The Peyton Manning And Drew Brees Saga

The up coming NFL season for Denver and New Orleans could leave their fans shaking their heads in disbelief at the conclusion of the regular season.  This writer has never witnessed a news conference like the one held by Denver to announce Manning's signing.  It was too long with too many questions and answers and unfortunately void of the important answers that can not possibly be answered until the end of the season.  What is ahead for Manning and Denver is as follows.

Will Manning be gun shy because of his neck injury and bail out and let the ball fly too soon?  Will Manning be able to keep his cool and not think about his injury or being reinjured?  Will Manning's timing, agility and athletic ability still be there after missing a full season?  Will his desire to play be at the high level necessary to compete once the season gets underway?  How much help will the team give Manning?  That long news conference was a boon to the news media and hype but was clueless as for how Manning and Denver will end the season.  That will tell the real story.

Drew Brees is still waiting to sign a contract with the Saints as of this writing.  Some local sports journalists and many fans are on record thinking the Saints should give Brees whatever he is asking for salary wise.  In fact one journalist said if Manning signed with Denver for $19 million than Brees is worth $25 million.  That kind of logic or lack there of is one reason professional sports has so many problems.  Brees has led the Saints to 4 winning seasons out of 6 years, no where near the number of winning seasons Manning led his team.  Manning has also won more playoff games than Brees. 

Fans and sports journalists should not be surprised if Brees and the Saints end up with a break even or 9-7 record at the end of the season.  Their losses in the playoff the last two seasons were ugly to say the least and neither Brees or Sean Payton really had an answer.  The coaches and players suspensions will have an affect on the team and its record despite the pep talk going on by journalists and the Saints orginazation.  I am not a mind reader or have a crystal ball but I think I see the hand writing on the wall.  Only time will tell.

The Falling Price For A Gallon Of Gasoline

A few months ago the American people were told by the experts to expect the price of gasoline to hit record levels and continue to increase through the summer months.  As of this writing the price of a gallon of gasoline has not hit record levels, that distinction belongs to the G.W. Bush administration.

Then just a week of so ago President Obama and the Justice Departmnt announced an investigation has started to seek out how the price of oil (which affects the price of gasoline) has been manipulated by those dealing with oil futures who buy and sell oil on the open market and set prices.  And what should have been to no ones surprise, the price of a barrel of oil and gallon of gasoline has been going down ever since and now the experts say the price will continue to go down during the summer months.

A legal investigation will get peoples attention every time, especially when the price of oil and gasoline are manipulated by those who benefit the most.  Keep in mind production in the oil industry has been up, there has been no shortage and really no threat to drilling and or production world wide.  Profits in the industry continue to increase and contrary to what oil industry executives say, federal and state regulations do not hinder the industry's drilling and production.

The President and Justice Department needs to follow through on their investigations and hold those accountable for their manipulation and speculation on the price of a barrel of oil.  Those elected officials who are mouth pieces for the industry were just as wrong as the so called experts and are a pittiful bunch.  It is way past time for congress to eliminate the billions of dollars of tax breaks for the industry.

April's Unemployment And Job Creation Numbers

The U.S. Labor Department announced the U.S. economy created 115,000 new net jobs in April and that unemployment fell to 8.1%, a decrease from the previous month.  The state governments continue to lose jobs with cuts mainly becuse of state revenue decline.

April's new job numbers was the 26th straight month of job growth for the economy and a positive sign of a continued recovery from the second great economic depression and record job losses of the previous administration.  Unemployment is getting close to the 7% range this writer predicted over a year ago while the so called experts were predicting a 9% unemployment rate through 2012.  Those so called experts who were predicting a 9% unemployment rate through 2012 thought there would be no job growth.  They were wrong on both counts.

Republican reaction to April's numbers were the usual negative sound bites that reflect their anti American ideology of wanting to see the President and the country fail.  They have no economic record to run on just ask George W. Bush.  President Obama needs to continue to do what ever is necessary to see that the economy continues to grow and create more jobs.  He understands the republicans will do nothing to help move the country and its people forward.

Once Upon A Time In The National Football League

There was a time in the NFL when coaches were gentlemen, especially head coaches.  Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry and Don Shula were three.  All won two or more world championships and they acted and coached like gentlemen.  They demanded much from their players and had a long record of winning seasons and play off participation.

They were also gentlemen off the field and gave much to professional football.  They did not play favorite with their players and were a credit to the game.  They also played the game themselves and would never be part of any bounty to hurt another player and put him out of the game.

Saints coach Sean Payton's arrogance and attitude to the game merited a years suspension and rightly so.  He lacked the character and courage to be a gentlemen in his coaching and failed to look after his teams best interest in allowing bounty gate to take place.  When a team looses its head coach because of improper actions that is a sad commentary of what is taking place in pro football.  The leadership of the NFL is not with out blame.  They have presided over the demise of sportsmanship in the NFL in favor of wealth for the NFL, the owners and players by their demands of Corporate Welfare using tax payers money.

Is there any wonder why arrogance has raised its ugly head?  Yes, there was a time when the NFL had gentlemen coaches who had character, courage and respect for the game.  That says is all.

A Very Common Sense "Point of View"

Mr. James Farwell in a "point of view" editorial in the Times Picayune dated 4/4/12 concerning the Saints bounty-gate was right on target and reflected a most common sense understanding just how damaging the story is to the City, the people, the Saints and the NFL.

Mr. Farwell's suggestion of what the Saints and NFL should do with part of the "fine money" is a great American sports idea and a worthy one. That would be putting the money to good use in the hands of the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission that is under funded and Mr. Farwell explains what that money would do for our youth. Every one knows that the NFL, its owners, coaches and players are surely not under funded.

This writer has written several commentaries concerning the Saints situation and I would say that Mr. Farwell's editorial and politidose's commentaries share the same basic understanding of what has happened with this situation. It is well past time for those in professional sports to grow up and take responsibility for their un professional behavior. I recommend Mr. Farwell's editorial be read by every one.

March 2012: Another Good Month For Job Creation And The Unemployment Number

The economy created 120,000 new jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to 8.2% from 8.3% in February. Job creation has been in positive territory for 25 straight months and manufacturing in the U.S. is leading the way. Unemployment is getting closer every month to the 7% range, a far cry from 9% unemployment the pundits predicted for all of 2012.

The negative voices have tried to portray the 120,000 new jobs as weak compared to recovery of previous recessions. They are full of it because the George W. Bush recession can only be compared to the great depression and not any previous recessions. Can any one really remember another recession when the economy was loosing an average of 500,000 jobs a month? An economy in negative territory most of 2008 and some of 2009? A financial meltdown that Bush recommended to congress to pass a $700 billion bail out? Of course not, but it does not matter to those negative voices because their interest is only to see the President and the country fail.

The President needs to continue to do those things that will continue the forward movement of the economy and job creation. He has to stand fast against extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and continue working to see that Corporate America and the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes. The President should also insist that government expenditures should be matched with government revenue. And never again if war comes to our country should only our men and women in uniform and their families be asked to sacrifice for our country. It should be a shared sacrifice like in WWII.

Who Will Be The Republican Party's Nominee For President?

Does it really matter? After all is said and done the party's nominee will be like a robo call. The same ditto head conservative anti-American ideology that gave the country and its people the second greatest depression, job losses and financial failure. Based on previous republican campaigns, this one will be ugly and nasty because the candidate and party will have no record of accomplishment to run on, therefore the usual personal attacks.

President Obama in the 3 years and two months he has served has taken away the issue of the economy and the American people and country are better off today than they were four years ago. New job creation is exceeding job layoffs by a wide margin. Total federal spending is down compared with the Bush administration year to year.

America and its people have been kept safe from foreign terror attacks contrary to the predictions of republican presidential candidate John McCain and then V.P. Dick Chaney during the last Presidential election. Bin Laden and many of his terrorists have been brought to justice and can never harm the United States again. Tax cuts for the middle class has been in effect since Obama's election and the President is moving in the right direction of a more fairer tax for the country so everyone will have to pay his fair share.

The Iraq war is over thanks to the President's pledge when he ran for office. If it were up to the republicans, our men and women in uniform would still be in Iraq over WMD that did not exist. The U.S. now has a more coherent foreign policy based on real threats to our security and not on a conservative ideology that use our military power with impunity to start unnecessary wars and multiple deployments for our troops who end up paying the ultimate price. Our military drones are being used successfully to bring terrorists to justice without putting thousands of our people in harms way. These are just some of the many reasons the republican party and their candidate will use personal attacks against the President this election year and will be unable to debate the real issues.

It took the U.S. over 10 years to emerge from the great depression. President Obama and the democratic party are moving the country out of the second great depression in a shorter period of time despite the massive debt the last three republican Presidents has cast upon the country and its people. And seven months before the November election they still want to see the President fail.

President Obama should be reelected so he can continue the progress made for the country and its people.

President Obama, The Affordable Health Care Act And The U.S. Supreme Court.

The Health Care Act and some parts of it have been in force since passed by Congress in 2009 and is serving millions of people who were previously uninsured. It is estimated that the law when fully implemented will cover 30 plus million people who are uninsured. So what should the President do if the Supreme Court strikes down the Health Care law?

In this writers judgement if that happens the President should insist that the state governors assume the responsibility of seeing that the uninsured within their borders are provided the necessary health care. It should be the governors responsibility any way to see that those 30 plus million citizens are taken care of. The federal government only stepped in because state governors refused to do so because they would have to raise taxes and do not have the leadership or courage to take that step. This would be a way for state governors to help reduce federal spending and take control of what happens inside a states border. But don't look for any governor to take that responsible lead. They love to bash the federal government but actually take the federal money gladly.

It is the governors who have put America in a bind concerning health care and its cost. They have failed to come up with a workable policy or program to administer the uninsured and rising health care cost within their own borders. When governors talk about the big bad federal government spending, its roots go back to the fact that governors have failed their own responsibility to its own people and left it up to the federal government to act. State governors need to be held accountable.

The Oil Industry Board Rooms: If Only The Walls Could Talk

Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted to block a proposal by democrats that would end the tax breaks(corporate welfare) for the five largest Oil Companies. The vote was 51-47 with four democrats voting with the republicans to block. If the walls in the board rooms of the oil industry could talk, the conversation would go something like this.

Well guys we did it again. Our campaign contributions to those spineless members of congress who voted for us continue to work. We did it again and we did not even have to lift a finger. They are our spokesmen for blaming Obama for the BP moratorum and the fact that we lied about our ability to plug a blow out timely and remove the spilled oil from the waters of the Gulf before it reached shore. Then after the blow out we announced the industry would have a system ready and available to deal with a similar situation in 18 months they were quiet as a mouse. They could have raked us over the coals for lying all those years but they looked the other way.

Our lackeys in congress are also covering our butts on the record sustained increase in the price of a barrel of oil and gasoline that began with the Bush 43 administration when the energy industry met with VP Chaney and our decisions were and still remain secret from the people. They even have the stupid voters convinced that it is Obama's policies that are the cause of the increase in prices.

Boy, the money we spread around to those spineless senators make us look good. They lead the charge for us and blame everyone else. The voters are lost and we can continue to have our lackeys do our bidding and keep the clueless voters in the dark. It does not get any better than this. How sweet it is.