A Few Bones to Pick

I have taken a lot of slack lately and feel that I have a few bones to pick...over various subjects.

With the 2008 presidential race under way, a lot of political discussion has taken place. So far, I've heard that John Edwards is the reason our country's cesarean section rate is so high, Barack Obama is a Muslim extremist, and Chuck Norris is backing Mike Huckabee. The only one of these claims that is true is the rather funny fact that Chuck Norris is a Huckabee man.

My problem has been with the Edwards/Obama bashing. These are the two most progressive-while-still-rather-electable candidates I've seen in my lifetime (aside from maybe Carter, but I barely remember his presidency). I'm tired of people bashing these two great representatives of the Left.

John Edwards, this year's Democratic champion of the disenfranchised, originally made his fortune by winning law suits versus hospitals, corporations, and generally anyone who took advantage of the poor-to-middle class. One of his cases involved a malpractice lawsuit over a birth that resulted in a defect. Edwards somehow convinced a jury that the hospital staffs' reluctance to perform a cesarean section resulted in the defect. Although scientifically Edwards' argument was flawed, he still won the suit.

Some have suggested that this case has caused the C-section rate in this country to drastically increase. In turn, women are being cut into way too often and our HMO's are brunting much of the financial burden causing our health care costs to rise. All this 'cause John can argue good.

This is ridiculous. What this case (and many of the others won by Edwards and his peers) has done has forced hospitals to consider and make available more options to their patients despite additional risks. What Edwards' critics (and the critics of many personal injury lawyers) fail to recognize is that the health care system has gone overboard with their response just to save their own butts instead of carefully considering the options that are best for their patients.

The rumor that Obama is a Muslim extremist is just wrong. His daddy was born a Muslim and Obama himself attended an Islamic school for two years (as well as a Catholic school). To me, it makes no difference. In fact, I'd probably support Obama even more if he were Muslim and I don't vote for extremists regardless of their religious affiliation.

Another bone I have to pick is over my Buckeyes. Second place is not "first loser". Even to refer to them as the "Buffalo Bills of college football" is just plain stupid. Any NFL player who failed to play in a Super Bowl (and there are a lot of them) would have given anything to be on those teams despite four straight losses. Ask Mizzou if they'd rather play in the Cotton Bowl and beat an overmatched opponent or go to a BCS Bowl, especially the national championship game. My bet is that they would have preferred playing for all the marbles.

OSU had an incredibly successful season. How many schools have been in the last two national championship games and three of the last six? None. They very possibly could be in it again next year. I won't make excuses for them. They've been beat by good teams the last two seasons. Since I've lived in this godforsaken place, The Ohio State University has lost a total of five games in three seasons. Three of those losses were to the eventual national champions (Texas, Florida, and LSU). Only one of those losses was to a team with more than two losses (Illinois). In the meantime, Ohio State (please quit leaving off the state) has won three straight Big Ten titles and 34 games overall. That doesn't even mention the numerous first-round picks in the NFL draft, post-season awards, and first-team all-American selections. The only team that has had more success this decade is USC...maybe.

My final bone to pick is the fuss over the whole "misery" thing. First of all, it's a pun that's meant to be funny (or punny if you prefer). I've used the pun since fifth grade to remember my states and capitals. Secondly, this place ain't that great. We're two hours from major cities and good ethnic food. (That second part about the food is somewhat debatable.) Everyone says COMO is a great place to raise kids...if you want them to live in a segregated hole, void of a world view that goes beyond the the town's borders, then it's great. Thirdly, it's a freakin' joke which I eluded to earlier. Get over it! I'm not actually miserable or depressed or suicidal because I live here ( well, not right now). Christ!

There. I'm done picking. Sorry for the negativity, but I had a few things to get off my chest. Later.