What Do People Think?

In what Universe is it a good idea to send kids and their soccer coach into a cave in the monsoon season. That Universe must be where Thailand is located..
We do some amazingly stupid things in this Country, but really, I cannot believe the insanity of actions like that. It seems that all will end well, but the danger and expense involved in the rescue is enormous.
Then again,, maybe we are not all that bright either. Pro football players often leave their careers barely able to walk. Many leave barely able to think, due to serial concussions Yet, each year, we send thousands of kids out to play this violent game. Teenagers are sent out on the Friday night ritual in high schools everywhere and colleges hit the gridiron every Saturday. WE even send wee ones out in Pee Wee leagues. They often suffer, not just broken bones and concussions, but heat stroke. I used to work at a high school and they had those guys out, in fill gear, in 98 degree heat with 90% humidity. Every year, a number of these kids drop dead from the strain. All for a stupid games.
If grown ups want to engage in dangerous activities, that's their business, but aren't kids supposed to be protected. Not coddled. Kids are going to get hurt and that's just a fact of life,. But not over a game.
Next thing, maybe we should have bare knuckle boxing matches for ages 10 and up. Sometimes I almost think that we are sacrificing kids on the altar of football because, make no mistake about it, in many ways, football is a religion in America. and, few seem to bat an eye when some 16 year old drops dead of heat stroke or winds up with spinal injuries from a hard hit.
Well, maybe I was too hard on Thailand. We're not much better sometimes.

Keep Youre Eue on the Target

We have had 3 hurricanes hut the USA. We cannot  pass any sort of legislation we cannot seem to leave Afghanistan, and the cops are losing a grip on the cities. Heroin is easier to get than weed, suicide rates are way too high and black and Latino kids won't go to school. Water pollution is rampant, decent food is a near luxury, and no one knows just how the climate is changing.

Then, of course there is N. Korea threatening to set off bombs underwater and shoot down our jets. We have no real clue as to what Iran is doing and Israel numbs what's left of Syria on occasion.

We're still investigating Trump and the Russians, prices of gas are rising and a lot of crops were lost.
 to storms. So, what are we worried about?

Football. Players disrespecting the flag.

Okay, I find them to be despicable. They are makong vast sums of monet for acting the way the would if unemployed, like thugs. And they dare protest/ Of they are that concerned about their brothers and sisters, they could just donate half their salary. They would till live very well and we would be spared this aggravation.

On top of the , team owners are joining the protests, on their   players side. They should let their hired goons, er players, know that the next time they protest on the field, they are fired.

But you and I have better things to worry about. If you don't like the player's attitudes, don't watch the games. Don't attend. Ignore the whole sorry lot and when the money dries up, things will change. Until then, find other ways to amuse yourself and save your worries for real problems

Sports in America - the Farce Continues

Americans worship sports, not God, not Jesus, not Allah, nor any other deity. In small towns, throughout the heartland of the Nation, parents gather to adore their fledgling gods as they beat the snot out of each other on the gridiron, ignoring the countless concussions, broken bones, and occasional deaths that befall these wee warriors. When old enough, if blessed with the speed of a cheetah and the power of a raging hippopotamus, they take the National stage of college football. Oddly, they are given full scholarships. The word scholarship, containing the root word scholar, seems to indicate an academic slant to the whole thing, but, I swear, it is an absolute miracle that some of these guys even find the football field. Why don't they just create a minor league for pro football and let the universities get back to their stated business, education, something they do a dreadful job of.

Those Titans who survive college ball earn the right to play in the big time, the NFL, where, according to statistics, 93% will wind up with CTE, a devastating brain condition. Still, America demands entertainment, even if it requires large dumb men to beat each other senseless.

Baseball is less violent, but just as inane. I used to love baseball, but now the game is badly played by guys who, in days past, would not have advance past Double A ball. At one point, MLB had 2 players making $100000, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. The great Stan Musial had to beg the Cardinals to pay him the same, even after long years of brilliant play. Now, .240 hitters who can barely field their position make 7 figure salaries. Pitchers, at one time, were expected to go 9 innings and called it a bad outing if they didn't make it at least 7. Now, a starter goes 5 innings, gives up 4 runs and says he had a good outing. Yet, still, we pack the stadiums.

Basketball has degenerated to a bunch of near giants lumbering up and down the court, slamming the ball through the net, and picking up huge checks. Boxing now has the credibility of pro wrestling. I watch horse racing, because I think there is little as beautiful as a thoroughbred in full stride, and golf because I take a sadistic glee in watching highly paid athletes struggle to make sense of a silly, frustrating game, while strolling around a beautiful park.

I have a proposal. Why don't we just finally admit that mentally we have not grown a bit since the days of the Roman Empire? Let's just throw a bunch of poor folks into the middle of an arena and let them pound on each other, with no rules and no referees. Last man standing wins a fortune and the right to come back until some other guy beats him half to death. It would be wonderfully entertaining. The networks would be wild over the ratings and perhaps our National lust for blood and heroes would at last be satisfied.