Now it's Roger Clemen's turn to be used as a distraction from the incompetence and malfeasance of Congress and the Federal Prosecutor's office. He's accused of lying to Congress, imagine that. I wish that the Federal grand jury would take a look at lying in Congress, by Congress, and for Congress, and perhaps take a look at the lies that flew like pigeons on crack during the hearings on the banking scandal. For the life of me, I can't figure out why this particular alleged lie is worthy of the cost of prosecution. There are lies that matter, and those that don't. This most definitely falls in the latter category. At a time when our economy is falling apart, there is massive unemployment, we are staggering with debt, why on earth does it matter to Congress, to the Federal prosecutor's office, what entertainers do? The way I see it, those Congressional hearings were a complete waste of time and money, never should have been started, and to continue to attack players for trying to be the best they could demonstrates that it's Congress that should be put on trial, then handed their pink slips.

Even if Clemens did use certain steroidal medications that are now labeled for no particular reason "performance enhancing" is there any real harm done to society? We now know, thanks to releasing the names on the study that MLB assured the players would remain anonymous, that use of steroidal medications (as well as many other types of pharmaceuticals) was common among ballplayers. Which is rather like declaring water is wet, that anorexia is common among professional ballet dancers, that cosmetic surgery is common among strippers. Now, there's a topic that should be looked into the crass commercialization and promotion of plastic surgery, a practice that has a significant morbidity and mortality rate.

Speaking of entertainers and trying to cheat the normal aging process and creating bad role models for society, it should be pointed out that the largest group of people using hGH for "off label" purposes is actors, singers, and others trying to look "hot". The explosion in the use of more and increasingly invasive and dangerous procedures to try to look like you're not was begun by actors and models, and now has been so internalized and mainstreamed that a normal female body is considered to be ugly, if not deformed. Not only does this bombardment of unrealistic images and role models cost women a fortune, it's a loser's game. The more surgeries you get, the more you need, and the more likely complications will occur. Look what happened to Micheal Jackson. Will all women end up expected to look like Lolo Ferrari?

No one is even suggesting that the mendacity of plastic surgeons, in collusion with the entertainment industry, be investigated or censured. At a time when so many Americans are struggling to get access to basic health care (and let us not forget that INSURANCE IS NOT HEALTH CARE), it's more than obscene that plastic surgeons are so idolized and looked up to. Maybe that's because the lives of girls and women are worth less to Congress. I'm sure it would make Nancy "Botox OD" Pelosi a bit nervous if this were discussed in Congress.