Welcome to your new Socialist Utopia, Captain McCain and Private First Class Obama at the helm. Major insurers- taken over by the government. Fannie & Freddie- taken over by the government. Financial markets- bailed out by the government. Healthcare- taken over by the government. Questionable mortgages- rescued by the government. Your retirement- in the hands of the government.

Work. Don’t work. We don’t give a shit. In fact, if you work too hard and carve out some success for you and your family, we’re going to knock you back into line by taxing you into the stone ages. After all, it’s patriotic for the government to take your prosperity, mismanage it, and dole out a fraction of what you would have given had you been able to keep it yourself.

Have a $650,000 negatively-amortizing mortgage but only earn $50k a year? Those bastard lenders- they’re to blame for puttin’ all those fancy words and numbers on that real estate contract you signed. We got you covered brother- don’t sweat it. We’re gonna’ reset your mortgage and subsidize the banks so nobody learns from their mistakes.

I can’t be the only person in this country that feels as though our Democracy is spiraling out of control and into the hands of politicians. We aren’t far from being so beholden to Washington that individual citizens will be virtually powerless to meaningfully impact their own lives. As the saying goes, the inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

For your reference to how far we’ve gone astray, here’s a link to our Constitution as well as a listing of the Bill of Rights:

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Second Amendment: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Third Amendment: No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Fourth Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fifth Amendment: No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Sixth Amendment: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Seventh Amendment: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Eighth Amendment: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

You’re welcome.

Six games into the season for the Ohio State Buckeyes and still several questions loom. This team has not been the juggernaut on offense that most expected and has shown surprising weaknesses on defense. The comeback win in Madison last Saturday evening pretty well answered the question of whether or not the team has any heart; still remains to be seen whether they can dial up intensity when they need it though. With TP at QB and # 28 at tailback, that seems to be much less of a concern than earlier in the season.

photo by Andy Manis, AP

The most glaring issue with this Ohio State team is red zone offensive production. I’ll leave it to people like Jeff Amey over at the Ozone to weigh in on how much of the problem is play-calling and how much is execution, but the numbers don’t lie. Of the teams in the Coaches’ top 12, Ohio State ranks 7th in scoring percentage (touchdowns and field goals combined vs. attempts) but is dead last in terms of touchdown productivity.

For comparison sake, consider that # 1 Oklahoma has 24 scores in the red zone, 23 touchdowns and 1 field goal for a TD-FG ratio of 23 to 1. Ohio State has 16 red zone scores- 8 touchdowns, 8 field goals for a 1 to 1 ratio. In fact, the teams closest to Ohio State (LSU and Alabama) still have a 2 to 1 TD to FG ratio.

It’s almost as if Ohio State treats the red zone as if they’re in overtime and the opposing team missed a field goal on their first possession. In that situation, above all else, you avoid mistakes to preserve the game-winning field goal. In regulation, that’s an extreme mindset to take. More to the point, I believe that the conservative play calling feeds an underlying mental passivity for the Ohio State offensive players and takes away an edge.

As the saying goes, the field does shrink exponentially in the red zone because the defense has to cover so much less depth. The option counteracts that offensively by stretching the width of the field from sideline to sideline. Hopefully with Terrelle Pryor, Tressel and Bollman will use the option to soften their conservativism. I’m not suggesting they swing too far in the other direction, just find a happy place in the middle.

This subconscious affect undoubtedly bleeds into the psyche outside of the red zone. Ohio State rarely displays aggressiveness or any offensive continuity after the first series of any game.

Another glaring area of concern is the play of both lines. The play of the defensive line is by far the weakness of the defense and the biggest reason why this defense is top 25 instead of top 5 (like last year). The defensive line simply has not been able to get enough pressure on the opposing quarterback to allow the back seven to play in space like they need to. A look at the sack production of the top 12 teams bears this out. Ohio State ranks second only to LSU as the worst sack-producing unit of the top 12 teams. This is made worse by the fact that LSU has only played 4 games and OSU has played 6. If you also consider Georgia has only played 5 games and USC only 4, that really separates Ohio State followed by Alabama as woefully inadequate in sack production.

As the table indicates below, the offensive line play is also falling short. Again, comparing the top 12 teams in the coaches poll, Ohio State is far and away the worst performer in protecting the quarterback. To put it in even more perspective, the Buckeyes rank 106th nationally in this metric. Averaging nearly 3 sacks per game is unacceptable for any team with aspirations of a conference championship, let alone a national championship.

The bottom line unfortunately for Ohio State fans is, without material improvement in red zone production and line play, expect the Buckeyes to lose to Penn State at a minimum, and possibly to Illinois and Michigan State as well.

You’re welcome.