That's the sound of me tooting my own horn. I think it was during the preseason that I mentioned what a horrible job the refs were doing and how all the commentators were pretending it wasn't so, because which public voices dare question capital these days? Everyone seems to know which side their bread is buttered on. If capitals says drone strikes and obscene bonuses for failures are okay, then by god who are the commentators to question. This cover-up continued through the first week with such comments as, "Well, they're learning on the job. They'll get better," along with mention of the referees' "absurd demands". General glossing over or outright ignoring of bad calls. Last week they contained themselves less and finally, Monday night, after over a half of trying to talk around it, they couldn't help but acknowledge what was before them. (Btw, my Patriots would be 3 and 0 if they had real refs.)

I'm glad to see someone making the connection with what has been happening everywhere. There's even a youtube video in which the word "scabs" is used. How radical. But here's another aspect I notice. I have often thought how much more attention and analysis America gives sports than such real-life issues as war and starvation. Every time I hear serious, serious discussions on which quarterback should start, discussions augmented with data and video, I think what a contrast with drone strikes, the imperial presidency, etc. So, here is the final irony. America will likely care a lot more about the outcome of football games than they cared about the dangers created when Reagan et al destroyed the air traffic controller's union. The same thing is happening now with airline pilots, but few are paying attention to that. Have we finally found out when America will say, "Enough is enough." We will have our football.

Yes, Sartoris, it would be nice to see solidarity with something other than capital for a change. But propaganda has done its bit. Unions are bad. People who use food stamps are slackers. And on and on. Propaganda works.

They are pursuing their own self-interests while humoring the U.S. With the same lying ways as the U.S. government, they take one stance to keep Washington off their back and a different stance to keep the populace at bay. This has been going on for a while. The thing the Pakistani government shares with the USG is a desire to protect the stranglehold on power of an elite class (in Pakistan, it's the military) while appearing to represent broader interests. Mutual self-interest between our countries pretty much ends there. Pakistan considers it vital to their interests to have determining influence over the Afghanistan government. Neither the U.S. nor Pakistan wants to see popular desires translate into policy. Possibly a one strike for you, one strike for me deal has been worked out. If you'll kill the people's representative that frightens us, we'll keep quiet when you kill the ones that frighten you. Whatever the situation, it involves the behavior of two countries devoted to keeping the people down.