Something that has to be drilled into and pumped out of the ground, sent halfway around the world and refined BARELY costs less than something you can milk out of a cow.