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| Fifth Column |
| Leftist Brag About Leftists Politicizing The Olympics |
| 2006-02-13 |
| No one who was paying attention to the opening of the 20th Winter Olympics could have missed the none-too-subtle message that was sent with regard to the Bush administration's foreign policy. While first lady Laura Bush sat in the stands giggling with Cherie Blair, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair the Olympic flag was carried into Stadio Olympico on Friday evening by actress Susan Sarandon, one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Iraq. Joining Sarandon to lift the corners of the flag were a group of prominent women that included Chilean writer and activist Isabel Allende, Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai and Cambodian human rights activist Somaly Mam. The neoconservatives who guide public policy in the United States, and their apologists in the media, may have been offended by the showcasing of Sarandon and other women who have challenged this president's misrule of the United States and misguided approach to the world. But American citizens need not be. The global rejection of the Bush administration's military misadventures abroad, its opposition to environmental protection initiatives, its corporations-first approach to global trade, and its disdain for democracy in the United States and abroad is not a rejection of America or Americans. It is a rejection of a president who has insulted American values and ideals as well as the broader spirit of international cooperation that defines the Olympic tradition. As Marco Balich, the creative director for Friday night's opening program for the Olympics, explained, "We wanted to make a strong statement of peace tonight." And so they did, with their choice of flagbearers, and with the surprise appearance of Yoko Ono. The artist and widow of John Lennon opened the Winter Olympics with a soft-spoken, yet stirring plea for peace. "Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world," Ono told the crowd of about 35,000. "Just start thinking peace, and the message will spread quicker than you think." Ono was joined by British singer Peter Gabriel, who sang an inspired version of Lennon's "Imagine." The lyrics of that remarkable song speak to the spirit of the Olympics "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one; I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will live as one" but they also speak for the great mass of Americans who want very much to be part of the world community. The United States is a good country badly led. Those who recognize that fact, and who act to change the circumstance, are the truest patriots. And just as we look forward to cheering for our Olympians in the days to come, so we look forward to the day when this country will have leaders who recognize that America can and must be an honest player in world affairs. How far off is that day? Let us hope that, when Olympians meet next, in Beijing in the summer of 2008, this country will be well on its way to rejoining a world community in which it really is possible to "Imagine all the people, living life in peace." "Feces in their tea." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #13 yep |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-13 23:55 |
| #12 Is anyone watching the Winter Olympics? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-02-13 23:47 |
| #11 It has been a while since I've seen proper schoolboy sniggering. Well done, the author! Not that the grown-ups care about such stupidity. But I like the idea of cutting off funding. Why should we pay to be insulted by posturing fools? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-02-13 23:37 |
| #10 What did you expect from a Madison, Wisconsin paper? You have a better chance of getting unbiased news from Pravda. |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-02-13 23:19 |
| #9 Yeah sure whatever ... |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-02-13 22:57 |
| #8 Political statements my aching arssss. The events (political statement of) 0430, September 5, 1972 Munich Germany appear to be lost on them. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-02-13 22:56 |
| #7 then no more Mr. Nice Guy |
| Posted by: ed 2006-02-13 21:12 |
| #6 If the Olympics organizers want to be petty schitz like that, then more Mr. Nice Guy. The US government should take over US broadcast rights negotiations. Instead of a US network paying $800 million (75% of the world total) for with winter games and $1.2 billion for the summer games, offer the IOC $1.00 and then the US gov can resell the broadcast to the networks. The IOC will take it and lick Uncle Sam's boots in the process, otherwise they will lose additional hundreds of millions of dollars in dropped corporate sponsorships. It's US eyeballs that pay the lion's share of the Olympic bills. It's well past time to say enough of this shit. If the IOC elites wish to continue, it won't be on America's dime. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-02-13 21:04 |
| #5 Imagine: a song about the evils of materialism, written by a man who had a special temperature-controlled wardrobe built for his fur coats. |
| Posted by: Quatermass 2006-02-13 20:36 |
| #4 Find out who authorized it and unless they tender their resignation, with no compensation, cut off ALL funding...it's not that hard to uncover the parasites |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-13 20:35 |
| #3 The United States is a good country badly led. But if we all pull together, no Democrats will ever be elected again, and things will be much better. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-02-13 20:31 |
| #2 Some of us will imagine this country as one strongly led by a visionary group of leaders dedicated to America's peace and prosperity and willing to make the difficult decisions that insure that peace and prosperity by insuring our security as well. Some of us will imagine this country without leftist halfwits like this writer, openly seditious and treasonous ex-Vice Presidents, actors, and know-nothing commentators who espouse "peace, peace" and sow their vicious hatred of everything America could, does, and will stand for in the world. Some of us will imagine an America enshrined by a great President of this country as a "shining beacon on a hill" to all those who desire true freedom. STFU and die you stupid ignorant fool. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2006-02-13 20:19 |
| #1 "The neoconservatives who guide public policy in the United States, and their apologists in the media, may have been offended by the showcasing of Sarandon and other women..." Then again, it's very possible that they don't give a candy-coated crap what that idiot bitch and the rest of her goofball buddies think. Imagine whirled peas... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-02-13 20:17 |