Shouldn't the Clemens investigation be "off the table"?

All of this crap about whether or not Roger Clemens got shot in the ass with HDH or Steroids pales in the face of serious national issues. Yet Congress finds the time to hold investigations on this meaningless bullshit.

Congress can find the time... bring every other thing to a standstill, evidently, to hold hearings on this, but investigating the lies, and illegal actions of the Bush Administration is "off the table".

Nancy Pelosi has said that impeachment is "off the table".  Why are we then spending the precious time of our Congress investigating a fat assed pitcher's drug habits?  

What is more important to the future of this country, knowing whether or not which player or players are artificial or natural behemoths or holding our elected officials to the standards set in our Constitution?

Hey, I'm just sayin'.

•  Bend over...

  this might sting a bit.

  by Stash on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:09:41 AM PDT

•  On The List Of Things Congress Should Be Doing

  this has to be like 156,987,231. And that is coming from a die-hard baseball fan.

  by webranding on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:11:03 AM PDT

  •  The List Of Things Congress Should Be Doing

    Now, that should be a column all by itself!

    by Stash on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:13:39 AM PDT

  •  Also a die-hard fan

    in particular a Clemons fan. Saw him pitch in his rookie year in spring training...most exciting pitcher I'd ever seen. Saw him play many times, met him many times.

    but I don't believe him

    This is a problem with student athletes.

    A 2002 study by Texas A&M University estimated up to 42,000 Texas students were abusing steroids. "Most parents would be shocked to learn — as I was — that teenagers use veterinary-grade anabolic steroids from Mexico — drugs made for horses, cattle and pigs," King notes

    by pollyusa on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:54:59 AM PDT

    •  Clemons Never Played For My Team

      but gosh he was a joy to watch. Steroids and their use with teens is an important issue, but that isn't what we're seeing talked about on Capital Hill today.

      I'd argue steroids is a major health issue, cause 15-25 is when men have higher levels of testosterone and when you throw steroids into the mix you have huge potential health issues.

      by webranding on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:01:51 PM PDT

    •  In Texas, Christian athletes would shoot heroin

      if they thought it made them play football better.  Oh the humanity, Oh the hypocrisy.

      by MrJersey on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:07:39 PM PDT

•  Huge embarrassment

  Waxman should have given his staff a vacation. It would be more honorable.

  by skywriter on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:12:30 AM PDT

•  Torture, Iraq, Warrantless wire tapes, Cheney

  Abramoff, the corruption of the justice department and Cunningham; no we are too busy to investigate those.

  Clements, no there is something that needs looking into.

  by Sam Wise Gingy on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:13:06 AM PDT

•  It pisses me off

  I was listening to some of it this morning.  They are acting getting tougher with Roger Clemens than they have ever done with the Bush administration.  Assholes.  

  by johnny rotten on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:13:54 AM PDT

  •  I Can't Believe You Don't Have Thousands

    of folks, who knows mothers that need SCHIP expanded, who have breast cancer, who have children that are stuck in Iraq for the 4-5 time up on Capital Hill screaming that our elected leaders are wasting their time with this junk.

    by webranding on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:17:52 AM PDT

  •  SHOCKING

    There is a backbone there somewhere. Too bad it is on an issue that means diddlysquat to most Americans.

    by DickCheneyBeforeHeDicksYou on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:00:46 PM PDT

•  I am a Democrat, but

  ...I used to tell everyone "I am a proud Democrat".  

  Sometimes it's hard.

  by Stash on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:16:04 AM PDT

  •  Oops, wrong location

    this was supposed to be in resonse to skywriter.

    by Stash on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:22:16 AM PDT

•  Baseball, the I-P conflict, and Ron Paul

  Name three things I don't care about.

  by droogie6655321 on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:16:10 AM PDT

  •  Thank you, Karnac!

    by Stash on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:18:48 AM PDT

    •  Hey-OHH!

      by droogie6655321 on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:20:58 AM PDT

•  Jock sniffing Congress

  Do you think it's time for new leadership?

  by born socialist on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:18:30 AM PDT

•  At least Clemens...

  is a Republican!

  /snark

  by theloniously on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:18:51 AM PDT

•  Clemens is a scapegoat...

  ...The entire NY Yankees club should be on trial, not just Clemens.

  In fact, every MLB team should have to appear in court...not just cherry-picked scapegoats.

  The vast majority of MLB players have used/do use steriods.  So put the whole fucking bunch on trial.

  Cherry-picking fall guys is bullshit.  Of course, cherry picking fall guys is the corporate way.

  by wyvern on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:19:11 AM PDT

  •  Amen There

    I live in St. Louis and we're pretty ashamed of the whole situation. I mean after the last strike and then the whole home run thing with McGwire/Sosa all of baseball (fans included) just looked the other way.

    by webranding on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:22:56 AM PDT

  •  I want to know why a trainer would keep

    needles and syringes for 7 years in his freezer????

    What the hell is that about, unless he thought he would be able to hang someone with them - besides himself.

    by importer on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:28:59 AM PDT

    •  If You Can Believe The Reporting

      Brian McNamee, who injected Clemens is a former police officer and it is widely noted his client isn't the most trustworthy person in professional sports (which is saying a lot). And yes, I am a baseball geek.

      by webranding on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:34:28 AM PDT

      •  So, while he was doing these injections,

        he actually was taking care to cover his butt?

        Fascinating!

        by importer on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:37:43 AM PDT

        •  I've Read Some of the Depositions

          in the Bonds case/trial and some of these trainers actually had those bio-hazard units like you see in hospitals to depose of the needles. In hindsight that is what is so stunning it has taken this long to start getting coverage. If MLB wanted to know what was going on all they had to do is open their eyes. The evidence was right out in the open, not hidden in some dark ally.

          by webranding on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:42:40 AM PDT

•  Of all the things I don't give a rat's ass about

  Baseball is at the top of the list.  And I really don't care what substances players use.  The public expects athletic miracles, and then feigns horror when mortals use prohibited substances.

  The hypocrisy of it all is sickeing.

  by martydd on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:22:26 AM PDT

•  hayseus frickin-ay christ, yes! since when

  is the injection of steroids a congressional issue????

  i can't BELIEVE this is filling our news cycle, or the halls of congress.  what a fucking waste of our taxpayer dollars.  and think about it - the media, on the one hand, diverts from what's really going on - but this diversion is about making sure nothing actually goes on that needs to.

  sports "hearings" as congressional "business" are in themselves, complicity.

  by jj24 on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:23:17 AM PDT

•  The Clemens investigation...

  ...is as much a waste of time as Arlen Specter's attempt to investigate the NFL "Spygate" fiasco.

  The answer to all these problems is very simple. Remove the anti-trust exemption given to the NFL, MLB, etc. and get Congress out of this shit.

  by dennisl on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:25:54 AM PDT

  •  NBA Ref gambling...Next:NHL Jaywalking epidemic?

    Please put my tax dollars to work elsewhere!!

    by malharden on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:31:50 AM PDT

•  Arlen Specter has football covered this morning

  Yahoo

  NEW YORK - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Sen. Arlen Specter are to meet Wednesday to discuss the Spygate case involving the New England Patriots.

  The NFL said Tuesday the afternoon meeting will take place in Specter's office in Washington. The Pennsylvania Republican has asked Goodell to explain his decision to destroy the tapes and notes from the case, which go back to 2002...[snip]

  The top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned the quality of the NFL investigation that followed the illegal taping of the New York Jets' defensive signals in the opening week of this season as well as the commissioner's decision to destroy video evidence uncovered by the league. He has raised the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn't satisfied with Goodell's answers.

  I would prefer to see this:

  The top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned the quality of the NFL Justice Department investigation that followed the illegal taping waterboarding of the New York Jets' defensive signals innocent taxi drivers in the opening week years of this season so-called war on terror as well as the commissioner's President's decision to destroy video evidence uncovered by the league.

  by bobinson on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:42:17 AM PDT

•  Well, we can't really blame Pelosi

  for this one because it's being held by a committee, not the full House. And I'm sure that there's other work going on by other committees besides this.

  But really, is it necessary to have it broadcast live on:

  ESPN
  ESPN News
  CNN
  Headline News
  FOX News
  and MSNBC?

  What does this case have to do with what affects Americans' everyday life? Does looking into steroids put one more family into safe housing, or keep one more soldier from losing their life in Iraq? Does talking to Clemens' and his trainer keep someone from getting their healthcare cancelled, or saves a job from going overseas?

  We're all so focused on minutia, when the big issues go untreated...it's getting a bandaid for an amputated limb...

  by Cali Scribe on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:42:41 AM PDT

  •  Can't blame Pelosi?

    There are certainly rogue chairs that will do whatever they want to do. I understand that. However, the issue isn't so much why Waxman would have the hearings on Clemens' shrinking testicles as much as why Pelosi won't kick Conyers in the ass and say, "Fire up your committee and do your fucking job! The Constitution is back ON THE TABLE!"

    But, she won't.

    by Stash on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:26:05 PM PDT

•  Pissing me off Royal

  Thanks for the Diary

  by marko on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:54:00 AM PDT

•  Tony Piazza got hit in the head

  by a juiced pitcher.

  a pox on Clemens for trying to hold to the BIG LIE.

  by jackinthebox4 on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:59:50 AM PDT

•  This question is easily resolved:

  Who would you rather have a beer with - Clemens or McNamee?

  by Philip Woods on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:05:24 PM PDT

•  I wish you could pin this diary on the

  Capitol door, like Luther with his writ!  Honestly, what a complete misuse of of time by our elected officials... off the table, out the door and flushed.

  by Jbeaudill on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:10:28 PM PDT

•  Oh, but the ratings on C-SPAN will soar.

  Which is precisely why this is even happening.

  by highfive on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:12:40 PM PDT

•  But what's happening with Britney and Paris...

  while these hearings are going on? How are we to keep informed on the really important issues?

  by Philip Woods on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:21:59 PM PDT

•  Yes.

  by DelRPCV on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:55:50 PM PDT

•  He had a zit on his ass!!!

  I watched some CSPAN tonight and they are all there with their folders full of fucking papers that say he had a MRI because he had palpable mass on his butt. How many people are dying because they can't get an MRI?
  Anyway, I guess I am late to this game but what a waste. All those folders should have papers about the destruction of our liberties.
  What a pisser.

  by eternallyvigilant on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:08:07 PM PDT