Where’s the Outrage?

What an important day!! I didn’t know this but the players on each team took a vote on whether or not they would strike. Each team was going to walk out! Listen to Keith’s report. Outstanding.

I heard an interview with Jackie Robinson’s daughter earlier this week. The peak of Black’s in the MLB was 1975 if I’m not mistaken. The percentage of Blacks has fallen almost every year since then. What’s the problem? There are very few baseball diamonds in the inner city. MLB is doing very little to fix the problem. Almost every boy will get some type of baseball when he is young. By the time that he is 10 or 11 he converts to football or basketball.

MLB needs to take a proactive role if they really care about Blacks playing the sport. The NFL has leagues. Where are the baseball leagues? Not softball. Has MLB partnered with cities to create open spaces where organized baseball can be played?

 

 Countdown - Jackie Robinson: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Countdown, Race, Sports by ecthompson
2 Comments »

We have seen literally hundreds of presidential commissions form, meet and pledge action.  Really, they can pledge anything that they want, it will be up to the President and Congress to make it happen.  There are already a ton of committees looking to the Walter Reed problem. So, I’m not sure why another commission was necessary.  It would be different if Congress was ignoring the problem but they aren’t.  The VA has already looked into the problem and found a ton of problems. 

So often, I criticize the President for doing what I believe is the wrong thing.  I guess I shouldn’t be too harsh on this commission.  At least, there is the appearance of trying to the right thing.  Now, if all of these inquiries turn into better care of our soldiers then I’ll give President Bush a shout out.  Until then I’m just watchin’.

——-

From CNN.com:

Injured soldiers returning home for medical treatment face an unacceptable maze of paperwork and bureaucracy, leaders of a presidential commission on veterans’ health care said Saturday.

At their first public hearing, members pledged to work quickly to find solutions rather than assign blame.

(snip)

Donna Shalala, health and human services secretary under President Clinton, said the commission planned a report by late July that would be pragmatic and “solution-driven.”

“Our timeline for action is very short,” she said. As a result, she said commissioners may not be able to visit every military hospital and Veterans Affairs Department clinic to examine conditions.  (more…)

Tags: Congress, Walter Reed by ecthompson
Comments Off