Bonds, Clemens, I'm All In

The US government literally leaves me scratching my head at times. They focus and waste billions of dollars on the most mundane issues and situations. If you include the BALCO investigation, the Barry Bonds trial cost the US Taxpayer some $55 million. For what reason was this money spent? Because a man was prideful? Because he knew they couldn't (and didn't) prove he used steroids? Sure, they "got him" on an obstruction of justice charge. Great. So, we the taxpaying public is out $55 million and Bonds is probably going to face home confinement. You sure told him! Moreover, you wasted $55 million which could have fed the Congo for the rest of its existence. But, we are not done...


Let's move on to Roger Clemens. His trial begins this summer. What do you think the government will waste on this showcase? Rest assured, it will soar into the stratosphere of millions of dollars, and all being spent to illustrate that one does not lie to Congress and get away with it. No, that is their job. They are the ones who lie to us and get off scott free complete with a pension, illustrious health care benefits, and more perks than one could reasonably accept without some sort of guilt complex. And it is all legit! It is literally the greatest con job of all time. What is even more sickening? Not one high powered executive within Wall Street, save for Bernie Madoff, is doing time over the disaster that is the mortgage and housing crisis which is still gripping the nation and the very reason we are mired in this obnoxiously long recession. But, let's focus on Clemens and Bonds. Now this is leadership.

Quick sidenote: it will be bantered about that it was the Bush economic policy that made the money flow freely in the mortgage sector thus causing the housing meltdown. This is simply not the case. While in hindsight Bush did several things wrong, it was Clinton and Barney Frank who championed the cause of "every American should own their home" through FNMA and FHLMC whether they can afford it or not. Those are the facts whether the left leaning writer and producer of Inside Job reports them or not. Just remember, the truth usually lies in the middle but the middle doesn't sell.

Moving on. Thankfully the FBI and the feds have their sights set on those evil doers known as online poker rooms. Hey US citizens, you are failing at the cerebral horsepower level required to be able to manage your money within these styes of online gambling horror. Therefore, we the FBI, will protect you from these hideous criminals. I find this sort of regulating akin to someone telling me I cannot smoke in a park or in my own home (I don't smoke but I don't care if you do in your home or in outdoor venues). If you all cannot see what is happening here, I can't help you. Bit by bit, inch by inch, the gluttonous sloth that is the government is encroaching on your very freedoms. If I choose to visit Poker Stars with my US dollars from my living room, who am I hurting? Is it my fault that the government is so mired in their "buddy" system that they are somehow shut out of this money making venture? What is the difference if I take my US dollars to Costa Rica and gamble them all away? I will tell you the difference: loss of tax revenue. Man oh man, our boys and girls in DC need a lot of help. They can't see the forest for the trees. Um, guys? We have a $14 trillion deficit so you might want to look at ways to, oh I don't know, partake in some revenue from this source.

We Americans love to gamble and will always do so. So, why the issue with online poker? I mean, the Feds turn a blind eye to March Madness and office pools across the country. What is the annual figure in office pools for March Madness you ask? Estimates place the total dollar amount of American office pools in excess of $3 billion, with the total cost in productivity in the neighborhood of $1.8 billion (Financial Edge). So, let me get this straight: $500 million in online poker revenue from US players at Poker Stars is a problem. But, $3 billion being gambled away and won in illegal office pools annually is somehow just fine. Hypocrisy knows no bounds.