Disdain

Michael Phelps has, for the second Summer Olympiad in a row, proved his utter dominance over the sport of swimming by absolutely crushing his opponents. It's not even close, really. Phelps could spend the first ten seconds of each race sitting on the pool deck eating a sandwich, then casually climb down the ladder into the water, lazily swim over to his lane, and STILL end up leaving the rest of the competitors choking in his wake. This guy is one of the greatest athletes ever, and will easily (and deservedly) break Mark Spitz's gold-medal record. Way to go, man.

While we're on the topic of the Olympics, I have to admit that, despite my early reservations, I am glad that the games are being held in China. Not because of its history or place in the world, mind you. Rather, I'm glad that the world as a whole has a chance to see how intolerant, dishonest, and generally ratty the country is. From using 13-year-old gymnasts (the age limit for the Olympics is 16) to incredible levels of censorship on the internet and in the media, to brutally suppressing those who advocate (and rightfully so) Tibetan and Taiwanese independence, to allowing their capital to become so polluted that it makes Mexico City look clean by comparison...gotta love socialism. Thanks for nothing, you vicious bastards.