2012 Olympic Games

[Flipper]

Tips? Yeah...they used to tell me things like "any day you're breathing is a good day". My trademark was the way I set up the highchair trays for the little kids. we were supposed to put a plastic bib and a pack of crackers pn 'em and wrap them with saran wrap to keep them clean until needed. I would add a pack of Bill Knapp's matches to the mix. That got some odd looks from parents....

[transfer2BGSU]

Women's soccer barely survives against Team Canada. Maybe now the goalie-skank will turn her attention to playing soccer and quit worrying about her book sales or Brandi Chastain criticizing players.

[Flipper]

Hope Solo is dip and likely as not, a cheater....she got popped on a drug test for taking canrenone, a diuretic. She claims that she didn't realize it was in prescription drug for pre-menstral symptoms....but it's also true that canrenone is a masking agent. It's presence "masks" the presence of other banned drugs. Consideing what's at stake, I have a hard time believing an athlete and physician coulld make that kind of mistake.

[h2oville rocket]

Erik Kynard of Rogers HS in Toledo medals in the HJ. Silver. EMUs Jamie Nieto misses by one place. Of course since there were three bronze medalists he was actually pretty far down the line.

[RobbyFalcon]

Holy wow is that Bolt fella fast. It's like he can run as fast as he needs to. What a great performance.

[h2oville rocket]

Holy wow is that Bolt fella fast. It's like he can run as fast as he needs to. What a great performance.

Didn't see him throttle down this time, though- he went hard all the way. Definitely having to work harder to stay ahead. By the next Olympics I expect people will be within a couple strides of him.

[Flipper]

While the medals are impressive, getting three chicks from the Swedish women's handball team into his room at 3 AM might be the most impressive feat of all....

[transfer2BGSU]

Someone needs to tell the athletes that wrapping oneself in the flag is not proper use of the flag.

Also, some bozo got off the double-decker bus on the TODAY show this morning and was holding it upside down in distress!

It's not a shirt or a diaper. It's not to be flung around the neck as a scarf. It's the flag of your country that many people have fought to protect. Show some damn pride and treat it with RESPECT!

[Class of 61]

Someone needs to tell the athletes that wrapping oneself in the flag is not proper use of the flag.

Also, some bozo got off the double-decker bus on the TODAY show this morning and was holding it upside down in distress!

It's not a shirt or a diaper. It's not to be flung around the neck as a scarf. It's the flag of your country that many people have fought to protect. Show some damn pride and treat it with RESPECT!

Transfer,
I agree with your comments re: the "use /misuse" of the flag, but it's hard to tell our athletes NOT to do it, when they see all the other nation's winners doing it. For that matter, I was at the Tribe game the other night and noticed the flag was at half staff...they announced it was in honor of the Sikhs who'd been killed by another nut case... Pretty sure Civilians are not to be "honored" in this way, unless they're the President etc.
But again, it's a sign of showing respect to the dead killed in these situations, whether they be in Colo. or elsewhere, so I can't object too strenously. Think about it, the Natl. Anthem before EVERY athletic event is NOT a requirement, but has become so.

[h2oville rocket]

President can decree half-staff for memorial to those other than governmental figures. Bush did for Katrina IIRC, and it was half-staff for the Colorado victims as well. as far as wrapping oneself in the flag, I go back to the days when displaying the image for any commercial use was considered in poor taste. My mom got a flag lunch pail for me when I was working one summer and I took a lot of grief for it. Now its commonplace to have the image on anything anyone can slap it on and people wear flag related attire everywhere. Thank Abby Hoffman for being a trendsetter.

[Flipper]

This is a tough one...if you deem any commercial representation inappropriate, you must find flag lapel pins and underwear with the flag on it equally offensive. I don't know that I can agree with that. I do agree that you should treat an actual flag with respect and not like a beach towel, but I think that people should be allowed to "desecrate" the flag as a political or social statement. This opens the door to my accepting that the thought behind and motivation for an act should be part of the criteria for judging that act. This opens the door for me to accept hte rationale behind hate crimes legislation...which I cannot do as they, by definition, punish thought. Punishing thought is completely against the principles this society was founded on.

it's a real quandry...

[musicman2343]

Someone needs to tell the athletes that wrapping oneself in the flag is not proper use of the flag.

Also, some bozo got off the double-decker bus on the TODAY show this morning and was holding it upside down in distress!

It's not a shirt or a diaper. It's not to be flung around the neck as a scarf. It's the flag of your country that many people have fought to protect. Show some damn pride and treat it with RESPECT!

I agree with you as well transfer. I think the problem is that throughout the nation proper respect of the flag has gone by the wayside. For most people, it's just another symbol that doesn't have real significance. Since 61 brought it up, during the National Anthem is where you see it disrespected a lot. Hats left on, talking during the anthem, no hand over the heart for some people... really fires me up...

[FalconTurf]

Someone needs to tell the athletes that wrapping oneself in the flag is not proper use of the flag.

Also, some bozo got off the double-decker bus on the TODAY show this morning and was holding it upside down in distress!

It's not a shirt or a diaper. It's not to be flung around the neck as a scarf. It's the flag of your country that many people have fought to protect. Show some damn pride and treat it with RESPECT!

I agree with you as well transfer. I think the problem is that throughout the nation proper respect of the flag has gone by the wayside. For most people, it's just another symbol that doesn't have real significance. Since 61 brought it up, during the National Anthem is where you see it disrespected a lot. Hats left on, talking during the anthem, no hand over the heart for some people... really fires me up...

Since when did putting your hand over your heart become necessary during the National Anthem? That was reserved for the Pledge while standing at attention was acceptable way to stand during the Anthem in my corner of the world. I knew enough to stand when the flag is presented in a parade but was never informed about the hand over the heart for the Anthem.

[Zom]

Japan's ambassador to Britain was aghast that a nation would purport to throw their monarch from a helicopter without a parachute, as we did during the opening show. To ambassaor, Japan's "symbol of State" is its monarchy. It would be inconceivable to treat his symbol of State so. Quite a few British nationals were pretty upset, too. A few people in Ireland who would be quite happy for QE2 to jump out of a helicopter without a parachute at all. Others were pretty indifferent. For the most part, the global audience cared not about a nation's conscience either way.

More than any other nation, Americans enshrine their national identity within their flag. The flag means more to Americans. Presidents come, presidents go. Yet, the flag endures, and with it America's consciousness. I say that as a US passport holder with nothing more than an opinion. Japan seems to have a healthier attitude towards its symbol of State than Britain does. As a UK passport holder too, I thought tossing Britain's symbol of State overboard was a pretty cheap trick, but Australians derived more entertainment from that one event than they did from their woeful haul of medals, so I'll just leave it at that. I'm not too happy about Union Jack underwear, ditto Stars and Stripes swimwear. However, athletes who commit years of their lives to gold in their nation's name... well maybe there is some latitude in such a case. Perhaps such an athlete can honour his or her national identity with some license.

[Flipper]

Interesting point about this country and the flag....it's the focal point of our anthem, it's planting at Iwo Jima is one of the most iconic images of WWII, it's the lasting image of the moon landing and we lower it as a demonstration of mourning. I don't know if that's because it's design imparts not only our history but our current status or if it's because it was the first truly unique thing this country produced....but we do place a tremendous value on it.