On Tuesday, Americans will go to the polls to elect a new President.  They'll also vote for members of the House of Representatives and in, some states, members of the U.S. Senate. 

Do yourself a favor.  If any of the following appear on a ballot, vote against them:

• Senator Jack Reed D-RI
  
• Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
  
• Senator Pete Domenici, R-N.M.
  
• Senator Mike Enzi R-Wyo
• Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo
• Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Conn
• Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill
• Senator Ken Salazar, D-Colo.
  
• Senator Bernie Sanders, I-VT
• Senator Wayne Allard, R-Colo.
• Senator John Thune, R-S.D.
• Senator Arlen Specter, R-Comcast,
  
• Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

No, you haven't accidentally clicked on a political blog.  These fine lawmakers are trying to tell the NFL where to air the NFL Network where to air their football games.

Specter, who I have mercilessly flogged on several occasions, is a member of the Senate Judiciary committee and because he is bought and payed for by Comcast, feels like he has the right to dictate to a private owned entity on many topics including "spygate".  The Senators want to expand the broadcast areas of the Thursday night NFL games so that if say, the Bears are on, people in Peoria would also have free access to the games.

The discussion of the cable companies and the NFL are a different topic for a different day.  The topic here is how do members of the Senate find time to worry about whether their constituents can see football games?

The nation's economy is in the crapper, people are losing their homes, banks are closing, illegal aliens continue to stream into our country, up until a month ago you needed a bank loan to buy gas, we're at war with Iraq and maybe soon with Iran, housing starts are down and people are losing their jobs in record numbers.  Yet, your elected representatives are too busy to solve those problems because they want to help determine where the NFL broadcast their games on free TV.  Something wrong with this picture, my friends?

As a taxpayer, I get furious when my dollars are wasted because elected officials try to accommodate their special interest buddies over something that, in the grand scheme of things, means nothing the average American.  Look, I love football and I watch the NFL, but if I were to rank my love of football over my having a job or food on my table or keeping my house, it most likely would not rank very high, if at all. 

What really gets me angry is how people continue to re-elect men who are more interested in whether or not you get to see a football game than they are if you can continue to stay in your house to be able to watch it.

Please, when you go to the polls, forget about your party affiliation or your political positions and ask yourself "is the guy I'm voting for really serving my interests or is he just some guy who is being funded by a special interest and legislating not in my best interest but in his.?"  If your Senator or US Rep is a wholly owned subsidiary of a communications company or drug company or some other powerful lobby, then it's time to pull the lever for his opponent.  After all, Americans have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Football is extra.