A Little Civility Please

Georgia Tech is up 24-0 over the Clemson Tigers and the second quarter is still fairly young. The other game on TV, Florida A&M vs Winston Salem State is not all that interesting either. I loved watching the FAMU Rattlers when Billy Joe was the coach. Rattlers; what a great name for a mascot and who could honestly ask for a better football name than Billy Joe. MEAC football, much like the SWAC, can be pretty fun to watch. The teams are not usually all that good, but the halftime shows are always entertaining. One of the best games to watch is the Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern. No where else but the city of New Orleans can this game really be played, although I believe Houston was the host city in the fairly recent past. Yes, college ball is back!

Since the games are so uninteresting a comment on last night's performance by President Obama is in order. Did anyone notice that Speaker Pelosi was looking especially psychotic for the event and the First Lady looked downright evil? That was pretty interesting. Oh well. The speech itself was quite good. The man does know how to speak, regardless of what some radio pundits say. The message sounds pretty reasonable. There was nothing said that sounded all that far fetched or "socialist." It is pretty obvious that there will be some sort of reform of the healthcare system regardless of who the opposition is. The insurance industry, whose mouthpieces are talking so reasonable now, have made this bed and now will be the time for them to lie in it. It is difficult to feel too sorry for an industry that has (lets be honest) actually contributed to the demise of so many of our fellow citizens. It is very difficult to trust this administration but fact is, they are the winners, they have majority allies, and they will get a great deal of what they want. At least in the realm of healthcare.

Now we come to the crux of the matter. The outburst by one Joe Wilson, a Representative from South Carolina, was uncalled for. It showed him to be a person of no class. In America all politicians, including the President, are fair game for vicious verbal attacks in any setting and arena other than a formal speaking event by the President to Congress. That is the nature of our national habit. Shame on you Joe Wilson. He is not alone however. The booing and hissing that some on the left side of the aisle involved themselves in during a State of the Union address by President Bush was shocking. It was especially galling, as many of those actually making that particular ruckus have traitorous tendencies. Whatever one may think of the former President, it was his mission to keep this nation safe and he did that to the utmost of his ability. Joe Wilson should certainly be ashamed of himself for his action and those that jeered President Bush not so long ago should be ashamed of themselves also.

The first chapter of Bruce Catton's work "The Coming Fury" will give a reader insight into some of the rough and tumble fights on the floor of Congress in another era. Words like "spaniel coward" were bandied about. Representatives were challenging each other to duels and of course Bully Brooks, another South Carolinian, beat Charles Sumner near to death. "The Coming Fury" is a chronicle of the events leading to the American Civil War. While nothing that cataclysmic is on the horizon now (at least one hopes not), the polarization of our great nation the last few years is becoming disturbing and possibly dangerous.It gives hope and comfort to our enemies. Keep that in mind.

I have been informed that now the Ga. Tech/Clemson game is tied at 27. See what happens when one quits watching college football to go play blogger? Lesson learned.