Taken for granted

That would be our first amendment rights - freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the right to peaceably assemble here in this country. People say stupid stuff here all the time that drives me nuts, but dang it, they have a right to say it. We have no idea what others have to go through to make their words heard... including prison.

Remind me again how China, that paragon of virtue and human rights, got to host the Olympics?

The Olympics

I've been struggling with the whole China-is-hosting-the-Olympics thing. On the one hand, they have a horrible human rights record, imprisoning political dissidents and persecuting Christians. Should we really be accepting that? And feting them, their country, their government?

On the other hand, I remember the U.S. boycotting the 1980 Olympics in the Soviet Union, and them returning the favor in 1984 when they were in L.A. What, precisely, did that accomplish?

Back to the first hand, you have this and this making pretty strong arguments on their own about why we should be upset that China is hosting the Games. They limit the very freedoms that we hold so dear here in America. No freedom of speech, no freedom of religion, no freedom to petition or protest. They are also hacking into the computers of members of OUR government, looking for the names and addresses of political dissidents who have fled that oppressive regime.

I want to support our athletes - but I want to protest Beijing. How does one square the two?