Baseball season starts today

No, not officially it doesn't but unofficially it is, in effect:

Barry Bonds Perjury Trial Gets Under Way 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's a shame it has to be this way, too.  I think everyone on the street who follows baseball and this story have pretty much come to the conclusion that Barry Bonds at least misrepresented some truth on whether or not he used performance-enhancing drugs but to me, this is his own and a side issue.

The bigger issues for me, regarding baseball are, first, is baseball ever going to get truly tough on steroids and other stimulants and--far more importantly--when are the fans ever going to truly stand up and take back "their game", by forcing the owners to have a commissioner who is for the game and not the owners?

I don't think we'll see it, sadly. 

Ever.

Sure, there's far more important and "bigger fish" to fry, so to speak, like the nuclear meltdown in Japan and the thousands of people missing there, after the earthquake and tsunami and the homeless people both there and in Haiti and, for that matter, the rest of the world but grant me this temporary diversion.

If baseball is important to these people--and you know it is--they ought to run it right and well and finally fix these issues, for the good of the game.

Link to original story: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/03/21/sports/baseball/AP-BBO-Bonds-Trial.html?_r=1&ref=sports 

Fair trial?

Think about this:

How likely is it, do you think, that this Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan--the guy reported to have shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood earlier this week, and injuring many more--is going to get a truly fair trial?

Really.

First, it was virtually immediately decided he's going to be tried in a military court.

That's a huge strike against him right there.

How open-minded are most people in the military going to be towards this guy?

Then, get this--he's also to be tried, so far, anyway--at the same Fort Hood where this all took place.

Right.

And then, it's only a few days since this horrible tragedy took place but think how much media coverage this has aleady gotten.

As proof of what I'm saying here, in general, and the media point, above, in specfic, check out what was released in an article on this today:

"The National Security Agency intercepted 10 to 20 communications over the past year between Maj. Hasan and Mr. Awlaki, who knew three of the Sept. 11 hijackers and hailed Maj. Hasan as a 'hero' after the shootings."

Don't most of us already have opinions on this guy and his case?

Sure we do. Don't kid yourself otherwise.

His attorney already says he's not getting what would be normal, fair treatment for even himself, as the guy's attorney, let alone the Major.

Then add to it that he's Muslim with a very Muslim and foreign-sounding name and you get the picture.

I didn't mention that they're going for the death penalty and on 13 counts.

I'm not saying we need to be all soft and forgiving on this, by any means.

All I'm saying is that he should be given a fair trial.

Remember those?

We used to always insist that was the type trials we had in the United States.

Link to story:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125804778767245615.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

Still wrong. Grossly wrong

I agree with the President and his decision to not release additional pictures of tortures over in Iraq, going against his earlier declaration that he would, in fact, release them.

He's right this time--putting out more pictures now would only further stir up more animosity and anger and who knows what. It would be of no benefit.

I also think the President is correct in shutting down the Guantanamo Prison. There are only approximately 240 prisoners there and Montana alone has publicly announced they would take 100 of those prisoners. That would leave 2.85 prisoners, left to be distributed to the other 49 states.

And we can't handle that, as a country?

Nonsense. Of course we can.

Where I don't agree with President Obama is that he has declared there are some prisoners at Guantanamo right now who we will simply continue to hold indefinitely without any charges filed and without any trial.

And that's just wrong.

That is not what the United States is about or has ever been about.

That makes us no better than the old Soviet Union or China, even today.

We have always acted with our Constitution and laws and said that you cannot be held without charges being filed, without trial and without facing your accusers.

Are we not, any longer, any better than some South American "banana republic"?

We always used to think we were.