Are Americans Stupid, Gullible or Prejudice?

 “They must think you are stupid.” Stupid to believe that McCain/Palin are “change agents.” Change is becoming this campaigns’ ping pong ball and we are missing the point. Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Be it. Don’t talk about it, don’t pontificate about it. Be It. Action word. Demonstrative. Maybe Nike just drafted off that great statesman and made us all “Just do it.”

Whatever, the call to action is now. Be it.

Jung said “Only that which changes, remains true.” Truth — unvarnished, well-vetted and precise.

My favorite quote is from The Princess Bride by William Goldman. In it, a street savvy young man hardened by the realities of the world, tells the princess…” Life is pain and anyone who tells you different is selling something.”

Life is pain, hard, unfair and yet also achingly beautiful and transformative when we are walking toward truth.

When the Republicans had their convention and there were signs held high with the monikers….”G.I. John and Superwoman” I knew we were in trouble. They were selling a fantasy!

 See, we are not stupid, we are humans, we can think and listen and learn. But if what we are taught is corrupt lies and if we are fed the “family truth” then we are not stupid, we are brainwashed.

G.I. John and Superwoman take them away from being mortal humans and put them in to the comic book hero status, Teflon coated, impenetrable and as we are seeing today, in the case of Mrs. Palin, not even held accountable in an interview.

We are not stupid, but we are gullible, to fear, lies, misinformation and calculated deceit and that is what we are now up against and where we need to demonstrate the real change.

Meaning of prejudice:

(1): preconceived judgment or opinion (2): an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b: an instance of such judgment or opinion c: an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race or their supposed characteristics

Read article by Jamie Lee Curtis at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-curtis/do-you-think-im-stupid_b_124635.html

 

  EIGHT YEARS of republican rule IS ENOUGH!!!

 

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Olympics: GOLD for Jamaica Men 400m Relay Team. Yet Another World Record!

 In yet another mind-boggling display of speed, Usain Bolt set another world record and won another Olympic gold medal, and this time got to share the glory with his Jamaican teammates.

 Both Bolt and Asafa Powell blew away the field over the last two legs of the 400-meter relay leading Jamaica around the track in 37.10 seconds to break the 16-year-old world record by 0.3 seconds.

Bolt is now 3-for-3 in these Olympic sprints — as in three gold medals and three world records.

The bonus is that he got to bring Powell along for the ride. Powell held the world record in the 100-meter dash for about three years before Bolt broke it in May, but he is also well known for his history of poor performances in the biggest meets.

 In this one, Powell got to do the honors, running the anchor leg, taking a clean handoff from Bolt and crossing the line almost a full second ahead of Trinidad and Tobago‘s Richard Thompson to secure his first Olympic medal.

The Jamaican quartet, which also included Nesta Carter and Michael Frater, eclipsed the old 400 relay mark of 37.40 set by the United States at the Barcelona Olympics in the 1992 and tied by the U.S. at the world championships a year later.

Bolt added that to the records he set in winning the 100 meters (9.69) and 200 meters (19.30) in Beijing.

The Jamaicans were nearly a full second faster than relay silver medalists Trinidad and Tobago, which finished in 38.06. Japan took the bronze in 38.15.

The Jamaica women’s relay team failed to hand off the baton in the third leg of the relay and did not complete the race. We are VERY PROUD of the women team!!!

Jamaica is 4 out of 5 in their sprint events.

  Team Jamaica now has a total of 10 medals: 6 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.

   

Congratulations Team Jamaica!!!

Olympics: Usain Bolt of Jamaica Sets NEW 200 Meter World Record. Clocks 19.30 Seconds – Makes History!

 On the eve of his birthday, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt made history.  He won the GOLD for the 200 meter by four body lengths on the world’s biggest stage at the Olympics in Beijing, China. He smashed Michael Johnson’s 12 year record of 19.32 seconds – Bolt won in 19.30 setting another world record!!!

21 year old Bolt became the first man ever to break the world record in both the 100 and 200 at the same Olympics and the first since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win the sprint double.

 Bolt had already won the race halfway through, but unlike his record-setting performance in the 100 four nights before, there was no animated celebrating until he crossed the line. He went hard all the way, looking at the clock down the stretch, leaning at the line, knowing that Michael Johnson’s revered mark was within reach.

Bolt had been accused of jogging through the line in his heats but the Jamaican said he would run flat out in the final and he delivered on that promise with fascination!

He blasted out of the blocks and was already well clear of the field going into the bend at the Bird’s Nest stadium.

The Olympic 100m champion accelerated away down the straight, gritting his teeth as he chased down gold and the record that Johnson set 12 years ago in Atlanta.

 When he saw the number come up — a number that never has before been displayed in a human race — he raised his arms, then fell flat to his back, arms and legs outstretched, and basked in the roar of the Bird’s Nest crowd.  Bolt now has three world records – this one, the 100 meter from Saturday and the one from Randall Island, New York in May when he broke the 100 record the first time.

A version of “Happy Birthday” played over the public-address system as he took off his gold shoes and wrapped the Jamaican flag around his shoulders like a scarf.

The race for the other medals was a little dramatic. Churandy MARTINA of Netherlands Antilles finished second behind Bolt and American Wallace Spearmon came in third.

Olympics: Let The Games Begin!!! (See Times and Schedules)

Let the games begin!!!

I am no fan of the Chinese government – no way, nee, nu, bus hi, daong, na, nyet! (No in several languages).

But I am a lover of sports.  Yes I am!  But as a form of my own silent protest, because of the inhumanity of the Chinese government and in empathy for the Chinese citizens, I will not watch the Olympics.

 It’s painful – I very much want to watch the US basketball teams (men and women), gymnastics, volleyball, swimming and of course track and field.  In particular the 100m and 200m (go King and Lightening!!!). 

I will however follow the results on-line and in the news. If you plan on watching and aren’t sure of ‘the hot events’, try to watch Lopez Lamont (USA) 800m – he’s one of the lost boys of Sudan and his story is inpirational and shows that if we how we love each other and leave the fears behind we will make the world a better place.

Those of you who will watch to honor and support the brilliant athletes of the world who have trained and sacrificed for years and years and have the opportunity to represent themselves and their countries, another must watch event is the Men’s 100m and 200m where America and Jamaica will go head-to-head.  Both races promises to be spectacular. And if you can, don’t miss any of the men’s basketball games.

Just in case you’re wondering what the time difference is between Beijing and your local time:

	Beijing
7 hours ahead of London	8:00pm	1:00pm BST London
12 hours ahead of New York	8:00pm	8:00am EST NY
13 hours ahead of Texas	8:00pm	7:00am CST TX
15 hours ahead of LA	8:00pm	5:00am PST CA

To find out what time it is in Beijing, check out the World Clock.

Olympics – China To Athletes: “WIN Gold At Any Cost For Motherland”

  China assembled its elite athletes for their final rally before the Olympics, earlier this week; their orders from the government were clear and urgent:  “To achieve Olympic glory for the motherland is the sacred mission ordered by Communist Party Central,” Sports Minister Liu Peng told the 639 hand-picked Olympic athletes in their newly issued red-and-yellow uniforms.

“We have to fulfill our historic responsibility,” he exhorted the Chinese Olympians in his speech at a vast government meeting hall.

The Chinese athletes will be under enormous pressure to fulfill the country’s expectations in Beijing when the Olympics begin. Nothing less than gold – and plenty of it – will be acceptable.

Most experts are predicting China will top the gold-medal table, pushing ahead of the United States for the first time. It’s an extraordinary achievement for a country that did not even join the Olympics until 1984. Home advantage is far from the only reason for its expected success.

China has poured massive resources into its Olympic program in the past eight years. Its team this year is the biggest and strongest in its history, with twice as many athletes as it sent to the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Its annual sports budget has increased exponentially since 2001. It has hired more than 50 foreign coaches since the last Olympics in 2004, including top coaches from Europe, North America, Australia and the former Soviet Bloc.

Olympics – Track and Field: Russians Banned For Alleged Doping

 As a sports lover, I think it’s disingenuous that after a year-long investigation, that 8 days before the Olympics, results of the ‘investigation’ are announced that eliminate athletes from any country. I want to see the best compete against the best. 

The athletes now have 14 days to appeal which is not enough time because of all the red tape and bureaucracy involved.  Plus most of their events will take place within the 14 day time frame so the athletes would miss their events while they appeal.  Athletes spend a life time training and sacrificing just so that they can become eligible for the ‘big race’.  If the athletes are truly doping then they should be banned but there should be enough time allocated before the Olympics for them to appeal their cases so that the expulsion looks legitimate and not contrived.

The Russian track and field officials will wait until after the Beijing Olympics to respond to the suspension of seven female athletes, including five Olympians, after accusations that they violated international anti-doping rules. Yet the officials provided little clarity Friday on the status of the athletes, even as the Russian news media tossed about conspiracy theories.

The Russian Track and Field Federation have decided “to take no action until after the end of the Olympics,” said Dmitry Tugarin, a spokesman for Rossport, the government agency that oversees major athletics in Russia.

“They understand that the chances of these athletes participating are impossible and that there would be a lot of irritation and few results,” he said.