I watch too much television. Mostly sports and politics. Which has led me to conclude… the problem with American politics is we have come to blur the line between the two. We have 24-7 news coverage of both activities, especially on cable. All these shows treat politics like it is a sport. There are two teams. There’s the team in red and the team in blue. One is supposedly on the left, one across the field on the right. One has a donkey mascot, while the other has an elephant mascot. Polls are nothing other than rankings, which many of us choose to believe are wrong, if we don’t like where our team is ranked.
Watching my beloved Ducks kick some Sun Devil ass. Oregon pulls off an unusual play to score… the home crowd starts chanting “Bull Shit, Bull Shit, Bull Shit…” Everybody in the stadium looked at the same play but saw it entirely differently than the other side. The problem with politics is we no longer have constituents or voters… we have fans, who see and hear and believe what they want to believe regardless of what their lying eyes and deaf ears tell them is true.
We need to turn Congress and our state legislatures into all-star teams. The best folks from both teams who can play together, so our nation might again become a winner.
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Charlie Sheen never let me down. John Edwards did. Tiger Woods did. Lance Armstrong did. But Charlie Sheen never did. The others placed themselves on a pedestal. Beware the man who promotes his own charitable foundation.
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Went to the Brooksville Cycling Classic this past weekend. I wanted to check out the over-60 cyclists because I am getting the urge to race. I am nothing if not a long-distance competitor.
Immediately, I see a possible problem. There are not enough men in my age group to compete alone, so they are bunched together with the over-50 crowd.
I am not fast enough now, but I have a year to prepare. Obviously, I will need a faster bike, a sleeker helmet, different shoes, a flashier outfit. I am guessing my gloves are good enough. Sounds expensive.
Turns out I could’ve been a podium finisher, would’ve placed third. A long, active life eventually cuts down the competition. There were only two old guys in the race.
Later, I went for a ride. Saw five people cycling. Only one was wearing a helmet. Me. When did “Crazy Jack” become the safe, cautious one? Hey, takes more than luck to get to the oldest age-group.
Yesterday I went to Gold’s Gym, where I have a free membership due to Medicare Advantage. I climbed aboard – first time ever – a stationary recumbent bike and covered 21 miles at 90-100 rpms. Breakfast this morning was cottage cheese, fruit and nuts. It’s a different kind of crazy. Wait ’til next year.