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My column of last week raised a few eyebrows for being overly pessimistic with respect to the President, Congress, the economy and the country’s future in general. I took that concern to heart and over the past weekend did what I usually do when I find myself overwhelmed and frustrated—I decided to consult with an expert to gain some insight into this political chaos.

In this case the expert is my nine-year-old daughter, known in the Velisek household as the “Pipsqueak.” Although she’s not yet a political pundit, she views the world in a very common sense manner, can detect bullshit in a heartbeat and is also very funny.

Turning on the weekend news talk shows, we started with President Obama’s showdown with the House Republicans in Baltimore last Friday. Personally, I thought this move by the White House—dragging these whiners from the sidelines out onto the field of play—was a stroke of genius. Much like Question Time in Great Britain , where Members of Parliament grill the Prime Minister, the President walked alone into the GOP lion’s den and performed superbly. This was the man I voted for two Novembers ago. Obama had a firm grasp of the facts, was articulate, witty and combative when he needed to be and appeared to relish the debate.

The Republicans initially appeared over-confident, but when the President didn’t follow the script they had written for him they soon looked unprepared, antagonistic and finally simply overmatched. Case in point is Big Government. Inexplicably, the House Republicans have forgotten the Bush Administration’s expansion of the government’s role in our lives, the increase in government size and expenditures and the Bush deficits. When reminded of this by Obama, the GOP audience appeared genuinely flummoxed.

    Bouree (also commonly known as Bouree and Boo-Ray) is a trick-playing gambling card game primarily played in the Acadiana region of Louisiana and the National Basketball Association. Like many regional games, Bouree sports a large number of variant rules and betting consideration.  The object is to take a majority of the tricks in each hand and claim the money in the pot. A bouree results in taking no tricks at all and having to match the money in the pot.

    It was a two-handed game of Boo-Ray being played on a Baltimore Wizards charter flight between teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton that ultimately led to the “High Noon’’ incident at  the MCI Center last month when Arenas carried four guns into the locker room and told Crittenton to choose one as a way of settling his gambling debt

   For a scary moment, the two pointed loaded weapons at one another, with no signs of laughter. Arenas would later dismiss the incident as a big joke and fake shooting guns in the air prior to a game in Philadelphia. . 

   Some joke. The self-styled “Agent Zero’’ who was considered the most popular professional sports figure in Washington, was suspended indefinitely by NBA Commissioner David Stern even before the FBI finished its investigation, costing the high-scoring guard $147,000 for every game he missed..

   Arenas, who is in the second-year of a six-year $111 million contract, already realizes his days as a Wizard have ended, and he stands to lose all his money if rival NBA teams consider the self-described “goofball’ too high a risk to sign him

     Arenas pleaded guilty in D.C.’s Superior Court, Jan. 16, and will be sentenced, March 26. The government indicated it will not seek more than a six-month term, although the judge can give Arenas anywhere from probation to the charge’s maximum term of five years.

STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH

THE ORATOR SHINES IN PRIME TIME

By Jay Liner

The President of The United States spoke on Wednesday, delivering a gem of a performance before the Congress, members of the Cabinet, Supreme Court, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and to ordinary folk in front of their high-definition tubes. He was never in better form, and it could be a turning point after a disappointing first year in the Oval Office.

He’s still on the ropes with health care reform (and its passage is doubtful), but regardless he sent a message to those who heard the speech. This guy is no doormat, and he will persevere in his beliefs. This is a very resourceful man, and confident that he can begin to grapple with the serious problems that are plaguing the country.

The $64,000 question is whether or not he can get Congress to join in. There is no doubt that the public is skeptical about all of this. It may not be an advantage running as an incumbent for the candidates of either party.

He announced new programs and initiatives pertaining to the economy and producing jobs. This was expected, and the Republicans sat smugly on their asses and displayed scorn with the aplomb that we know and love. Obama went right after them, first with a comedic dispatch over their failure to applaud when he mentioned that no taxes have been levied against any citizen in the country, and later in the speech when he sarcastically had to remind them how the budget process works. He didn’t back off, and took his case to the middle class out in the hinterlands.

The Republicans looked mean and angry, their natural disposition. My favorite tight-ass is mush- mouthed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He looks and acts like he needs an enema at any minute because of his perpetual constipation.

In Wednesday night’s State of the Union address, President Obama appeared relaxed, positive, upbeat and loose. He even cracked a few jokes—successfully. Unfortunately for this concerned American citizen, I heard nothing new. To compound this feeling of déjà vu, the glee club Democratic standing ovations, as well as the sullen and smirking Republicans sitting on their hands (no texting this time), didn’t give me much cause for optimism.

The post-speech spin just frustrated me further. Can we just put a temporary ban on the words “partisanship” and “bi-partisanship” for the next 90 days? If we can’t agree on their definition, the words have become meaningless.

The President made a point of seeking out and hugging Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who had spent the day dodging anything and everything thrown at him by the Senate Finance Committee. Granted he deserves the rough treatment, but coming from the Senate it raised the level of hypocrisy we’re seeing in Washington right now to another level. With the cameras rolling, one shocked and appalled Senator after another gave their best imitation of Captain Renault from the film Casablanca .

In his speech, the President got one of his rare bi-partisan (oops!) moments when he confessed that no one liked the idea of the bank bailout. Right now, the American economy is exposed to the tune of $27 trillion with not only subsidies—the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), for example—but also guarantees if in fact we have another financial meltdown. Which begs the question: If it’s such a bad idea what the hell are we doing?

SUPREME COURT ALLOWS CORPORATIONS TO EXERCISE ITS FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE WON’T PROVIDE PRESS CREDENTIALS TO THE ORGAN

In a five-to-four decision rendered this week, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that any restrictions made to prohibit a corporation from exercising its first amendment right to fund or utilize any other political activity are unconstitutional. The case was titled Citizen United v. Federal Election Commission. It overturned two prior precedents that had upheld such restraints.  In the majority were the conservative appointees Justice Kennedy, who delivered the opinion and was joined by Chief Justice Roberts, and then by Justices Alito, Thomas, and Scalia.

This is certainly a blow to those who advocate election reform via the method of campaign finance. From now on, the rules have changed, but it doesn’t mean the little man can’t fight the machine. Considering that in the last election our president raised approximately $800 million from the Internet, I’m not all that bent out of shape over this.

When you think about this, most corporations are in the business to make a profit and taking sides in an election could cost them consumers and sales. The forces of the marketplace will rule to a certain degree.  I know that I exercise my choices in select cases when I can.  For instance, I don’t drink beer very often, but I won’t buy Coors because I can’t handle their political agenda. The same goes for Welch’s grape products. Their owner is Robert Welch, who founded the John Birch Society. You can extrapolate this even further, if you wish. Being Jewish, I won’t buy a German car.

  It was the fall of 1980 when we found ourselves in the surreal world of the “Aints’’ at the New Orleans Superdome.  We were surrounded by thousands of creatures wearing bags over their heads with small slits for their eyes. We were certain that they viewed us an alien sans-bag.

   New Orleans was in the process of losing its 12^th straight game that inglorious season with the visiting Los Angeles Rams coasting to a 27-7 victory while limiting the Saints offense to 96 total yards.  It cost head coach Dick Nolan his job.

  Their veteran quarterback, Archie Manning, who has been selected to play in the Pro Bowl the previous two years, would later thank Jack Youngblood, the Rams’ star defender, for sympathizing with his plight in what he accurately described as “the darkest side of football.’’

 . As Manning reminisced to Sports Illustrated’s Paul Zimmerman in 1974, “The Rams front four was the best I ever faced.  I’ve got to say that Youngblood was nice enough to pick me up every time he knocked me on my butt. He wouldn’t have gotten into the Hall of Fame without having me to sack.  I should have been his presenter.’’

   The ‘’Aints’’ humiliation by the Rams came the night before we covered Roberto Duran’s stunning “No Mas’’ surrender to Sugar Ray Leonard in the same building, and, in retrospect, it was difficult deciding which event was more weird.

   In a recent poll conducted by ESPN to determine the worst NFL team of all time, the 1980 “Aints’’ who finished 1-13,and allowed 487 points, received strong support, finishing second only to the winless 1976 Tampa Bay Bucs coached by John McKay.  Quarterback Steve Spurrier managed to throw only 7 touchdown passes all season. When a reporter asked McKay, after another lopsided loss, about the execution of his offense, McKay responded, “I’m in favor of it.’’