Not Very Olympian

Good morning,

I've been wondering how I could write about these latest Winter Olympics without sounding like I don't have the utmost respect for those who would put on this nation's colors to compete against the best in the world. I have to say I do have respect for Olympians, shoot.... I even have respect for the word, it's just cool. Throughout time, there have been just a few people who have had the honor of being called an Olympian, some have recognized the honor, though there are always those who just don't get it, nor care.

This year, the Winter Olympics ended with a parade of Pagliacci's (a tragic clown from an opera), which I couldn't help but see as somehow symbolic of some of our own tragic clowns we had the misfortune of sending out there to represent us to the world:

*Bode Miller: Dubbed the "American Rebel" by Time Magazine, he seemed to try real hard to live up to that name by rebelling against Olympic competition entirely (0-5 in all events), partying until the wee hours of the early morning in Torino nightspots, giving a particular middle finger hand gesture to photographers, and making a public spectacle by shouting obscenities at autograph seekers and bar patrons. Imagine how he would act if he were truly famous, instead of simply riding high point of his "15 minutes of fame". Yikes! In the days leading up to the games, Bode gave a series of controversial interviews, one to 60 Minutes where he admitted to skiing while drunk, and a Rolling Stone interview where he accused Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds of performance enhancing drug doping. Mr. Miller publicly scoffed at the idea of fame yet he signed big endorsement deals with Nike, Barilla, and a video game company, which I can't say I blame him for trying to cash in a bit, but the move seemed premature as he was on his way to the Olympics, not celebrating his performance in them. Doin' the victory dance before winning something is always a slippery slope for one to travel. (no pun intended... LOL*) Imagine him strolling into the offices of Nike now, saying "I think you should give me a deal, I just got back from the Olympics where I did not finish two events, was disqualified from one, and placed 5th and 6th in the other two I did finish, I partied and socialized on an Olympic level, made out with a Playboy bunny, avoided the international press every chance I had, and offended just about everyone I came into contact with! Whaddaya think?" I can just imagine the googley-eyed look he'd be getting as they showed him the door. After all was said and done, Bode remains unapologetic as he still sticks to the story that medals didn't matter much to him, he is simply interested in maintaining his quality of life, he still maintains that he skiied well, and "Rocked!" as he so put it. All I can say is rock-on Bode Miller, all the way back to the New Hampshire woods, shut up, and get lost.

*Johnny Weir: This guy just creeped me out, especially after news accounts of him being upset with his accomodations in the Olympic Village, where he complained about his room being dusty, the bed being too hard, the town being old and dirty, and having to carry his own luggage. When asked about all the complaints he was raising, he simply said he won't stop being "princessy" when it comes to travel. Ewww. On the evening of his event performance, "Mr." Weir missed his bus that was to take him to the arena, and was seen scurrying through the streets of Turin trying to catch a ride (perhaps some understandable Turin revenge at work, as the bus schedule was changed), he arrived late and skated a forgetful performance. In the days leading up to his event, he was often photographed practicing while wearing a red CCCP jacket (cyrillic script for USSR, the former Soviet Union), he defended his actions by saying he was an "admirer of Russian culture". Does this guy not understand that he was there as an athletic representative of the United States, and that reminders of the former Soviet Union mean something entirely different to the people of Europe? Sheesh, what a baffoon (I use this word in place of what I'd really like to say), but somebody saw it fit to send the "princessy one" over there, and without a USA jacket he might have enjoyed wearing. We can't presume he'd enjoy wearing it for what it represents, but maybe for it's "stylish value"? Ewww again, Sheesh!

Before I get comments posted saying I'm picking on the guy because of his particular "orientation", I should say I have nothing against people of "other lifestyles", my commentary doesn't come from that sort of perspective, and I'm not singling our Mr. Weir because of his orientation. I'm sure he's a hero to someone out there, and if that's the case, then have at it. Shoot, I say live and let live, whatever, doesn't matter to me, but if someone is going to wear the colors of our country and compete in our name, they should conduct themselves accordingly, and put aside all of the other BS they might choose to carry with them in their daily routine. To be an Olympian is a responsibility, to one's country, to the kids of this nation and the world who might look up to them, and most importantly to themselves, and their competitors. Someone once said, "everyone has to respect something, might as well start with yourself and work from there." Good words, that Mr. Weir seems to have never heard while growing up. The Olympic Committee needs to think good and hard before they make the mistake of sending this clown to the Olympics again, if they have to send him somewhere, send him to Russia so he can "admire" the place up close.

*Lindsey Jacobellis: This girl can sure snowboard, but a hot-dog move will surely resign her to television immortality on "Most Embarrassing Moments in Sports" shows. During her event she had a sizeable lead over the competition and had gold medal written all over her, until she tried to play to the camera with a show off move that caused her to fall. All I can say is she really doesn't belong amongst the clowns listed here, as her actions could most likely be attributed to youth and excitement of the moment. It was a tough lesson for her to learn, though I'll bet her next Olympics will benefit greatly from this experience, and she'll bring home a gold medal to go with the silver she earned this time around.

*The U.S. Hockey Team: All of them, clowns. Imagine this, we had the highest paid assemblage of hockey talent on our team, and didn't even go to the medal round of competition. I'm against these so-called "Dream Teams" made up of professional sports talent, there's nothing left for them to prove, they've made their millions of dollars, they've gained their high paying endorsements, they still have a job when their season of play starts in the league, why would they want to jeopardize all of that with the possibility of career ending injury, just for a gold medal? The pay-off just didn't seem to mean that much to them. If we use professional star talent, the best performance we can ever hope to get would be that found in an all-star exhibition game, and you know what that means. Of course I'm not speaking about all of the players, I would hope there were at least a few who cared, though you sure couldn't tell in their manner of play. I don't expect a movie like "Miracle" to be made about this buncha guys, as it was a miracle they let the competition keep going as long as it did. In this era of the "ME" player, that's exactly what we got, such as Mike Modano demanding his own row of seats on the airplane ride to Turin, did he quietly ponder the competition with excitement, hope, and fear? Nope, he wanted to show he was a star with selfish priorities. That, my friends, is why U.S. Hockey didn't win, not because of Mike alone, but because of a team full of people with like minds. Here's an idea, bring back the college kids, they have something to prove, they might still think it cool to be named to the Olympic team, they might even like having a chance to win a big medal as a bragging right, or a bargaining chip if they do make it to professional sports. Bring back someone who has something to gain or lose by their performance, and I'll bet we'll have a chance at winning some of the team sports in the Olympics again. If the Olympic Committee needs to bring in a professional element to the games, bring in the top professional coaches, and give them a crack at bringing the kids together as a team, it would be a good chance for the professional sports leagues to have a look at up-and-coming talent, and would be an invaluable teaching tool for the players. In time, we might even have a whole new element added to professional team sports, with a select few who once had a chance to wear the big USA on their chests, and learned how to hold their heads up high while representing something bigger than themselves.

There were others, but sheesh, I'm all talked out now. *LOL* By now we all have our own ideas of who did well, and who let us down. I still have respect for those who made it to the Olympics, though I can't help but wonder if I respect it more than some who were there, and that's what bugs me. Let me know what you think, am I being too hard on America's Team, or am I on the right track to what's going wrong in sports today?

21 Ports? C'mon!

Good morning,

Aww, the hand holding amongst the bluebonnet flowers and trees. Oh, forget it, what da heck is this all about? Ok, I know, I know, the title of this entry is "21 Ports", the number of U.S. ports which could be sold off to control by Dubai, I know the guy holding hands with our president is a Saudi king and not from Dubai. I also know it's quite possibly customary for foreign leaders to hold hands with the king (one would hope or what would Laura say?), but as the president of this country it sends the wrong message to do so at a time when gasoline and fuel prices were going through the roof. Somethin' smells, and it ain't the sweaty palms in the picture. (well, maybe that too, but that's another story entirely)

Now back to the issue at hand, and how this picture seems to factor into the whole thing. It seems to be indicative of the "go this way, no, go that way, no, go this way again", way that the American people have been treated by this administration. "Ahm lookin' ta prutect yer securitah", was what Bush said in his part time Texas accent, that comes and goes depending on who he is addressing, during his bid for re-election. He recently said, "The 'mercan people dawn't need to wurreh baut securitah", when it comes to a Middle Eastern company gaining control over 21 of this nation's shipping ports? Huh? Whaa? Errr.... Umm.... but you said..... then you said.... but... security? safety? not safe? safe? terror? no terror? trust? don't trust? Ok, enough of that.... please pardon me for a moment while my head explodes. *LOL* That is the way that the official message seems to most people out there, like a dog on a leash we only get so far back into our normal routine before they snap us back into step, and I don't like it!

Before I continue my rant, let me get this out in the open first... I have nothing against the vast majority of people from Dubai, nor Saudi Arabia, neither do I have anything against Muslims, nor Arabs overall. On my street is a family of the muslim religion, they wear the traditional attire of their faith, and are some of the finest and nicest people I have ever met. I admit to not ever having known anyone of the muslim faith prior, but just meeting them shows that those who would hate an entire people for the actions of a few are short sighted and wrong in their beliefs.

Now, that being said, my belief that it is wrong to sell off control to 21 of our nation's ports to a Dubai company is based upon economics and the president's own doctrine of security. I believe that no single company should have control over that many of our nation's busiest ports, such power over shipping traffic to these United States would yield a system of either excess or waste, or both. Muchless the influence such a holding would have upon the very economy of our nation. Since the time of 911, people have called for stricter guidelines and security at our nation's ports, it has been said that little has been done, and many wondered why. Could it be that such a move would have made a takeover bid far more expensive to a company who might want to take control? Quite possibly yes, but how is that the "securitah" we were promised? Would I be complaining if it were a single American company? Yes, I would. Would I be complaining if it were a European company and not Dubai? Yes, I would, but is it prudent to give control of our ports to a Middle Eastern country at a time when our foreign policy is aimed directly at the region? No, I think not. As time goes on, stability within the region could shift and where would that leave us? Imagine the impact of 21 ports shutting down or running at a reduced capacity. Also, how would such a move actually effect our foreign policy? Those who say it won't don't consider that a company, a state run company at that, with control of 21 ports in our country will gain a rather strong foothold within our halls of government, is that a good thing? I'll leave it to all of you to decide the answer to that one.

The issue isn't about prejudice, the true issue is about security in stability, though Dubai is a very wealthy emirate within the UAE, consider when Beirut was once considered to be "the Paris of the Middle East", a beautiful flourishing city. What is it now? It ain't Paris, that's for sure. Now isn't the time for "we'll worry about it when it happens" politics or decision making, is it? At least that's the platform the president ran with, and he wouldn't "flip-flop" on an issue that got him back into office would he?

If you happened to notice the number of times I said "21 ports", it wasn't entirely intentional. I guess it had to do with the first news I heard about the deal involving 6 major ports (including the Port of New York), being done so secretly while the nation was talking about Cheney's bad hunting etiquette. When I heard the actual number was 21 ports, I almost fell out of my chair.

And the Quail Said......

Good afternoon!

By now we've all heard about the VP accidentally peppering his quail hunting partner with bird shot, but has anyone bothered to ask the quail (pictured at left) what happened?

In a little known interview given to the International Audubon Society, the quail said he was just hangin' out with friends when this unusually large and out of breath form came bounding through the tall grass, surprised, he and his friends scattered, when a loud noise was heard, followed by an epithet of four letter words. The quail, who asked to remain unnamed, said he was happy nobody was seriously injured (including himself), but in an apparent message for the Veep, yelled "ya missed me!" as he exited the building, he is currently in hiding, and has not been seen since..

In an officially-unofficial statement, White House officials said "the quail is of no real importance, they don't even think much about him anymore."

Coretta Scott King

Good morning to all,

Our nation once again bids farewell to one of it's civil rights icons, first Rosa Parks, now Coretta Scott King, who passed away Tuesday. It was Mrs. King who picked up the reins of the civil rights movement of the 1960's, following the death of her husband, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Her contribution to our nation and society at large is greatly appreciated, she will be missed, and should be regarded as a true American hero by people of all ethnicities. She moved mountains with her words.

Though I'm not African-American, I regard Coretta Scott King, and her husband Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to have been heroically wonderful teachers, and eloquent speakers with their message of peaceful resistance to unfair norms within our society. The lesson for me, that sprang from the pages of the history books where their words were printed, and from the archived news footage of them speaking to a crowd, was that one person can truly make a difference in the world, that an idea cannot be as easily silenced as the man or woman who thought it, that hope is as infectious as dispair or fear can be, that good can truly triumph over the bad of the world. I thank them for passing along that message to me, it is something that I pray I will carry with me throughout my entire life.

Rest well Mrs. King, such a beautiful lady, my hope is that you knew your words touched not only those within the African-American community, but others out here in the world as well.