I have always wondered why some athletes stay out of trouble and why some seem to attract it. Plaxico Burress, Superbowl hero wide receiver for the NY Giants, seems to be starting to go onto the negative end of trouble spectrum. He came from Pittsburgh Steelers with a reputation as a trouble maker but by all reports he was a solid citzen that may have been misunderstood.
This year he has constantly been in Tom Couglin’s dog house for a variety of infractions plus he hasn’t played that much. When he has played he generally has done well but his off field antics have really tarnished his image. Over the weekend he somehow shot himself in the thigh with an unlicensed gun and then tried to cover it up. Yesterday he was arraigned on felony weapons charges and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Obviously this is a damaging blow to his promising career I’m wondering what was he thinking carrying by unlicensed gun? I know he is a public figure and could be a target for some over zealous fan but I’m thinking he is making enough money to hire a bodyguard whenever he goes out to certain venues where he may atrract more attention. I suppose like may pro athletes he has this alpha male view of himself and figures “I can protect myself”.
This may be true but you have to do things the right way - apply for a gun permit and learn to use a gun properly. if you don’t get the permit hire a bodyguard how can carry then you have little to worry about. Mayor Micheal Bloomberg is pushing for Burress to get a stiff sentence a gun charge in New York City carries a minimum 3 and a half year sentence.
I doubt Plaxico will see any jail time because he has hired a high powered lawyer and I sure some sort of plea deal will be made. The league will discipline him and the Giants will surely fine him or more. I hope he can get things back together as a pro athlete I’m sure he faces many pressures that the average person doesn’t have to face. He has a wonderful opprtunuity to make a good life for him and his family but he has to realize that like it or not he is a role model and he has to think about his actions. We all learn actions have consequences and in this case the consequences could be quite severe.
“Honest” Politics - The Perfect Oxymoron!
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008Yesterday the Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested for having the gall to try to sell the senate seat that Barack Obama will be vacating to the highest bidder. Thankfully Obama has nothing to do with this character, who obviously thought he could get away with this simply idiotic crime. It was reported that since illinois is a competitive state for both Democrats and Republicans thus makes it more prone to corrupt politicians. On average there is a corruption scandal in Illinois every 10 years. It’s hard to believe that an decent politician like Obama came from that state.
I really believe that President-Elect Obama sincerly wants things to change but will he really be able to get around a system that seems to foster corruption. It appears that most government officials either want a favor or need a favor and they barter with legislation that is mutually beneficial to whoever is involved in the deal. If you have enough money you can get anything done in America. you can get unpopular bills passed you can put politicians in your pocket and get inside information. How can we move American forward with this kind of system?
As far as politicians go I believe Barack Obama is an honest man but as we all know he can’t deliver on all his campaign promises without help from others. Whether or not he will get that help remains to be seen. I feel that once he gets the economy moving forward again and keeps us out of any more unneccessary wars that he would have done his job. Anything else he gets done would be icing on the cake.
Politics is America is a dirty game and very few politicians are able to keep their noses clean. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac and I believe that many government officials fall under its spell and forget the reason they were elected was to do the people’s business. A politicians office should not be a platform to seek home renovations, luxury vacations, to have various sexual trysts or whatever else their heart desires. So we should not be surprised when a scandal breaks because I believe we expect too much of politicians because after all they are only human.
Does that mean that they should get away with doing what they want, of course not! But until some method is found to reform the American political system there will always be lobbyists, partisanship and snipping in Washington. Real change will be hard to come by!
I really hope Obama can make a change but i’m realistic if change doesn’t happen it won’t be his fault it will be ours because we keep electing officials who are seeking their own interests not ours. President-Elect Obama needs elected officials around him who also want change for American he can’t do it by himself! Unfortunately, many of our elected officials talk about change but what they really want is power and this doesn’t bode well for us regular people.
Tags: Barack Obama, Governor of Illinios arrested on corruption charges, Governor Rod Blagojevich, Illinois News, Illinois senate seat, political corruption
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