Truth, justice, and the American Way

There are a lot of bad things going on in this country. In all too many instances, our government "of the people" is actually government "of the rich people and rich corporations" as the super-rich have bought and paid for the politicians who run the government. We have become an oligarchy of the rich and this is fully sanctioned by the Supreme Court which is supposed to uphold the Constitution and support our individual rights. The Roberts Court, though, is simply an extension of the oligarchy.

Moreover, in many states, the oligarchs are attempting to steal the presidential election by preemptively removing from the rolls of eligible voters Democrats and minority voters who presumably would not be voting for their preferred candidate. They claim widespread voter fraud, but the only noticeable fraud is that perpetrated by these states in trying to deny their citizens their rights.

These are examples to make any American who loves this country and what it has stood for in the past gnash his/her teeth and pull out any hair that he/she may have left. While there may be things that we can do in the long run to stop the infringement of our rights and to stop our country from turning into the Banana Republic that it seems to be on the road to becoming, it will be a very long fight, because our enemies are too well-funded and too powerful to overcome easily. All we have on our side is numbers. And right.

It is a daunting and discouraging prospect. Wouldn't it be nice if there were something that we could do NOW that would help to right a wrong and would strike a blow for truth, justice, and the American Way? As it happens, there is!

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is coming up in about a month and there are two very worthy candidates who deserve to represent their team in that game. The team is chosen, though, by votes of the fans and presently these two candidates are lagging behind in the voting because, apparently, their lazy fans can't be bothered to get off their duffs and cast a ballot! But actually, they don't even have to get off their duffs. They can vote via the Internet and each voter is allowed to vote 25 times for their favorite player(s).    Of course, if you are at the ball park, you can pick up as many paper ballots as you want, mark them and cast them. This is one instance in which it is perfectly legal to vote "early and often" and no one will accuse you of voter fraud.

So, if you have not yet cast your All-Star ballot, here are two candidates for your consideration:

Jose Altuve, second baseman for the Houston Astros


Jose leads all second basemen in the league in batting average. He's currently batting .326. He is second in runs scored and sixth in RBIs. That RBI ranking is related to his place in the batting order which is usually near the top, so he doesn't necessarily get a chance to bat in many runs, but he has over 70 hits for the season which is also among the league leaders.  His last hit was his fourth home run of the year, which for a little guy (5'5") is not too shabby at all. Altuve also leads all second basemen in stolen bases with 10 for the season.



Jed Lowrie, shortstop for the Houston Astros:

Jose Altuve's double play partner in the middle of the diamond is shortstop Jed Lowrie, and they are a slick fielding duo. Jed is on the small side as well, a slender guy who looks more like an accountant or a computer nerd than a ball player. Looks can be deceiving though because he leads all shortstops in the league in home runs with twelve. He is also fourth among shortstops in the league in RBIs.



Both of these young guys are having outstanding years, but fans tend to vote for older established players who've been around for awhile and probably have been to several All-Star Games before. This is an injustice! The best player at the position should be the one to go to the game. And this is an injustice which you can help correct TODAY!  Go to the MLB website and vote for Altuve and Lowrie. They'll make you proud you did when game day rolls around.      

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