We are, unfortunately, duplicating the pathology of 1st to 4th century Rome. Our biggest exports are gladiator sports, war and intolerance. After a golden period of innovation, equity and unity, our complacency with our position has yielded a generation of lazy, greedy, fear-mongers. The wealthiest Americans are so risk averse, they have to distract the lower economic classes with fake battles and meaningless conflict while they rob us of our lives and treasure. They promote ignorance and distrust of authority in order to fragment and repress opposition to their goals and policies. They rely on the lowest common denominator to set the bar which gives them cover when they behave abominably. These actions obliterate what economists call class mobility or what is commonly called The American Dream.

But not to go on a rant...

Hammer, you missed nail

Sounds about right to me.

We don't export intolerance. WTF does that mean?
We don't export war.

What period would this be?

Wrong. lazy perhaps, but greedy fear mongers sounds like liberal BS to me.

Nonsense. Liberal defeatist babble. No one is robbing you of your life or treasure. Your attitude towards this nation may be, but no one else is.


No they don't promote it at all.


More liberal "I hate America" drivel.

I'm so glad there are numerous entrepreneurs in this nation that do not have your "woe is me" self pity attitude toward life and this nation.

Let me guess, you're all on board the "soak the evil rich" bandwagon aren't you?

Players make too much money as it is. The players should have no more right to ownership of the teams or profits then we do in our daily job. They are certainly no more important in the grand scheme of life. You are only as good as the contract you negotiate and that should not be a commission of 50% of the entire take of the company.

You beat me to it. I seriously don't understand how or why these perceptions exist...but alas it is a free country. An old Italian lady I used to work for used to say, "it takes all kinds to make a world." Bingo. :???:

all a bunch of bull malarky.

I don't know that we'll re-do the fall of Rome, but there are some parallels than Xan cited. You think we've as a society learned from history? When Larry the Cable Guy gets his own reality show on the History Channel, hmmm I doubt it.

Different times. There was no internet or t.v. or Movie theatres back then. They created entertainment from what they had. You had lots of storytellers and plays and performers as well as gladiators. War was a way of life back then. The most honorable position you could hold was that of a soldier or warrior.

I think to compare us to that time is a fallacy. You are either conquered or you are the conqured. Back then that was how you were defined as a leader and a nation. Today we are simply trying to defend ourselves and our way of life or at least the remaining people that believe in what the U.S.A. stands for.

Everyone needs entertainment or a diversion for everyday life. an escape. The key is not to let life imitate "art" or "entertainment". Everyday life is not football, although someone would love to draw a bunch of analogies, truth is it is not. It is a 3 hour escape from life to cheer for your team and to assemble with friends and other fans to watch a competition. Now competition is the american way. That is eroding as the years go by but that is another discussion. After watching the game you go about your business and back to everyday life.

If all you have to look forward to is the game or "war" then maybe you need to re-evaluate your life and make some better judgements.

Because I like football doesn't mean I don't know what's going on with Healthcare or my Taxes nor does it mean that I settle all of my diffferences by tackling someone and spiking a stapler off their head.

People easily forget (or just don't take the time to learn) that we, as a nation, are promoters of democracy. The idea of the founding fathers was not to build this utopia and leave the rest of the world to be foundering. The idea was to seek out places to implement and defend freedom.

Of course now we have other reasons for fighting in other lands. There will always be those who don't get it. I have a friend from Zimbabwe who doesn't think we should have pushed Iraq back out of Kuwait or that we should have toppled Sadam (even though we're the ones that facilitated his being in power to begin with), however he love NOTHING MORE than to see us intervene in Zimbabwe and take down Mugabe. Certainly we have a vested interests in the middle east.

In the end, the anti-war crowd cannot be satisfied...best to leave them to their utopian dreams or risk a level of frustration that only medication can sooth.

Back to topic - I have no issues with players making as much as they can. There are valid points to both sides of the issue in the NFL as there are always valid points on both sides of any disagreement. I hold both parties accountable in this case. I am offended by the "oh they'll take away our insurance if they lock us out" crap since those guys - even the lowest paid among them - can weather such a horrible predicament in a way that most of us never could. I am equally baffled by the 18 game schedule and the desire to take away two preseason games because it is clearly difficult enough for these guys to make it through a season as it is. The all mighty dollar corrupts on all levels.