I have to take exception to something President Bush said recently. Actually, it was how he said it that bothered me. In pseudo-response to Cindy Sheehan's protest outside of his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Mr. Bush noted how U.S. troops in Iraq 'gave their lives'. This to justify the need to stay the course and finish the job, and in honor of those who have fallen - this to demonstrate how I personally have picked up on the diatribes of the Administration.
Look, Cindy Sheehan's son, Casey, as well as the other 1800+ who have died needlessly, did not "give" his life. His life was taken. It was taken by an insurgency that has arisen in response to an ill-advised occupation by an ill-advised invader who has indeed given the lives of hundreds of men and women. And in return this invader has taken many times more lives in the form of innocent Iraqi women and children.
President Bush gave the lives of our fallen troops. It is he who has sacrificed them. It is President Bush who has taken the lives of innocent Iraqi women and children. Perhaps a better commander-in-chief would take as much responsibility. I know of lesser leaders who would.
Still, Bush persists to make the comparison between those fallen with Jesus Christ. By using language consistent with an evangelical preacher describing the human sacrifice of Christ, Bush mesmorizes his hand-picked audiences into believing this war is justified. Marx was right - religion truly is the opiate of the masses. Bush proved no less in Idaho this week when he used the language of religion to persuade a mass of proverbial drug users.

It's been ten days since, but I had a conversation with a major league baseball player. Actually, he was Triple-A at the time, but has since been called up. We'll call him "Eddie" for the sake of anonymity, particularly in light of the fact he gave me some rather incriminating information. "Eddie" is from Venezuela, the same country to produce this year's Home Run Derby champ, Bobby Abreu of the Philadelphia Phillies. "Eddie" was very candid, willing to admit to using "greenies", which are essentially pills containing ephedrine.

You might recall ephedrine was banned by Major League Baseball, as well as other sports governing bodies, after a pitcher from the Baltimore Orioles died in Spring Training a few years ago. He had suffered a heart attack and was later to have been found to be using ephedrine. He had used the drug to overcome his lack of physical conditioning. A stimulant to say the least, ephedrine was believed to have sped up the young man's heart. Until it quit and he died prematurely at the age of 32.

Ephedrine is actually the man-made form of a naturally-occurring substance, ephedra, which is derived from the Chinese herb, Ma Huang. Yeah, I used to work in a health foods store, where we and others discontinued the sale of Ma Huang some ten years ago. Point being, the natural substance may not be quite so dangerous, especially if an individual isn't cheating nature him-or-herself by substituting pills, herbal or pharmaceutical, in place of proper training.

Back to "Eddie", who uses ephedrine for its performance-enhancing benefits. I say this because I met him and can vouch for his physical condition. I can also attest to the effects of ephedra, the herb and not the drug, which I used a couple of times. What I recall was feeling warm and very intensely focused, as if there were no need for adrenaline. In any event, I didn't care for the stuff, and have settled for caffeine, mainly in the form of green tea, which provides all the stimulant I need.

"Eddie" intimated to me that many baseball players do indeed use steroids. He pointed out how Sammy Sosa was much smaller now than he was a couple years ago. And those of us who follow baseball know Sammy won't be hitting half of the 66 home runs he managed in 1998. "Eddie" and I also recounted the back injury Sammy suffered in the last few seasons, not from swinging a bat or diving for a ball. No, it was a big league sneeze that sidelined Sammy from action. "Eddie" used the incident to illustrate how steroids destroy skeletal tissue while building muscle.

We also thought of Ken Caminiti, a former MVP who admitted to using steroids, not long before dying of a heart attack around the age of 40. Again, the coincidence was too much for either of us to ignore. "Eddie" made clear that players know what they are doing. This in response to my question of how they could when nutritionists, doctors, and personal trainers are filling them full of all kinds of things. "Eddie" assured me they not only knew exactly what they were taking, they also knew the potential consequences. Still, he told me, the players remain undeterred.

The impression I was left with was that little will be changed by Baseball's war on drugs. Players will forever look for an edge, whether it be chemically with steroids, or cheating physics by corking bats or scuffing the ball. I have to admit there is an element to this I appreciate about baseball. One that only those of who played can understand. Consider how baseball actually rewards players for "stealing" a base, and bunting, which is essentially trying to deceive the opponent by hitting the ball well short of the infielders. Pitchers only want to fool hitters by making them guess wrong on which pitch is coming.

In so many ways, baseball is a game within a game, one that is very mental, one that requires a gambler's heart. While I am personally opposed to steroid use, I don't feel it is the responsibility of any governing body, be it Major League Baseball or Congress, to dictate to any adult what they can and cannot use to pollute their bodies. For me, individual liberties trump public health, so long as there is no danger to the general public. If baseball players want to risk their health and well-being with steroids, it's their risk to take.

Similarly, and not so coincidently, young men are risking their lives on a different field every day. That would be a battlefield in Iraq, where this whole steroid nonsense would be laughable. Before Congress cleans up Baseball's steroid problem and the potential loss of life, perhaps they might consider the Mess O' Potamia (borrowed from the Daily Show) in greater need of cleaning. Want to save some lives? Bring the troops home. Their chances back here on steroids are far greater than over there on a land mine.

In the meantime, try to convince "Eddie" and other players living the Major League lifestyle to discontinue their use of banned substances. I'm sure "Eddie" would much rather be back in Venezuela playing ball for the fun of it, working a day job for a measly Third World wage. That would beat dodging land mines in Iraq. Forgive the straying, but this entry has become about priorities. And asking ourselves as a country and culture just where the hell ours have gone.

Some day I hope to be like Mr. Durham, a kind man I met on Tuesday. I was in Clermont County, Ohio, just east of Cincinnati, going door-to-door for Paul Hackett, Democrat for U.S. Congress. While I knocked on many doors, and encountered many people that afternoon, Mr. Durham left the most favorable impression.

A little slow to answer the door, Mr.Durham had plenty to say about the race. First, he told me he voted for "our boy" in the morning. He also told me he had met Mr. Hackett's opponent at church. She told him she was running for Congress, he asked from which party. When she responded Republican, he told her he had never voted for one in his life.

Mr. Durham will be 89 next month, on the 12th of September. If my math is correct, this man was born in 1916. There's been quite a few elections since the mid-1930's, when he first would have been eligible to vote. A long since retired iron worker, Mr. Durham lives in a district that voted Bush 2 to 1 in last year's presidential election. Still, the man has never voted Republican.

Not Eisenhower, not Nixon, not even Reagan. Mr. Durham did tell me he respected John Voinivich, a Republican senator from the Buckeye State. Point being, while many of us vote straight ticket, few of us can acknowledge a good legislator from the opposing party. I struggle to find redeeming qualities in Republican politicians, but Olympia Snowe from Maine comes to mind for her efforts to protect the environment.

Mr. Durham invited me in to his home, which I had to decline as there was hardly an hour left until the polls closed. He also said another kind thing. He wished me at least 89 years of living. While that remains to be seen, I would like to add the hope of never voting Republican. After Tuesday's encounter with Mr. Durham, I am all the more inspired to make it so.