What a ridiculous waste of time and the taxpayer’s money! Better the FBI investigate drug dealers (not just the little guy on the street, but the big guys running them from Mexico, Colombia, etc.); or the gang members in the SW USA who are illegal aliens; or even the lies told by G.W. Bush & Co that got us into the Iraq debacle, where we are wasting BILLIONS of dollars each month! Good grief!!!
I didn’t think the gov’ment was in charge of policing baseball and baseball players, unless they broke federal laws like murder, of course.
Congress has all this time to waste on pursuing trivial matters while ignoring larger issues like securing the border (what happened to that fence, anyway?) and such.
Steroids are small potatos tax wize so Congress makes crimals out of otherwise lawabiding citizens while millions of people will die from cigarettes and booze but Congress gets tons of money from them so they are OK. Needless to say, I have about as much respect for Congress as I do for the Episcopal House of Bishops.
No one thinks that lying under oath, an oath before God, and committing perjury, a felony, before a congressional committee is a serious matter? Wow, how we have fallen.
#7 Bill – Sadly, perjury was legalized during the Administration of President of the United States of America, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton Lewinsky, LLD.
I think the FBI is big enough to handle both steroid abuse in professional baseball, and drug/gang/whatever crime as well. I for one am tired of on one hand telling my kids “baseball is a great game because everyone can play it” and on the other, watching as the professionals look more and more like football players, and turning me into a liar.
Elves, I must protest. My #4 comment was not off-topic. Roger Clemens is a [i] baseball [/i] player. President of the United States of America George Walker Bush, MBA, was an owner of a [i] baseball [/i] team, the Texas Rangers. (He also is the source of the baseball term “Bush league” and the name of the TV show “Walker Texas Ranger”.)
Apparently on this blog, posters cannot show disrespect by omitting the proper title of (She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named), but they are cavalierly allowed to show disrespect by omitting the proper title of the President of the United States of America. Sheesh!
A blatant scandal, too: the contract between the players’ union and the owners has practically institutionalized drug abuse by restricting drug testing in a way not found in any other sport.
Congressional hearings have been one of the few forces for reform—and certainly the most effective.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
As for just a few of the silly comments above, why is it OK for the Gingrich Congress to hold hearings on Bill Clinton’s Christmas-card list but unacceptable for a Democratic-led Congress to hold hearings on drug abuse in a major industry? Especially when we consider sports stars’ lives may well have as strong an influence on young people’s attitudes as all the preachers in this country?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“What we questioned was the RIGHT of Congress to enact these hearings in the first place” —LibraryJim
Article I, section 8, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Major league baseball involves interstate commerce. So does the drug trafficking that fuels the drug abuse exposed in these hearings.
Think about it: If Congress has power to regulate drugs—and to establish a system of regulation that bans some drugs and restricts others—then it also has power to investigate how that system is working. If Congress has power to enact further limits on the use of drugs, then it also has power to investigate whether further limits may be needed.
In addition to Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress has given baseball (and other professional sports) immunity from anti-trust laws, unlike any other business in commerce (except some insurance). The drug testing agreements (or lack thereof) are a prime example of what baseball gets to do but other businesses do not get to do. Congress is actually the only place to regulate baseball. The question is only whether Congress has more important things to do. If the influence of baseball’s lack of policing drugs within itself is a powerful influence in society, then it would seem very important for Congress to investigate; or if perjury (regardless of the arena in which it occurs) is somethingt important not to allow in society, then it would seem important for Congress to investigate. The fact that Congress allowed Pres. Clinton to get away with perjury does not mean it should allow Roger Clemons or Brian McNamee to get away with it. Yes, there is hypocrisy coming from the mouths of Congressmen, but that doesn’t mean what they are doing isn’t the right thing to do.
Just to clarify things, Clemens isn’t being investigated for perjury but for lying to Congress. I take lying to Congress, for a private cityzen with no governmental power or responsibility, to be in the same range of “crimes” as buying cigarettes over the internet to avoid paying the taxes. Maybe if Congress were more honorable itself, and didn’t lie to the public as often and as brazenly as it does I might rank contempt of Congress a little higher as an offense.
#15, you are correct, that lying under oath does have to be done in a judicial proceeding for it to be termed, “perjury.” Lying to Congress under oath is a statutory violation, akin to perjury, but it is a little more serious than buying cigarettes (or wine or liquor) over the internet. I don’t disagree about the lack of honor of Congress, in general, but the point is still, Congress’ hypocrisy aside, is Congress doing the right thing to not let one of these guys get away with lying under oath (Clemens or McNamee) or to let baseball get away with not policeing itself properly, where drugs are concerned, while enjoying freedoms from anti-trust laws other businesses do not enjoy and while possibly violating interstate commerce statutes? I say Congress is doing the right thing. Now is Congress also doing the other things it should be doing, while it piddles with baseball and Roger Clemens, probably not.
Lying to Congress is covered by the same statute that makes it a felony to lie to the FBI:
“whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully . . . makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation” faces up to 5 years imprisonment. 18 U.S. Code § 1001(a).
What a ridiculous waste of time and the taxpayer’s money! Better the FBI investigate drug dealers (not just the little guy on the street, but the big guys running them from Mexico, Colombia, etc.); or the gang members in the SW USA who are illegal aliens; or even the lies told by G.W. Bush & Co that got us into the Iraq debacle, where we are wasting BILLIONS of dollars each month! Good grief!!!
Gee, Little Cabbage, don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel.
I didn’t think the gov’ment was in charge of policing baseball and baseball players, unless they broke federal laws like murder, of course.
Congress has all this time to waste on pursuing trivial matters while ignoring larger issues like securing the border (what happened to that fence, anyway?) and such.
[i] Comment off topic. [/i]
Steroids are small potatos tax wize so Congress makes crimals out of otherwise lawabiding citizens while millions of people will die from cigarettes and booze but Congress gets tons of money from them so they are OK. Needless to say, I have about as much respect for Congress as I do for the Episcopal House of Bishops.
It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about my government. But so does carbon monoxide poisoning.
No one thinks that lying under oath, an oath before God, and committing perjury, a felony, before a congressional committee is a serious matter? Wow, how we have fallen.
Lying to a bunch of liars is serious? Get serious!
#7 Bill – Sadly, perjury was legalized during the Administration of President of the United States of America, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton Lewinsky, LLD.
(Don’t forget the LLD. He earned it.)
I think the FBI is big enough to handle both steroid abuse in professional baseball, and drug/gang/whatever crime as well. I for one am tired of on one hand telling my kids “baseball is a great game because everyone can play it” and on the other, watching as the professionals look more and more like football players, and turning me into a liar.
Dont mess with America’s Passtime.
Elves, I must protest. My #4 comment was not off-topic. Roger Clemens is a [i] baseball [/i] player. President of the United States of America George Walker Bush, MBA, was an owner of a [i] baseball [/i] team, the Texas Rangers. (He also is the source of the baseball term “Bush league” and the name of the TV show “Walker Texas Ranger”.)
Apparently on this blog, posters cannot show disrespect by omitting the proper title of (She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named), but they are cavalierly allowed to show disrespect by omitting the proper title of the President of the United States of America. Sheesh!
Bill,
What we questioned was the RIGHT of Congress to enact these hearings in the first place, not the offense of the act nor the penalty of perjury.
Drug abuse in baseball is a national scandal.
A blatant scandal, too: the contract between the players’ union and the owners has practically institutionalized drug abuse by restricting drug testing in a way not found in any other sport.
Congressional hearings have been one of the few forces for reform—and certainly the most effective.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
As for just a few of the silly comments above, why is it OK for the Gingrich Congress to hold hearings on Bill Clinton’s Christmas-card list but unacceptable for a Democratic-led Congress to hold hearings on drug abuse in a major industry? Especially when we consider sports stars’ lives may well have as strong an influence on young people’s attitudes as all the preachers in this country?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“What we questioned was the RIGHT of Congress to enact these hearings in the first place” —LibraryJim
Article I, section 8, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Major league baseball involves interstate commerce. So does the drug trafficking that fuels the drug abuse exposed in these hearings.
Think about it: If Congress has power to regulate drugs—and to establish a system of regulation that bans some drugs and restricts others—then it also has power to investigate how that system is working. If Congress has power to enact further limits on the use of drugs, then it also has power to investigate whether further limits may be needed.
In addition to Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress has given baseball (and other professional sports) immunity from anti-trust laws, unlike any other business in commerce (except some insurance). The drug testing agreements (or lack thereof) are a prime example of what baseball gets to do but other businesses do not get to do. Congress is actually the only place to regulate baseball. The question is only whether Congress has more important things to do. If the influence of baseball’s lack of policing drugs within itself is a powerful influence in society, then it would seem very important for Congress to investigate; or if perjury (regardless of the arena in which it occurs) is somethingt important not to allow in society, then it would seem important for Congress to investigate. The fact that Congress allowed Pres. Clinton to get away with perjury does not mean it should allow Roger Clemons or Brian McNamee to get away with it. Yes, there is hypocrisy coming from the mouths of Congressmen, but that doesn’t mean what they are doing isn’t the right thing to do.
Just to clarify things, Clemens isn’t being investigated for perjury but for lying to Congress. I take lying to Congress, for a private cityzen with no governmental power or responsibility, to be in the same range of “crimes” as buying cigarettes over the internet to avoid paying the taxes. Maybe if Congress were more honorable itself, and didn’t lie to the public as often and as brazenly as it does I might rank contempt of Congress a little higher as an offense.
#15, you are correct, that lying under oath does have to be done in a judicial proceeding for it to be termed, “perjury.” Lying to Congress under oath is a statutory violation, akin to perjury, but it is a little more serious than buying cigarettes (or wine or liquor) over the internet. I don’t disagree about the lack of honor of Congress, in general, but the point is still, Congress’ hypocrisy aside, is Congress doing the right thing to not let one of these guys get away with lying under oath (Clemens or McNamee) or to let baseball get away with not policeing itself properly, where drugs are concerned, while enjoying freedoms from anti-trust laws other businesses do not enjoy and while possibly violating interstate commerce statutes? I say Congress is doing the right thing. Now is Congress also doing the other things it should be doing, while it piddles with baseball and Roger Clemens, probably not.
Lying to Congress is covered by the same statute that makes it a felony to lie to the FBI:
“whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully . . . makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation” faces up to 5 years imprisonment. 18 U.S. Code § 1001(a).
The penalty for lying to Congress or the FBI is the SAME as the penalty for perjury.
So much for the theory that Clement’s lies were just a jolly technicality.
Perjury: http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=334035490226+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
False statement to Congress or the FBI: http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=333531144488+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve