Let the games begin...for better or worse

So, the Olympics are here at last, after months of protest and 8 years after the IOC's unbelievably poor decision to let China host. Now, let me first say that I love Chinese culture and the Chinese people. I truly do. Heck, I married one! But the Chinese government is a whole other matter, and granting the games to China is like telling the Chinese government that the world, or at least world leaders, don't care that they are oppressive, murderous thugs. Letting China host the Olympics tells the Chinese government that their actions in Tibet do not matter, that we will look past their atrocities and follow the almighty Renminbi.

So as much as I would love to see the scenes from China, I have dreaded the games. But now they are here, and they will surely be greeted with as much fanfare as a billion people can muster.

I hope I am wrong, that the Chinese government will change, that Tibet will someday be free, and that these games will be a benefit to the Chinese people and to the world as a whole. But in the meantime, I'll cheer for Michael Phelps and wait patiently for the Games to be over.