After watching nearly twelve (12) hours of college football yesterday, I watched a Bill Moyers' progran that I had taped featuring a conversation with The Nation magazine's sports writer, Dave Zinn. Moyers and Zinn discussed sports and politics, the hosing of taxpayers by wealthy team owners, sports teams - both collage and professional - as the modern plantation. The exploitation of college athletes and the exploitation of colleges by athletic programs, among other topics.
They also discussed the cosy relationship of Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder and Mike Ilitech, Little Caesars Pizza chairman and owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball and Detroit Red Wings hockey teams. Republican Governor Snyder (former venture capitalist) and present capitalist Illitch are telling the homeless and indigent inhabitants of the former Motor City that a new hockey arena would be good for them - Ford Field, Comerica Park, and the casinos have been so good for Detroit, a city with no tax base. A new arena will create jobs! Like hell it will. Where are all of the jobs that were to be created by the existing ball fields and casinos? Lies and more lies.
Take a look at Bill Moyers' program with Dave Zinn if you want to know why (among other things) your cable television bill is so high.
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-the-collision-of-sports-and-politics/
News from Detroit:
http://voiceofdetroit.net/2013/09/11/detroit-billionaires-get-arena-help-as-bankrupt-city-suffers/
I can empathize Ray but nothing is ever 'black and white'....... The casinos and sports stadium do employe thousands of inner city people. And there is a proviso in the construction contracts that 50% of the work force must be local workers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Ed. What you say is true. I just wish a full or, at least an accurate, accounting were forthcoming. Detroit will show the way for the rest of the Nation's cities. And my friends who live in Detroit in the Wayne State University area are very optimistic about the future. I'm not sure Detroit's "Bloomberg" is waiting in the wings.
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