Many Americans are stunned to learn that the most popular sport in the world is not football or baseball or basketball or NASCAR (the most popular sport in America); the world’s favorite sport is soccer. It comes as a surprise to us Americans, though we aren’t too surprised when we hear yet another story about unruly futbol fans in another country rioting on the field and beating opposing fans to death.

Every time I hear such a story I can’t help but wonder how it is that the fans will go so far to defend their team (brand) but yet not seem to be concerned with the political developments in their country. Even in this country, Yankees and Red Sox fans will allow the rivalry turn into violence at the drop of a hat, yet will do little more than complain at the bar when it comes to the political injustices of the day. I’ve always found it odd is that, in the midst of this fierce brand loyalty in sports, the players of these passionately defended teams are only too eager to switch sides should the right contract opportunity arise. Another team will pay me more? See ya later. Their loyalty is to their career and to the game, not the particular logo they wear on their chest.

And so it is with politics, isn’t it? The “fans” tend to be the most unruly and loyal to the brand (conservatism or liberalism) while the players – our elected representatives and leaders – play to win the PR battles day by day, talk a good game about how their team is the best, convince that it is their life’s calling to live up to their party’s principles, but will give up their principles at the drop of a hat if it means something for them. Remember the Terri Shiavo case? How many Republicans sold out conservatism like never before when they lined up to defend the government’s right to dictate the most personal of family decisions. The trophy at stake was re-election and securing a Republican majority in the Congress. Little did they know that the public was on the other side of the issue, and found their display despicable.

And on the other side of the aisle, one can’t forget the Democrats who sided with President Bush in the decision to invade Iraq. What a spectacle it was to see Democrats lining up out of fear that they would be portrayed as wimpy liberals who were putting the country at risk. It was not until the war started going sour that they started to come back, and not until a year or so ago that some of the top brass in the party started to distance themselves from the decision to use torture techniques on terrorism suspects.

This week, the analogy is a bit more consistent with sports. Arlen Specter, the Senator from Pennsylvannia, is now a Democrat… again. Yes, he was a Democrat as a young District Attorney, then switched parties after winning as a Democrat on the Republican ticket. Now he is switching back to Democrat because polls indicate that he could not survive a challenge in the next Republican primary. He is known as a moderate in the sense that he’s conservative on some issues and liberal on others. Seems to me like Specter has always been a Designated Hitter of sorts, and now he’s up at bat for a whole new team entirely.

But who can blame Specter? His party is in pieces. The Republicans have nowhere to go and no one leading them. The loudest voices tend to be the most out-of-the-mainstream. Its like a baseball team getting its ass kicked and the coach starts screaming at the top of his lungs at the end of the 9th inning. And the Democrats are only too happy to have him because it will make the next stretch of games that much easier to win.

The fans, on the other hand, will have none of the disloyalty. Whenever the NJ Devils play the NY Rangers, the Devils’ fans start booing whenever Devil-turned-Ranger Scott Gomez touches the puck. A great talent crossed over to the other side, and there is no sympathy for the man whenever he gets cross checked into oblivion.

In the world of politics, it is the same thing. If you want to hear the equivalent of those Devils’ fans in the political arena, just turn on talk radio. They are absolutely hysterical. It is as if Specter burned the American flag in his DC office and pledged to join the Taliban. They take it seriously, whereas our politicians approach the job as a game of sorts.

Check out this story from CNN about metal in Pakistan. Pretty interesting.

It’s no secret that China is home to the great fakers of the retail world. Let’s take, for example, an American brand, the Apple iPhone. Do you know about the Meizu M8 (pictured left)? Looks a lot like an iPhone, right? Or how about the iPhone Air, which is neither an iPhone, nor made of air. What about the CECT T5, pictured below and to the right? Other than having a little extra trunk-junk, this one looks really close, even down to the call screen and home button. It actually runs Windows Mobile 6.

Snatching intellectual property like the specific design of an iconic product and then flagrantly copying it as closely as possible? Eh, I dunno. It might be easier to justify if we were talking about medicine or some democracy-promoting technology. But the fact is that any of the Chinese bootleggers, whether making fake iPhones or anything else, are purely profit-driven and intellectually lazy. Of course Apple is also driven by profit – but at least their products are inspired and actually developed by people working at the company.

Think back to the ‘08 Beiging Olympics –  engineered by China to act as a demonstration of the country’s smarts, spirit and size, flecks of that same special brand of shady showmanship were everywhere. Do you remember the digitally-enhanced fireworks controversy? What about the 7-year-old girl who sang the national anthem, but was too ugly to represent the Chinese nation? A beautiful 9-year-old lip-synched the performance for the world to see. (Of course, no one was supposed to know about the actual performer.) And what about that whole thing with cloud seeding? China was literally controlling the weather during the opening ceremonies. That is crazy.

But the biggest deception came as Chinese government constructed what it called the “culture wall” – a three-meter high structure built along the official Olympic marathon course, designed to hide dilapidated slums and abject poverty in some of Beijing’s worst neighborhoods.

Obviously this has nothng to do with the Chinese people, but rather with their government’s obsession with keeping up appearances. It shouldn’t be too foreign a concept; after all, here in America beautiful women and men with fine clothing and spa-treated hair, nails and skin continue to blacken their lungs with cigarettes, clog their arteries with saturated fat and indulge in otherwise unhealthy habits. True, the national psychology of a country as large and storied as China needs to be respected; you can’t really blame people for wanting to return to the prestigious status they once enjoyed throughout the world.. But scamming your way to the top of the pile never really pans out.

Enter the beleaguered American real-estate market. A recent story on NPR detailed the novel tactic employed by seemingly desperate real-estate agents: actors are hired to walk dogs and have cookouts in a neighborhood where a potential sale might be made. In other words, the agent brings the prospective buyer to a home, where that consumer sees lots of appeal – friendly faces, a seemingly warm and robust community. The consumer surely factors these things into their home-buying decision, but little do they know that the guy on the grill and the hot girl walking a puggle are fakes, there to paint a picture that isn’t true.

And the line between what’s right and wrong? Well, it’s blurry – at least on paper, the only place where it really seems to matter – as evidenced by real estate developer Randy Denaro’s response to questions regarding the honesty of this tactic. With transparent disregard for all things, you  know, fair and honest, he says:

“Look around. You don’t see anybody impersonating a cop, do you? Because why? Because that would be illegal. It’s an image of a nice neighborhood, even if it’s not nice right now.”

Hey, at least American cheaters and fakes follow the law, right? 

You can’t plant your seeds in sour soil. That’s especially true if you’re talking about taking people’s money, or fucking with people’s lives vis-a-vis their real-estate. Are most Americans profit-driven and intellectually lazy? Wait – don’t answer. 

How about this – a little less “me” and a little more “we”.

Postscript: Oh, that NPR piece was an April Fool’s gag. But people should still be honest!

On election night 2008, following the victory speech by the newly elected president-elect Barack Obama, the first song that blasted out into the Hyde Park crowd was Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising”.  It was the culmination of what The Boss had become – the definitive background music to the populist progressive movement. Reactionary left-wing pundits then expressed disbelief when it was revealed that Springsteen had entered into a exclusive release deal with Walmart, similar to the kind that had yielded unexpected success with the AC/DC’s Black Ice last year.

Springsteen’s political advocacy peaked in the ‘08 presidential election when he played numerous benefit shows for Democratic candidates in key swing states – undoubtedly causing some people to hear a message which they may not otherwise have heard – right up to Election Day.  Springsteen brought his predominantly white audience a liberal message in an election which Barack Obama was able to win, even where 5% of voters said they wouldn’t vote for a black man for President, and 25% of white voters said that people they knew probably would vote for a black man. 

Springsteen has demonstrated his principles by publicly turning down 12 million dollars from Chrysler, which he was offered for use of his song “Born in the U.S.A.”, an anti-Vietnam War protest song.  The song was so widely misinterpreted that it was used by Ronald Reagan during his 1984 presidential campaign:

“America’s future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about.”

When Bob Dole used the song during his failed presidential campaign in 1996, Springsteen himself was prompted to write an open letter to his local newspaper:

“I read in The [Asbury Park] Press this morning that my music was appropriated for the Republican rally for Bob Dole in Red Bank [New Jersey] yesterday. Just for the record, I’d like to make clear that it was used without my permission and I am not a supporter of the Republican ticket.”

Springsteen is more of a populist than a party supporter, however.  He recently called out Ticketmaster, owned by Democratic Party supporter Irving Azoff, for engaging in suspicious secondary ticket marketing of concert tickets though Ticketmaster subsidiary TicketNow. Then, he joined other populist voices in calling for a halt to the proposed Ticketmaster merger with venue monolith LiveNation – owner of 90% American amphitheaters – claiming that it would create a “near monopoly” in ticket marketing. 

The decision by Springsteen to enter into an exclusive agreement with Walmart during a time period when he was actively promoting Obama’s candidacy for President was certainly surprising.  Most of the left wing has been critical of Walmart’s unsavory labor practices – President Obama himself publicly criticized the company before beginning his campaign for president in 2006:

“Unlike the manufacturers who are under enormous competitive pressure from global low-cost producers, Wal-Mart is making enormous profits and yet it has chosen to go with low wages and diminished benefits … The battle to engage Wal-Mart and force them to examine their corporate values and policies is absolutely vital to America today.”

At that time, Obama reportedly pointed to Walmart’s rival Costco, where the average pay is 60% higher and health-care benefits are provided to more than 80% of its employees, compared to less than half at Walmart.

Americans appreciate the value and power of contrition. In an American courtroom, an admission is accepted as so compelling that it is generally accepted as evidence, even if it would be otherwise inadmissible hearsay.   When Bruce apologized for marketing a Greatest Hits record through Walmart, he acknowledged that it was done incorrectly, identified why it was done incorrectly, noted that he was used to doing better and seemed genuinely appreciative that his “fans” cared enough about those issues to bring it to his attention.

“We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn’t vet it the way we usually do,” he said. “We just dropped the ball on it.” Instead of offering the exclusive collection to Wal-Mart, “given its labor history, it was something that if we’d thought about it a little longer, we’d have done something different.” He added, “It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”

The Boss’ latest record, Working on a Dream – which includes the Obama campaign trail title track and a song from alleged Oscar-megasnub The Wrestler – has five or six pretty great songs.  Anthems like “Queen of the Supermarket” (although I was initially disappointed that it wasn’t an updated “Supermarket Fantasy” by Screeching Weasel) and the Arcade Fire-sounding “Outlaw Pete”, with its really imaginative production, make those five or six songs different when compared to most of the Springsteen that you probably know.  That makes this a good record.  It’s hardly the beginning of this direction if one heard the wall-of-sound production on “Girls in Their Summer Dresses” from the Magic album – and the results are enough songs for half of an awesome record.

Republicans in Congress hate Bruce Springsteen.

In 2005, New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Jon Corizine proposed, in an entirely routine ceremonial vote, for a resolution honoring the anniversary of the record Born to Run.  According to the Associated Press, Republicans in the Senate refused to bring up the resolution for consideration, despite the fact that resolutions in the Senate honoring artists, athletes and events are routinely unanimously entered. Republicans refused to honor Bruce Springsteen, but Republican House Majority Leader Bill Frist’s suppiorted the same recognition of right-wing gun-nut Ted Nugent.

Bruce is in good company in consideration of the policy decisions of the Republicans.  In addition to opposing Bruce Springsteen, Republicans and their (at least ideological) leader Rush Limbaugh publicly voiced support and/or votes for:

1.    Walmart

2.    Allegedly advocating and directly causing people to be tortured,

3.    Legalizing the unconstitutional warrantless search and wiretapping of innocent people

4.    Engaging in exploitation of fear of terrorism and racism to gain public support for a five and a half year war rife with war profiteering by Republican political cronies, horrifying human rights violations, and the death of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children

5.    Lies about weapons of mass destruction directed to capitalize on fear, anger and confusion

6.    The serious suggestion of privatizing Social Security

7.    Opposition to mandatory carbon emissions controls

8.    Consistent objection to any significant regulation of the private sector economy

9.    The politicization of the judicial branch of government and the Department of Justice

10.         And the blatant and shameless manner in which disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina was handled and

11.         Cuts in Veterans Administration spending which led to the mold, mouse droppings, cockroaches, and rotted holes in the walls at Walter Reed Veterans Hospital just miles from the White House. 

Parenthetically, it must not be forgotten that the Walter Reed injured veterans, who suffered for George Bush’s administration’s lies, received such poor care from the Bush Administration that our wounded soldiers actually managed the care of one another – and were put in charge of others at risk for suicide.  As of February 2008, every day in Iraq five U.S. soldiers attempted suicide.

George W. Bush mislead a country into going to war in terms so certain that “mislead” is euphemistic.  His administration authorized interrogations on foreign soil by contractors who followed no protocols or real limitations in what they could do to people.  Human rights abuses took place.  Innocent people were tortured by the United States with the approval and, likely, at the direction of our Republican leaders.  Our own soldiers were sent to war by Republicans, based on lies propagated by Republicans, without appropriate equipment and body armor that Republicans knew were needed but did not supply.  Our soldiers came home from the war to a Republican administration that did not treat them appropriately. 

Republicans attempted to shift arguments away from the question of why the war was taking place, to the measure of tactics employed in the war. This was a smoke screen for absolutely incompetent leadership that led a country into a war that did not need to occur.

It took strength to stand up to the 2002 lie which ultimately led to the Iraq war.  296 Republican and Democrats in the Congress voted to approve the war – including 81 Democrats.  77 Senators voted to approve the war.  The unapologetic right wing continues to endorse an illegal war and push for the country to overlook the atrocities America waged on the world though its “Bush Doctrine”-diplomacy and the endorsement of a grossly inappropriate torture policy:

“If every administration started to re-examine what every prior administration did, there would be no end to it,” claims Republican Senator Arlen Specter.

While the country debates the necessity for investigation of torture, and the newly-elected progressive president waffles in his support to push for prosecution of people who advocated torture, the CIA has revealed that its has already destroyed almost 100 videotapes of terror interrogations.  CIA lawyers have already indicated that the identity of the people who watched the tapes prior to their destruction may be classified information. 

One might ask, quite frankly, if John McCain was such a leader, enough of a leader to be president through two wars and a an major economic meltdown – why is the Republican Party is floundering for someone to give them direction, looking to Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Joe the Plumber? 

Nearly 2.2 million people between the ages of 16 and 29 lost their jobs during this Republican policy-driven recession.  The Republican Party has destroyed the early work life for a generation of young workers who have been utterly marginalized by the results of the fiscally irresponsible Bush economic policy.  He cut taxes and started wars while the economy motored along based on irresponsible lending and unregulated markets. 

The result has forced younger workers entering the workforce into unemployment or underemployment right out of high school or college.  They live in or move back to their parents homes to compete against others with college degrees and fight endless battles against monster student loans, working hourly wage jobs with mediocre benefits. There is a social safety net, but some short-sighted Republican governors like Jindal of Louisiana, Mississippi’s Barbour, Georgia’s Perdue – governors of some of the poorest people in the United States – keep it from their citizens for ideological reasons. 

And unlike their nemesis Springsteen, no Republican has ever apologized or admitted a single policy mistake, with the possible exception of mild Presidential regret concerning the premature declaration of an accomplished mission in Iraq on May 1, 2003.  Republicans have not identified what they did incorrectly or assured anyone that their track record is usually reliable, and they don’t care for criticism, even from each other.  And if one doesn’t know or understand that a mistake has been made, it is impossible to be contrite or to seek redemption.

Rather, the self anointed “3-strikes-and-you’re-out” “party of self-responsibility” is actively seeking further misery for the entire country and world in order to avoid taking responsibility for taking the country so far in the wrong direction. They cheer for America to fail and for regular Americans to suffer:  to lose our jobs, to have no healthcare, education, or social security and to rely forever on offshore drilling, religion, guns, and fear.

Oddly enough, I was actually invited by my step-mom to be an “escort” (nothing sexual, get your mind out of the gutter) at the musical “event” of the year, The Grammys. Having no idea what to expect, I said sure –  what did I have to lose other than the time I was volunteering? At the end of the day, I had a blast; and I would recommend that if you ever have a chance to do something like this, take the opportunity.

Without getting into the overly tedious details of how HUGE of a production it was, I will highlight the humorous portions:

- Watching Jay-Z and Chris Martin (Coldplay) rehearse in front of 300 people including myself was amazing. They seem like true friends and nice guys.

- The production is the smoothest running thing I have ever witnessed. Even with all of the chaos and everything that can go wrong, The production behind The Grammys stays on track.

- Fellow escorts could be defined as “delusional” for thinking that this would be their chance to break into the industry.

- I escorted Kenny Chesney’s band and they were the nicest bunch of guys. Highest grossing ticket seller of last year and travels with 17 buses and 12 semis. Yep, he’s huge.

In conclusion, even though I personally don’t pay attention to these awards (I hadn’t seen a Grammy Awards show in years), it was a really entertaining time ,and people work tirelessly to bring this into a reality.