Beijing: Olympic-Sized Problems
I am not one for superstition usually, but the fear of Friday the 13th
may have some merit. To be clear, I am speaking of Friday, July 13th
2001, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) met in Moscow to
decide the host city of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. For those of you
who have been living under a rock for the past seven years, in the
second round of voting the games were awarded to Bejing, the capital of
China. Yes, Beijing, the capital of the biggest communist nation in the
world and the city that is known for its orange, polluted skies.
Looking at the news recently, it is hard not to pick up a paper and read about how America has failed as a nation. Listening to the presidential candidates debate over the past few months it seems like all any of them speak about is bringing change to this country. Looking to the economy, all there is talk of is about the eminent, or current recession, and the failure of the large investment firms, losing billions selling loans to those that cannot afford it. We hear of the increased budget deficit and how more and more foreign nations are buying American companies.
Listening to the presidential debates, one might gather that there is a consensus that America does not provide health care for its citizens. Every major candidate in both parties has some position on how to reform America's healthcare system and many Democrats are touting their universal health care plans. Figures are thrown around in debates about the 40 million or so Americans that currently are without healthcare insurance, and every so often one of the major news networks will run a story on someone who is suffering because they cannot afford to get the treatment they need. Liberals in America frequently put France, Italy, England and other nations with socialized medicine on a pedestal, hoping one day for America to join their ranks.
On November 5th 2007, the Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East stopped working and commenced striking across the nation. Guild members put down their pencils, closed their Macbooks and began picketing in front of production studios in Hollywood and in New York. For most Americans the impact of the strike has not quite been felt yet–save for the 100,000 crew members currently out of a job, the diehard fans of Cohen, SNL, Letterman and Leno, and anyone whose job relies on the daily production of television programming across America. 
It has been two years since Hurricane Katrina barreled through New Orleans and the surrounding area; two years since the world watched one of America’s cities fall apart and into anarchy. Since that point, New Orleans has become a topic that all politicians have tried to use to their advantages in some way. In addition, the world has condemned the United States for the lack of support the city’s citizens have received. Now, two years later, the American public is subjected to reading and listening to stories about the government largess, mismanagement, and incompetence that hinders New Orleans’s recovery.
