An Open Admission that the NFL Meddles in its Games

In the midst of a 23-3 blowout on Monday night, Coach Jeff Fisher of the Titans was calling running plays to spend down the clock and leave with an easy win in hand. Inexplicably, Coach Jack DelRio of the beaten Jaguars called timeouts, when his team had no hope of recovering from the deficit in a the short time remaining.

It is now revealed that the NFL asked the two coaches to call pointless timeouts so that more commercials could be aired.

We all know that the Colts have been the beneficiaries of some of the most rigged games in sports history, so it's nice to see actions like this surface to confirm what everyone knows - the the NFL manages the outcomes of games.

Good for Coach Fisher, by the way. He refused to call needless timeouts, and the Titans scored an additional touchdown because of DelRio's corruption of the game.

Here's the story on Yahoo Sports.

"Jack used his timeouts," Fisher said. "My understanding is they needed network timeouts, and that's why Jack used his timeouts. They came over and asked me to do it, but I said, 'I was hoping to get a first down and kneel on it.'"

Fisher has an interesting sense of humor (you may remember that he tried to break his team's 2009 losing streak by donning a Peyton Manning jersey), but in this case, he wasn't joking. Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com has the real story, based on Fisher's Tuesday press conference with the local media:

"At the two-minute warning in every game in the fourth quarter, there are conversations that go by. There's conversations that take place at the two-minute warning before the first half. But there's conversations that take place, and it's the official's responsibility to give the head coach a status of commercials and TV timeouts," Fisher said. "Yesterday, I was told that they were two short. And they looked at me and smiled, and I said, 'Sorry, I can't help you.' Mike Carey came across and said, 'Here's the deal. We're two short.' And I said, 'Mike, I can't help you. I'm trying to get a first down and I'm gonna kneel on it.'

McCormick told me that he did not know (nor did Fisher) whether Del Rio took his timeouts in accordance with Carey's request, or the league's specific need for TV timeouts.

Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about this story -- the part that made it so hard to believe at first -- is the idea of a television network, and the need for ad revenue, deciding the pace of a game (no matter how awful it may be). That Carey would break away from his responsibility as a supposedly objective arbiter of the on-field action to try and wrangle timeouts from coaches in the name of commercial breaks -- well, this is where we truly have gone down the rabbit hole. And judging from Fisher's comments, this happens all the time.

Obama Just Went on My Shitlist

He just blocked reimportation of 100,000 M1 Garand rifles from Korea, rifles which we loaned them. We built them for WWII, and we let allied militaries use these rifles, as we went on to other equipment.

The Garand is one hell of a battle rifle, and it's pretty accurate, as well. These rifles are used competitively, every weekend, in ranges around the country in NRA Highpower matches and less formal "Garand" matches.

http://volokh.com/2010/08/18/obama-bans-over-100000-rifles/

I was giving Obama a break, because, well, nobody can be worse than Bush, but there is absolutely no excuse for this action. This vindictive action reveals the true colors of the Democrats and proves that all that talk of communion was just lip service.

I may not support a Republican in the upcoming elections, but I sure won't support a Democrat.

Anti-Gun Mayor Greg Ballard Leaves Indy Residents Prey for Criminals

The anti-gun Republicans continue to make Indy residents sitting ducks for criminals by denying the citizens their right to keep and bear arms.

Dave Clark, a 60-year old Indy resident, was attacked on the Monon Trail, near Kessler, on Tuesday. As is well known to criminals, Republican Mayor Greg Ballard prevents people from carrying guns on the Monon, making the citizens easy prey for the criminal thugs.

It's time we all stopped thinking of Republicans as pro gun. They're not. They only pander to us when they want our vote. Being "pro-gun" means not voting Republican. All gun owners must send a message to anti-gun Ballard by not reelecting him in 2011.

What Does "Support Our Troops" Mean?

Can anyone tell me?

Our Runaway Military

Good article by David Hoppe at Nuvo. He accurately notes that the military has become a parallel government.

David closes by quickly pondering what Americans most want the role of President to be, chief executive of the government or commander-in-chief of the military. David has bumped into a tremendously important question that deserves its own exposition.

For so many of the phony Conservatives, it seems the primary role of the President is to be in charge of the military, a task denied any peacetime President. For our extensive legions, whether serving or retired, glory comes through combat, and without combat, their particular form of government employment loses its bragging rights.

If David listens closely to what today's Conservative says in private, he'll get an answer to his question, an answer that will terrify all those who believe in civilian control of the military and use of the military only for those rare moments when America is attacked.

The War Party Spreads More Evil

Liz Cheney, the current nepotistic darling of the big-government Republicans, has been sent on a mission to spread disinformation about Michael Steele's honest and accurate conclusion that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable.

Cheney is calling for Steele's resignation because Steele dared to speak the truth to the world about the raison d'etre of the War Party. The great Ron Paul has come to Steele's defense, and Paul should be joined by all people who appreciate the truly destructive nature of war. Steele should also be assured that the Republicans are not a monolithic bloc of hateful troglodytes who cheer the latest episode of war to quench their bloodlust.

Of course, Steele is correct in his analysis. When was the last time you received a clear definition of "winning" from the politicians? When they come anywhere near such a definition, do their objectives strike you as attainable? Of course, not. As a basic political fact, Afghanis want no governmental export from the United States. Our governance is foreign to them and will ultimately be rejected by them. As our attempts to force our government on them are foolish and will never take, America has a convenient reason to stay in Afghanistan, forever, as we press our futile attempt to get them to accept the political system we'd wish they'd have.

America is now engaged in perpetual war for perpetual peace, as Vidal cautioned. We should all be more demanding of her politicians. We deserve answers to some basic questions: When can we stop the loss of American and Afghani life, and when can we stop the pointless expenditure of billions of dollars we squander to prosecute this exercise in futlity? In a more prickly question, do Americans value the loss of an Afghan life as equal to the loss of an American life?

This adoration of a standing military and perpetual war makes the Republican Party absolutely intolerable to those who advocate limited government and fiscal austerity and want to have America be thought of favorably in the world. At the close of WWII, America couldn't have been more revered in the world. Currently, however, we're a thug country, a dangerous bully, a country with a short temper that engages in wars for resources.

The Republican Party used to be a strongly anti-war party who counseled war only when the country was under attack. These pro-war advocates are not, in any way, "conservative." They're social meddlers on a global scale who preach limited government only toward domestic spending programs such as public transportation and welfare which are quite cheap, as government programs go, certainly as compared to war.

It's O.K. to be Republican and anti-war. If more Republicans demanded the end of the war and an end to our stationing of troops around the world, we'd make some progress toward reducing the deficit and debt. Further, the party that advertises itself as the champion of "limited government" might reclaim a bit of credibility on the subject.

Daniels Increases Costs By Turning Public Property into a For-Profit Business

This is what happens when you sell off public property to people who want to run it for profit, instead of at cost. Tolls have now risen 89% on the Indiana Toll Road, now owned by Cintra of Spain.

From the Indianapolis Star:

"MERRILLVILLE, Ind. -- Drivers using the Indiana Toll Road started shelling out more cash for fares Thursday as rates went up for the first time in two years.

The cost for cars to drive the 157-mile road from Illinois to Ohio went from $8 to $8.80.

It's the second rate increase since the state leased the Toll Road to a private company. In 2008, the price to go the full length of the road went from $4.65 to $8 for drivers paying cash."

Don't look for Cintra to lay off the toll increases:

"Thursday's price jump won't be the last for Toll Road drivers. The state's lease with the private company allows tolls to go up every July after next year."

Tolls have increased by 89% in the four years since Mitch sold off the Toll Road. Drivers will never have a passable alternative to the Toll Road, allowing drivers to participate in a free market for roads, since the contract signed with Cintra forbids alternative routes from being built or improved.

If Daniels would have allowed the Toll Road to impose rate increases, instead of phonily saying that rates could not be increased, then these rate increases would have been imposed by the State to cover the actual costs of the road. The Public would have been furious to see a profit being made from its travels. Mitch found a way around public accountability. Presently, Cintra is raising toll rates to to recoup its investment of $3.85 billion that it paid to the State, and they are raising rates earn their profit, both at the expense of drivers' pockets. All Mitch did with the sale of the Toll Road was to impose a massive tax on drivers and shift citizen dollars to the government and private industry, all while tiptoeing around the public ire for being known as the guy who raised taxes. Not surprisingly, most Republicans love this proto-Fascism.

How does it benefit a citizen to have the public treasury receive $3.85 B for a public asset, only to be forced to repay that $3.85 billion to a private company, while being forced to pay higher use charges for the public asset? This deal is a massive net loss for each citizen.

This bad deal is crony capitalism and corporatism, at its worst.