My disappointment with the rhetoric offered by the Sarah Palin’s, Dr. Laura’s, Rush Limbaugh’s, Don Imus’s and Glenn Beck’s of the world is that their messages resonate with so many Americans.

It seems that every time I begin to become encouraged and believe that there has been real substantial progress in OUR country something happens to remind me that many have merely put a more presentable façade on some of this country’s ugly unresolved issues.

America has so much more ability than is currently being realized.  There has always been this illusion of ‘Promise’ but the continued appreciation and consumption of this dark rhetoric continuously dispensed by the aforementioned and others makes me truly wonder.

I’m not amazed that these media darlings spew forth this filth but I must admit that I am very disappointed and somewhat disheartened that so many of my nice neighbors agree with and enjoy it.

Many writers have attempted to re-cast the latest events as merely another ‘teachable moment’.  But why must these opportunities continue to come at the expense of the dignity of other decent Americans?

In my heart, I continue to believe that WE are far better than this despite OUR continued consumption of non-productive chatter and worse.

Did the caller seek Dr. Laura’s professional help to be berated and publicly humiliated?  Did the good doctor fulfill the highest standards of her profession? (Then again, what are the professional standards of a talk show host?  Better yet- what is she a doctor of?) Or did Dr. Laura once again use a real person seeking help as just another opportunity to propagate her personal agenda and beliefs all for the sake of ratings and the almighty dollar?

Newsflash 

These talking head, pundit, media darling, know-it-all experts are playing their listening audiences for fools with their outlandish, over-the-top and divisive commentary.  They don’t care what they say and they certainly don’t care who they hurt.  They are in the business of selling inflammatory provocation and fear mongering neatly packaged as entertainment and apparently business is very good.

Schlesinger, Palin, Imus, Limbaugh & Beck Inc. makes untold millions from doing exactly what constructive?  This particular media conglomerate has done absolutely nothing to solve any of America’s numerous, very real and significant issues but the money keeps rolling in…and a sizeable portion of ‘we the people’ keep listening. 

When will we support a talk show host that actually attempts to find meaningful and respectful resolution to some of America’s more difficult issues?  Are we ready for a host that moderates an intelligent dialogue instead of one that preys on insidious, petty fears and tells the huddled masses what to think? 

Instead of sound bites and obstruction what about civil discourse and production?  Is America ready for insightful media voices that use their platforms for something more than merely catering to their massive egos and helping themselves to the low hanging fruit?

Every time I see Big Country compete, I am impressed that he can get such a high level of production out of that body.  Roy Nelson is a perfect case study to better understand cardiovascular fitness or what MMA fans commonly call ‘cardio’ or ‘gas’ (Please no fart jokes).

Roy Nelson’s ample body and belly cause many viewers to make a common mistake.  They make a direct correlation between physical appearance and cardiovascular fitness.  As counterintuitive or backward as it may seem, significantly overweight people can have impressive cardio and thin and/or muscular, well defined people can have terrible cardio.

Why? - Because cardiovascular fitness measures the body’s ability to take in, distribute and use oxygen (Center for Disease Control).

Cardio is primarily a measure of the heart’s ability to efficiently pump blood and oxygen to the muscles.  It is not a measure or function of physical appearance.

To properly assess cardiovascular fitness a serious athlete will undergo a test called VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake).  Everyone has seen an endurance athlete on TV running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike with EKG pads/wires hooked to them and with what looks like a snorkel coming out of their mouths.  That’s the VO2 max test.  (I could get fairly technical here but I’ll assume that we’ve all got better things to do)

Simple test- Briskly walk up 3 flights of stairs.  If your heart is pumping hard, your head is throbbing or a bit light and/or you’re short of breath.  Guess what?  Your cardio isn’t much regardless how you look.

The follow-up question to me is- how good could Roy Nelson be if he shed those excess pounds?  He would be quicker, more explosive and more athletic in general.  Also if he carried significantly less weight his personal cardio would improve.

Ever wonder why the most elite heavyweight championship contests rarely go to a decision?  It is extremely difficult for the big boys to keep up the pace for rounds 4 and 5.  Therefore, they try to finish early.

Did you see how hard both Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson were breathing in the third round?  I loved the fight but I was glad when it ended…and I think they were too.