Olympics!

The Olympics open today! 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China!

Say what you will about China. Say what you will about the games. But this is pretty much a big deal, boys and girls.

Freedom-loving people don't need to think about whether or not they'd want to live in China (can I get a HELL-no?). They've done some pretty nasty stuff recently. In Tibet ("Beat the protestors until they get happy!"). In the alleys of Beijing ("Destroy all the housing and move the residents elsewhere so we can build the pole-vault"). And they've simply been criminally negligent in maintaining rural infrastructure ("It's just a school full of children. We have too many of those anyway, so if it falls down no biggie").

But...I think you can argue they've come a ways from the reign of Mao. I heard recently on NPR that the Olympics is often a stepping stone towards becoming a functioning democracy (except in cases like Hitler's Berlin...but say no more), instead of a reward for achieving it. The fact they're having to deal with the public saying, "Wait, you're assholes...why shouldn't we boycott the Olympics?" has shifted the perspective for China.

It's made them aware of the international spotlight...and I don't think you can just ignore the effects of that sort of scrutiny, even after it stops. So go watch the shotput, and don't feel guilty about it. It's all part of the bigger picture.

110th Congress? Useless

I know that's a strong statement. But...it's pretty true. I mean, how many major issues are there facing this country today?

There's an energy crisis. An environmental crisis. We have several major diplomatic crises. Two wars we're losing. A credit crisis. A housing crisis. An economy driving itself off the cliff. And others of greater or lesser stature, such as how college is getting increasingly out of reach for the average American kid.

What has Congress done in the past year? Let us consult Google.

(Several Days Later...)

I've been stuck on this for the past few days because I WANT to dig through the list of bills. But even tho a tiny portion of Congressional bills became useful laws (a large portion were things like renaming post offices) there's still thousands of them.

I don't have that kinda time. I encourage you to peruse...just fifteen minutes spent checking out the written record of what Congress does is very enlightening...but I can't do a comprehensive search.

So here's a list the Washington Post has put together on key votes. It covers the meat and potatoes of what was accomplished, and the added bonus of seeing how various reps and senators voted.

Time to put my perfectionism back in the box for another day...

Hope?

I've had a series of conversations in the past few weeks about the Presidential election. The usual, "Oh, yeah, well, who you gonna vote for?"

I decided a while back that my vote is probably going towards Obama. He's more of a course correction than McCain. And...could there be something else to it? I mean, that whole campaign slogan of Obama's?

The whole...hope theme?

Typically, when I'm discussing the election, I try to keep it cynical. I don't want to appear swept up in crazy passion, or making an emotional decision. "They're ALL politicians," is a refrain of mine.

But I should admit it. Obama does give me hope. Hope that he won't be just another politician. That things might actually start to improve. Energy is contagious, whether it be negative or positive. That guy is dumping a whole lot of positive energy on things, and I can't help but like it.

I like how he doesn't side step many issues. How he acknowledges obstacles and challenges. And then goes on to say, "We can handle that." Almost like it's all just a secondary concern. Like he's keeping his eye on the prize, not ignoring the badness but not focusing on it either.

I like that.