About The Dopey Olympics, Poor Sportsmanship, and Americans Hating On Americans

Good Day World!

“Sickened & disgusted once again by the lack of humanity that engulfs our country. Lindsey Vonn just raced her damn heart out & Trump supporters gloat/cheer/celebrate her inability to medal. Is this what we've become?” - Julie Foudy
(Swedish Hockey Team Gets Silver. Captain throws it to crowd. Not good enough!)

Yes Julie, Americans were rooting for fellow Americans to fail at the Olympic Games, and it's a damn shame.

First it was Adam Rippon, then Lindsey Vonn, then Gus Kenworthy.

All three dared to speak out critically against the leaders in our country. As we all know, that is about as American as apple pie. Then there's the First Amendment.

Lindsay Vonn got hate-tweets after not medaling in the Super-G. 

Why?

Because while training for Pyeongchang in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in early December, Vonn said she would not accept an invitation to the White House following the Winter Games. That drew social-media outrage from Trump supporters.

Then there's more doping scandals at this year's Winter Olympics. At this rate maybe they should be called the "Dopey Olympics."

This time, it's (surprise!!) a Russian athlete, bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva. What makes this more surprising is two weeks before the Olympics she was seen wearing a shirt that read, " I don't do doping." 

Since this is there second Russian athlete who got caught, it is possible that "Olympic Athletes from Russia," won't be allowed to participate in the closing ceremony. 

Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky was stripped of his bronze medal Thursday after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.

Slovenian hockey player Ziga Jeglic and Japanese speedskater Kei Saito also left the games after testing positive.

Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy kissed his boyfriend, Matt Wilkas, a quick kiss at the bottom of the hill.

The embrace was caught live on TV by NBC as part of their Olympic footage, quickly went viral. Social media followed that moment with vile posts about gay Americans - and Gus in particular.

When coming in second is not an honor...

Team Captain Lias Andersson was so frustrated with Sweden’s second-place finish at the world junior hockey championship that he threw his silver medal into the crowd.

I don't know about you, but the luster of the Olympic Games has worn off for me. It's just a sad reflection of the world and not the Olympic spirit I grew up with.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Here's Three Common Sense Questions for the NRA That All Americans Should Ask

Good Day World!

Few things stir up Americans more than gun rights. 

Facts:

There's 325.72 million Americans according to the 2017 census.

The National Rifle Association has five million members. That's a total of 12.4 percent of all Americans.

According to the latest polls 75 percent of all Americans want more gun safety laws.

The NRA is one of the biggest spenders in elections, ranking 9th among all outside groups, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

A Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday found 97 percent support for universal background checks, while 67 percent backed a ban on the sale of assault weapons.

Questions for the NRA :

1. How is it that such a small percentage of Americans - spearheaded by your organization - can control Congress and stop any gun legislation from being enacted?

2. Why does the NRA refuse to budge, or compromise, with the majority of Americans who are calling for sensible gun safety laws?

3. Why did you give Trump $30 million dollars? Quid pro quo? The other question is, what did YOU get in return for those millions of dollars?

To The Reader:

If you're interested in learning more about the NRA's current lobbying dollars, which congressional candidates got money from the NRA, and more, click here.

Related story:

Trump Praises NRA As It Mount's Offensive Against Gun Measures

Final comment:

The NRA tries to mislead people with deceiving statistical figures  like "Forty percent of  Americans live in gun-owning households."

On the surface, that's probably right. Does that mean everyone in those households approve of having guns? Common sense tells us NO.

Many people don't have a choice. They live with other people who have guns because they're minors (with no voice), or out of financial necessity.

Think about it. Because there's one gun owner in a household, it doesn't mean the others approve and count themselves NRA supporters.

Yet, the NRA casually throws out deceiving statistics as cited above, all the time.

The truth is the NRA represents a small (but vocal)percentage of Americans, yet the political power they exert on Congress is overwhelmingly complete.

When was the last time you read about any gun law being passed without the blessing of the NRA? That in itself, is proof of the power this small organization wields.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Why I Believe This Current Student Protest Movement Can Make A Difference

Good Day World!

I was a teenager in the 60s, full of passion and distrust of our government.

I recall my peers who were already protesting against the "illegal war" in Vietnam, when I graduated from high school in 1968.

Politically, I was clueless. I didn't even understand what was really happening in Vietnam when I voluntarily joined the Army.

Why did I join? Friends and family still ask me that. I can only say that I wanted a change in my life and going into the Army seemed like an interesting adventure at the time.

I never seriously thought about having to go to Vietnam. I wasn't exactly a deep thinker in those days. I shouldn't have been surprised when I got orders to go to Vietnam in the fall of 1969. I was 19-years old.

After serving my time in Vietnam and Cambodia in 1970, as a combat engineer, I came home to a rude greeting. No one liked Vietnam veterans. At least, it felt that way.

My time in Vietnam taught me many lessons. Perhaps the most important one was that we - America - were the "bad guys" invading their homeland.

I felt like I'd been duped by the government after what I saw in Vietnam. The corruption and senseless slaughter of civilians singed my soul. I felt dirty and betrayed.

 When I returned to the United States a powerful youth movement against the war was underway in colleges across the nation.

The passionate protests coming from the country's youth made a difference. We got out of Vietnam.

When I look at the survivors of the recent school slaughter in Florida, I see the youth from my days. Anger. Resolve. Persistence. Bucking the system to stop the madness.

This time it isn't college students leading the way for change. It's high school students. Survivors with a message for our polarized politicians.

"We want to feel safe when we go to school!"

The NRA and right-wing nuts are trying to delegitimize these brave teenagers by claiming some are hired actors paid by left-wing forces.

That's bullshit ,and the world knows it.

I stand in solidarity with teenagers nationwide who are trying to make a positive difference, and save future lives.

Right on!

Time for me to walk on down the road....