I waited to make this post, hoping that I would have something positive to report.

No such luck. Oh, well, yes, there is something to say: everyone on the planet (yes, that includes all of the people involved with the BCS) MUST finally realize that the BCS is an utter failure. It's good to come to that conclusion, once and for all (though for me, it's a recurring-nightmare-of-a-conclusion).

The Longhorns put it out there, beating Texas A&M by 40 points on Thanksgiving night. I was a little concerned when Mack Brown pulled Colt McCoy when we only had 42 points on the board (note to Mack: go back and look at Bob Stoops' "style points" strategy at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech and take notes). But John Chiles rolled us down the field and we had 49 points to show for a total obliteration of the Aggies. As one sign stated at the game, be thankful - that you're not an Aggie. After Baylor's strong showing against Texas Tech, it's safe to say that the doormat of the South division is now - Texas A&M.

But enough of the anti-Aggie sentiments, because I need to reserve my hostility for the sham that is the BCS.

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You’ve sustained an injury. You don’t really know what to do. Perhaps you went to a family practice physician, an orthopedist, a massage therapist, a physical therapist, or a chiropractor. The more people you come into contact with, the more answers you receive regarding your problem. Your clinician may claim that injury recovery and treatment is as much an “art” as it is a science”. You may be prescribed a “protocol” that consists of a prolonged number of visits. Or you might receive the most common answer: “stop what you are doing and let’s wait and see”.

Health care is a service industry. It is incumbent upon the provider of the service to aim to give you the best possible experience – just like any other service industry. But as consumers, we’ve lost our way. First of all, there is a growing chasm between “accepted standards” – and “evidence-based standards”. This drives our expectations - one of the primary issues surrounding health care consumerism. If you have been told by the health care marketplace, the media, and countless other lay articles, that time and countless visits is the standard, then your expectations will reflect this. However, accepted community standards of care are not the same as evidence-based standards of care. Our bottom line, our expectations, need to rise to reflect the standards found within the science of medicine.

So let’s start with a few “reality checks” and basic elements of consumerism when it comes to health care.

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Based on the numbers involved, I think that back pain could form it’s own nation. It has a large community of people that are speaking the same language and are bound by common factors. There is also a rather large fiscal component that binds the community together.

We could call this new independent nation Backpainia (for lack of a better name). Maybe it could start as the 51st state of the US, and then seek its independence from the tyranny of, oh, lobbyist-driven health care.

But take heed, resolute citizens of Backpainia. Revolution is taking place throughout the world. Be it Egypt, Libya, or any of a plethora of nations, change is upon us. Something is also amiss in Backpainia – perhaps it is the next nation in need of a revolution?

The research data and socioeconomics of this nation explain everything.

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Republicans high and low have been heard to make light of a phrase that has been attributed to Obama during the election campaign:

"Redistributing the wealth".

Yep, I heard him say it on the campaign trail. Did you? And there are a lot of people screaming out about socialism. And how "redistributing the wealth" is the virtual end of our democratic world. Oh my, I am sure McCarthyism must be right around the corner.

Why is everyone so up-in-arms over this? Hell, President Bush wanted to make changes to the Constitution on a neo-conservative whim and nobody flinched.

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