The fix is in

Sports have always been a keen reflection of the greater culture of our times. The Roman Empire was a devouring beast that ate up countries like its lions ate up the Christians in the Roman Coliseum. Rome’s violent aspect was mirrored by the so called ‘sport’of gladiator fights to the death (much like the new game in town, Ultimate Fighting, also done in a ‘cage’), or the chariot races which resembled rush hour down 7th Ave in NYC. Thus, when sports take on a more violent nature or focus, it must reflect the mindset of its greater culture. Interesting how pro football replaced baseball as our national pastime right about at the height of the Vietnam War.

When sports become fixed more often (as we have always had fixing in all major sports) than one would expect, well, that too reflects a shift in our greater culture. In 2010 Brian Tuohy wrote a fantastic investigative book entitled ‘The Fix is In’, showing how television, married to major sports, equals a honeymoon of game fixing. Four years later, with many subtle fixes occurring, we had, last Sunday, one of the most obvious and heinous fixes in a long time. The Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions playoff game revealed to most informed sports fans (except it seems most Dallas fans) how the officials actually reversed a call, after what seemed an eternity in football officiating time, to allow Dallas a chance to come from behind late in the game. After all, who in the networks wanted to see lowly (by the ratings) Detroit advance to the next round when Dallas, owner Jerry Jones’ America’s Team, could advance to play at Green Bay in a television ratings bonanza. Surprised? Of course, one week later, in that ratings spectacular vs. Green Bay, instant karma came into play and Dallas was on the receiving end of a blatantly bad call. The media cared not at that point, because Seattle vs. Dallas or Green Bay makes for great ratings.

Let’s look at the American culture that our sports reflect. We have the 2000 presidential election Fix, followed by the Fix of all fixes, the 9/11 attacks, followed closely by the 2002-2003 Fix to allow the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq. Many conspiracy theorists, like yours truly, believe that this trifecta of events were all part of a horrific agenda by the empire to dictate how the Middle East will play out in future. Getting the Bush/Cheney gang into power through a rigged and larcenous election gave rise to the protocols of what transpired on September 11, 2001. Will we ever know who was really behind those heinous attacks on our soil? Is it a coincidence that right after the attacks (by who knows who?) the Bush/Cheney gang ordered the timetables for an invasion and occupation of Iraq? The ink on the PATRIOT Act was not even dry and our government went into overdrive to keep us all in line by squeezing out our civil liberties while banging the drum for war. The result: We are a nation ready to face fiscal disaster for 99.5% of us, while the Fat Cats make out like Fat Cats always do.

We have other, more subtle Fixes, like the 2008 presidential election campaign. John McCain, just nine months prior to the election, was floundering in last place amongst the major Republican contenders. His campaign was out of money and he was ready to drop out. Suddenly, like magic, those above him in the polls fall one by one by the wayside, and, voila, by the summer McCain is the frontrunner. Why? To this writer, and many others who study these things, McCain, going back to the 2000 campaign, had LOSER written all over him. You see, those who control our ‘Two Party, One Party’ system decided they wanted the Democrat in 2008 to hold office at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The empire’s new golden boy would be Obama. Why not? He was portrayed as black, when in reality he was just as white as black, but always labeled in the media as a ‘man of color’. What better way to get the natives (in their way of thinking, not this writer’s) in line? You see, the empire knows when things are going to get rough. They know when the only jobs will be dead end ones, and they know that the gambling casino called Wall Street only allows the high rollers to make any dough. And the empire intended to keep the military spending sky high, along with all their occupations worldwide. So, they had in place a new guy ready to do their bidding . . . while still giving the pretense of ‘Hope and Change.’ Yet, the movers and shakers were still worried that even with Mr. Loser running against Obama, many Democrats, especially white males, might not press that button or pull that lever for the black guy. What to do ? So, they coerced McCain to choose the far right lightweight joke of Ms. Palin, governor of ‘Who cares Alaska’ to be his running mate. The Fix was in!

By the way, remember the 2004 election? Howard Dean, who vociferously opposed the invasion of Iraq, was the frontrunner and looking like a winner over our totally lightweight president. All of a sudden, after he gives a natural and spirited Iowa Caucus pep rally speech to his base of supporters, the media portrays him as a Hitler-like demagogue. Goodbye Howard and hello John Kerry. Kerry, like his Senate friend McCain, had LOSER written all over his face, and was, like McCain in 2008, floundering at the bottom of the primary totem pole. Magically, those above him are pushed aside and he is the frontrunner a few months later. You see, Kerry could always be counted on to ‘follow orders’ from the empire and keep the occupations and military spending high while our city and state budgets suffered. Taking no chances, the empire made double sure that the 2004 election was fixed for the Bush/Cheney gang. Kerry, being the good soldier, refused to listen to the demands implored by his running mate, John Edwards, and contest the Ohio results. They both knew on election night, that Ohio, a key state along with Florida, had been fixed and rigged for Bush by voting machine manipulation. Even the little rat Dick Morris, the polling guru, working as a television analyst that night, exclaimed on air that the exit polls usually never lie and Kerry was way ahead in key districts, according to those polls. When Kerry was shown to have lost in those districts Morris actually stated that ‘something fishy ‘is going on. The Fix was complete and Kerry gave his noble and positive (to the empire) concession speech the next day.

Folks, the fix has always been in and always will . . . unless we all take to heart the words of Frederick Douglass: “Power concedes nothing without demand. It never has. It never will.”

Philip A Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen. He is a free lance columnist (found on Nation of Change Blog, Truthout.org, TheSleuthJournal.com, Worldnewstrust.com, Intrepid Report, The Peoples Voice, Information Clearing house, Dandelion Salad, Activist Post, Dissident Voice and many other sites worldwide). Philip works as an environmental products sales rep and has been an activist leader since 2000. In 2010 he became a local spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at PAF1222@bellsouth.net.