Hickey, who is also the pastor at Church at the Gate in Sioux Falls, has no problem with South Dakota allowing boxing and traditional martial arts events, but he will be darned to heck if he’s going to let MMA rear its ugly face. And as he’s telling his detractors to “school up” on Twitter, let’s take a look at what kind of lesson he’s teaching.
Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick hanging out with Guy Fieri on New Year's is only half the problem.
Politicians are the worst people on this planet, so it shouldn’t have surprised people this morning when news leaked of the sordid inclusions in the fiscal cliff deal, from a heavier rum tax on Puerto Rico to financing Goldman Sachs’ new headquarters. Good, those guys needed a break. But also included is the so-called “NASCAR loophole”, which has a lot of people really pissed off right now.
However, it’s not like the government is just giving a ton of our hard-earned cash to the good ol’ boys who spend their days turning left. It’s much sneakier and more complex than that. Basically, it’s a nice, big tax break for the billionaires behind the International Speedway Corporation, and most notably the France family. So what, then, does this loophole give them?
The so-called NASCAR loophole allows anyone who builds a racetrack to receive a small tax benefit through accelerated depreciation. This tax break cost roughly $43 million the past two years and will get extended for another year. Sounds tawdry, right? And yet, supporters claim the break is necessary so that NASCAR can compete on a level playing field with other theme parks. Looks like they got their wish. (Via Washington Post)
Now I’m no fancy, big city slicker lawyer type with a degree in smartness, but I’ve read enough USA Today pie charts in my day to know that this isn’t much of a surprise. Look, millionaires and billionaires get all the breaks. We’ve just got to learn to live with that. I mean, take Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, for example. He fleeced an entire major city government into funding his ridiculous, giant new stadium, and he did it all on the paper wings of a promise that he was committed to building a contender. Classic rich dude crapping on our dreams scenario.
Instead of Loria, though, it’s just NASCAR and International Speedway executives who get to act out the “We need these tax breaks to build new tracks and fix the old ones so we can create jobs because America!” routine. But this is all unfair speculation and the biased ramblings of a lower class American just trying to get his next meal. Let’s see what the NASCAR fatcats have to say in response…
Ugh, I’m so sorry, you guys, but I’m really pissed off so we’re going to talk about politics for just a second. Philadelphia 76ers center Spencer Hawes is 24-years old, attended a highly-regarded prep school, and went to the University of Washington. Because he’s 7-foot-1, he’s been able to play basketball his whole life and he parlayed that into being the 10th player selected in the 2007 NBA Draft.
In his 5th season in the NBA, Hawes averaged 9.6 points per game during the lockout-shortened season, while only actually playing in 37 games due to injury. But despite injury, he still collected more than $4 million in salary from the Sixers. Not counting endorsements, Hawes has earned roughly $13,566,963 during his NBA career, and that’s important to note because he thinks we live in a communist country because the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Obamacare.
It’s ironic that Hawes, a millionaire, is complaining about living in a communist country on Twitter, the greatest example of free speech that has ever existed. A lot of people agreed with Hawes’ chain of Tweets, that he posted while taking time out from his basketball camp for children today. And a lot of people disagreed. On the surface, he came across as just another dude mindlessly spouting anti-government rhetoric without actually justifying his argument. Then he made a joke about a bald eagle crying, and it wasn’t funny. Seriously, it was stupid.
I won’t get into my politics because you don’t care about my politics and I hate politics, so it’s a waste of time. I only bring this whole stupid mess up because we often criticize athletes for staying out of politics, but when they do speak up, we jump all over them for expressing their beliefs. I think Hawes is a hypocritical jerk, but I also respect that he’s willing to be himself.
Above all, though, I think the most important thing to take away from today’s news about socialized health care is this…
For the fourth consecutive year, ESPN sent its bracket guru Andy Katz to the White House to get President Obama’s pick for the NCAA TournamWHY’S HE PICKIN BASKETBALL GAMES WHEN WURR AT WAR?! After picking Kansas for the past two years, Obama picked North Carolina to win it alBUT THE ‘CONOMY IS IN THE DUMPS WHY DON’T HE FIX THAT?1 He also picked the Tar Heels in 2009, when they won the tournament with strong play from point guard Ty Lawson and All-American power forward Tyler HansbroWHY CAN’T HE LIKE A AMURRRICAN SPORT LIKE BASEBALL OR FOOTBALL AND NOT ONE FULLA SHOWBOATIN’ THUGS WHO DONN EVEN STAY IN SCHOOL?! His analysis was pretty sound, pointing out that North Carolina has more veteran leadership than the other heavy favorite, Kentucky, who is relying on a roster full of freshman and sophomores, including top NBA prospect Anthony DavOH I BET HE PICKED NORTH CAROLINA BECAUSE SOME OF HIS ***HOMEBOYS*** ARE ON THE TEAM. HE SHUDDA PICKED A GOOD HARD-WORKIN’ SCHOOL LIKE INDIANA OR WISCONSIN!
He also got to give a shout out to Harvard, the Ivy League’s representative in the tournament, and where he went to to law schWHY AREN’T THERE ANY MILITARY SCHOOLS IN THE TOURNAMENT? SUPPORT OUR TROOPS! I think we can all agree this is a fun little exercise, and certainly not anything to get upset ovAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH SOSHALISM!
Seriously though, big ups to Biggie SmallsDanger Guerrero for filling in yesterday so I could enjoy my birthday. On today’s schedule: morning links, then eight straight posts about pro wrestling.
The Best Of #Sterling Archer Kicks Off UPROXX Archer Week -Yuuuuuuuup. [UPROXX]
5 Elseworlds Comics That Should Be Made Into Video Games - Steampunk everything! Or, I want a game where I’m Ma and Pa Kent and I have to drive around avoiding nails. [Gamma Squad]
Quentin Tarantino’s Top 11 Films of 2011 - I’m not sure I want to live in a world where one of our best filmmakers thinks Hugo and Green Lantern are on the same level. I don’t want to hear Kurosawa nudge somebody and say “hey, I liked 12 Angry Men, but I also liked Plan 9“. [Film Drunk]
The Reasons Louis C.K. Will Never Host the Golden Globes Are Exactly Why He Should Host the Golden Globes - I’m not sure how Ricky Gervais settled into his weird role of guy Hollywood hates but approves of, and why The Average White Guy We All Agree On couldn’t just slide right into it. [Warming Glow]
Apple iPad 3 Reportedly Releasing March 2012 - Hello, Apple thing Destiny wants. Goodbye, 700 more dollars. [Smoking Section]
Ever Wondered What It Would Look Like If A Bunch Of Playboy Playmates Tebowed? - In case you missed this yesterday, Burnsy accomplished one of my career goals: getting Holly Madison’s entire side boob on With Leather’s main page. New career goal: get it in my house. [With Leather]
Stephen Colbert Runs First Presidential Campaign Ad, Accuses Mitt Romney Of Being A Serial Killer - It’s an easy joke, but he’s at least as qualified for this as the people actually running, and he’d do something wacky like legalize pot without doing something wacky like racism. [UPROXX]
25 People Who Think MLK Day Is Milk Day - At least they aren’t Virginia, trying to shoehorn in two Confederate guys so we celebrate “Lee Jackson King” day. A girl I went to high school with once asked me, “who’s Lee Jackson King?” True, sad story. [Buzzfeed]
13 Artists Have Extraordinarily Bad Luck - Schleprock had better be on here somewhere. [Popcrush]
The 20 Biggest Second Week Drops in Box Office History* - Low budget horror films are like cinematic dubstep. [Pajiba]
What Is This Awkwardly Smiling Guy Doing with Mila Kunis? - It must be awful to be Mila Kunis right now. Sure, you’re rich and popular and beautiful, but Jesus, every other moment of your life is somebody standing next to you, smiling like this. The horror. [Brobible]
Trolling Election Billboards - Mitt Romney’s slogan should be “FOR I AM MITT ROMNEY, YOU SEE!” It’d be better than whatever TOGETHER FOR AMERICA bullsh*t he’d come up with otherwise. [High Definite]
For the third straight year, President of These United States Barack Obama has filled out an NCAA tournament bracket, picking number one seeds Duke, Kansas, Ohio State and Pittsburgh to make the men’s Final Four. Continuing the trend he’s set as the leader of the free world, Obama gave all the breaks to the top 1% of teams and only confirmed his bracket after running it by every single Republican who exists in federal government.
Obama predicts Baylor, UConn, Stanford and Tennessee will advance in the women’s tournament, despite repeated campaign promises to pick Kansas State. Check it out, guys, I’m writing about politics on the Internet!
The president’s men’s bracket, including his choice for national champion, will be revealed on the noon (ET) “SportsCenter” on Wednesday. His selections for the women’s bracket will be unveiled Friday on the 9 a.m. (ET) “SportsCenter.” His opinion of the A Guide to Recognizing Your Mascots series will be revealed Monday on the 2:45 a.m. (ET) “SportsCenter.” It is “this is funny, bring back the dugout.”
Quentin Tarantino’s Top 11 Films of 2011 - I’m not sure I want to live in a world where one of our best filmmakers thinks Hugo and Green Lantern are on the same level. I don’t want to hear Kurosawa nudge somebody and say “hey, I liked 12 Angry Men, but I also liked Plan 9“. [
