More Decrying
Dang, our elected officials got all sorts of chances to decry up a wazoo. From the Palm Beach Post:
"This is an oversight committee. Talking about the past is what we do," said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind. Souder wondered how Watergate would have turned out if the Nixon administration been allowed to declare it wouldn't talk about the past.
Appropriating the poem, Casey at the Bat, committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., told the witnesses: "And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout. But there is no joy in Mudville — until the truth comes out."
"For 30 years, Major League Baseball has told us to trust them," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the ranking minority member on the committee. "But the league hasn't honored that trust. And it hasn't acted to protect the integrity of baseball or sent the right messages to millions of teenagers who idolize ballplayers."
Canseco's book prompted the hearings. When baseball said it would not investigate the allegations in Juiced, Congress stepped in, Davis said.
"I think they mistakenly believed we got into this on a whim," Davis said. "We decided it was time to try to break the code of silence."
In light of the publicity about steroids, the committee criticized the league's proposed penalties, especially for the first offense: a 10-day suspension or a fine of up to $10,000.
As of today, all youth in the United States have voluntarily stopped illegally taking steroids. Good for Congress.
However, I'd be willing to bet (oops, shades of Pete Rose) that Mark Burnett is not happy with yesterday's hearings. When Burnett wants to get people on his reality shows, he's not allowed to subpoena them to compel them to appear. The subpoena power enjoyed by C-SPAN gives this network an unfair advantage. Expect Burnett to sue.
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