The Socialism Bowl : Updated w/ "Last Word" Commentary

Last night's Super Bowl victory by the Green Bay Packers is largely being drowned out by commentary on Christina Aguilera botching a line from the National Anthem ( which every Right Winger in America is naturally taking advantage of - even alluding that they could have performed it better ) to making hay out of a car commercial that aired during the game.

And while the Packs certainly performed well - even getting some unintentional assistance from Big Ben via some poor passing - it shouldn't be ignored that the Green Bay Packers aren't owned by a single entity, but by "the people" :

Since 1923, Green Bay has been the only publicly owned, nonprofit major professional sports team in the nation. And that doesn't just make the franchise a charming anachronism, or the answer to a barstool trivia question.

It makes them an example. A case study. A working model for a better way to organize and administer pro sports.

Namely, through public ownership, a system that could mitigate some of the most irritating ills plaguing our games -- and with little downside, to boot.

The modern American Right are want to breathlessly claim that "Socialism" is evil and will destroy the country they claim to love and cherish. But it seems to have worked for the Packers. And while there is a Board of Directors that are tied to the team, the style of ownership plays a much larger role than most are willing to admit. Is it responsible for their win last night? I think in some small way it is, as the make-up of a team, in any sport, is largely predicated on the decisions of the team owners.

In all, it was a great game. All that's left now is to try to tolerate the complaints and conspiracy theories of all the Steeler's fans at work.

UPDATE

Lawrence comes through...............again

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Some Thoughts For Your Morning

- Seems that there has been another major oil rig disaster - this time in Northwestern Pennsylvania being operated by EOG Resources. A blogger over at Micheal Morrill over at Daily Kos tried to get video footage of the rig and the unfolding scene and was told that if he didn't leave the property that he may be shot and was hauled away by, whom he would only assume, were employees. I'm thinking that we aren't going to hear a great deal about this rig as the company likely did some pre-damage control for "just in case" purposes and has already got their narrative together. Wait a second, did Palin just say that inland drilling was uber-safe or something?

- Apparently knowing the little-known lyrics of the National Anthem mean that you far more patriotic than anyone else on the planet. Kind of like the same rationale that if you have a bigger flag that you are more patriotic. Wonder if this guy knows that last verse of the Beverly Hillbillies theme though.

- On most days this year, the Democrats are really good at doing the job of being a Republican. I think this has a lot to do with Obama's polling numbers at this point. But again, we have to remember that a great deal of this has to do with perception versus perspective. I'm fully aware that a large cross-section of the American media is more than willing to sit on their collective asses and virtually kowtow to conservative tactics, but there's also the reality that a fair portion of what Democrats are doing is literally in the same vein. I for one think that the government should, like Robert Reich correctly pointed out, put BP-North America into receivership in order to take more steadfast control over the Gulf oil spill. Likely that CEO will be removed from his position, but this should have been done weeks ago.

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Defending Idiocy To Peserve The Country-Music Vote

Hank Williams Jr. used to be a talented country music artist. He followed in his father's footsteps and made many memorable country classics.

But, that doesn't remove the fact that he is also a blithering idiot:

At a Sarah Palin rally here tonight, country music star Hank Williams, Jr. took the stage to sing the national anthem, as he has done at Palin events across the country for weeks. But this time, the singer decided to share his personal views about Barack Obama with the crowd.

“You know, I’m usually at ‘Monday Night Football' tonight, but Colorado, this is a lot more important tonight,” Williams, Jr. said. “Join me now in our national—you know, that song that, uh, Mr. Obama’s not real crazy about, we’re singing it right now.”

The crowd cheered, and Williams, Jr. sang the national anthem. The country singer then went into an ode he penned about the Republican presidential ticket, a song called “McCain/Palin Tradition,” which has lyrics referring to Palin as a “good lookin’ dish.”

source

Though it is Hank Jr.'s right to say stupid things, it should be pointed out that there is absolutely no proof that Obama has an aversion to the National Anthem.

But, this is a commonality that is pervasive within the country-music commnity and their fans. They still believe that Obama is a Muslim, that he has ties to terrorism, or that he just might be the Anti-Christ.

To put it simply, Hank Jr. isn't doing anything to make himself or those how love him look better.