Top 5 Pointless Congressional Hearings on Baseball

Celebrate MLB's 2015 Opening Day with grandstanding federal legislators!

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Top 5 Pointless Congressional Hearings on Baseball

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Congress has no authority over Major League Baseball, but that hasn't stopped them from holding dozens of hearings on the national pastime over the years. Federal legislators have relished the opportunity to show off their populist appeal in front of national TV cameras by talking "inside baseball" jargon, acting as moral scolds, and generally probing in places they don't belong.

To celebrate Opening Day of the 2015 MLB season, Reason TV presents the Top 5 Pointless Congressional Hearings on Baseball!

Featuring Rafael Palmeiro's infamous fingerwag, George Will's defense of socialism in baseball, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) threatening to "hold hearings on all sports," a totally TMI investigation of Roger Clemens' bloody dress pants, Sen. Howell Heflin's (D-AL) concern about the rising costs of "basekaball" tickets, and Gov. Jesse Ventura's (I-MN) shocking star turn as the voice of sober and rational government.  

About 5 minutes.

Produced by Anthony L. Fisher.

Music: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Put me in, Coach. I'm ready to grandstand.

[Spencer]

Look at me- I can be... Committee Chair.

[John Galt]

Look at me, coach. I'm a little teapot short, stout and wearing a pants suit!

Look at me, coach. I'm a perfect chair wearing a pants suit!

[Gilbert Martin]

What percentage of ALL Congressional hearings aren't pointless?

[Spencer]

110-135%

[sloopyinTEXAS]

8% at least.

[Radioactive]

more than a few, but at least that many or not...

[Scarecrow Repair]

You know who else probed in places they didn't belong?

[Fist of Etiquette]

That guy's scarecrow.

[John Galt]

Jacko?

[Scarecrow Repair]

Is that you, Dorothy? Is Toto probing you?

[John Galt]

Girl love farm animal porn?

[John Galt]

Michael Jackson?

[Radioactive]

Ted Kennedy's ghost?

[John Galt]

Baseball's still played? Say it ain't so, Joe!

[C. S. P. Schofield]

You'd rather they mess about with something that MATTERS? Hey, let them waste time with Baseball. The smart ones will do something useful. The dumb ones? Well, it could be better, I admit. Maybe we can get them investigating the astonishing lack of interest in Cricket.

[John Galt]

Does the game of Cricket involve a winner or winning team? If so, that means it involves a loser or losers. Here in the USA we're finally becoming intolerant of "sports" that involve hurtfulness such as that painful kind that comes from allowing outdated activities that result in victims being marked losers. In real sports everyone wins. (sarc)

[JFree]

Seriously? All you can offer is snark? Jesse Ventura may have said the only smart non-corrupt thing ever uttered in Congress re baseball. But his request (get rid of the anti-trust exemption) was ignored by Congress and now by Reason.

MLB bought off congresscritters permanently by moving the Expos to DC so that critters can now permanently ignore the consequences of that anti-trust exemption in their district while watching the Nationals in a lobbyist's luxury box.

The anti-trust exemption and the cartel's monopolistic actions are truly what has led to baseball's decline. From 500 or so professional baseball teams in the late 1940's to roughly 200 by 1965 (and a tiny bit more today). Smaller communities lost teams. Larger communities lost choice. Mega-millionaires argue with billionaires over who gets the pie - while the majority of athletes are basically indentured servants. Taxpayers get reamed. Eminent domain abuses - and cronyist land deals - are both the norm. Classic Monopoly 101.

I don't get you Reason. You talk a good game about free markets. This issue is a perfect - and not at all simplistic - example of distorted markets, government intervention and corruption, abuses of power both public and private, with some legitimate populist appeal about how the big guys do screw the little guys when they a)have to power to and b)own government. Today is a good day for the story.

And what do you do? Ignore everything. Are you nothing more than the stereotype of Randians?

[Sevo]

"don't get you Reason. You talk a good game about free markets."

So you think regulating MLB as a trust is 'free market'?
ED abuse has nothing to do with Congress and everything to do with local gov't; athletes are in no way 'indentured servants'. "Larger communities lost choice"? WIH does that even mean?
I'd say you're full of shit, offhand.

[JFree]

Do you think a cartel colluding to destroy competition is a free market? That was the original court case that got the exemption - google Federal League. And it's pretty clear you don't know shit about baseball (the business).

[Sevo]

Nothing about Bond's testimony? I mean whether he juiced or not was a matter of national importance!
Hey, at least it kept the congressional life-forms involved in something that didn't harm the general public.

[Brisk87]

I do highly approve of the choice of the ballpark picture for the video cover.

[legosivehe]

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[cruralimes]

Google pay 97$ per hour my last pay check was $8500 working 1o hours a week online. My younger brother friend has been averaging 12k for months now and he works about 22 hours a week. I cant believe how easy it was once I tried it out.
This is wha- I do...... ?????? http://www.netjob80.com