What every feminist should hopefully understand, whether second or third wave or whatever, is that taking care of the home is not a choice when one has a family. I don't sip tea or bake cupcakes or knit, largely because I haven't the time. OTOH, I cook dinner and clean every single day. I don't really like it but I certainly hold no feelings of oppression about it either. It's my job because I decided to have a child. Do these women who clearly have FAR too much time on their hands have even the smallest clue what it is to be a working woman with a family? Who are these women?

But it does. Never underestimate the bitterness that many Americans hold towards those who are perceived to have been more fortunate (read: Elite). If only logic were a consideration. McCain has been largely supported by his wife since the early '80's. Why is that so much worse than the rampant nepotism that marked George W. Bush's early years? As far as I can tell, neither was a remarkable success unless you count McCain's ability to stay out of jail during Keating 5 a skill.

However, it is stunning how easily people can be duped in perceiving an educated and, dare I say, well-spoken black man as an elitist. This despite incontravertible evidence that he earned every single thing he has ever achieved through intelligence and hard work. Heaven forbid a true outsider should ascend to the top of the political power structure instead of Good Ole Boys with family money and connections to support them.

Perhaps it is demoralizing to watch athletes from a small impoverished country dust you over and over again. I think the U.S. track stars just got rattled by what they saw in Bolt & Co.. That said, I've got my fingers crossed about doping. Whenever I see so much success at once, I just think, "juiced? maybe." I hope not though. I have a suspicion that these Games are among the very cleanest in a long time thanks to the improvements in drug tests. I also wonder if perhaps some U.S. athletes who were so dominant yrs ago were benefitting from access to cutting-edge pharmaceuticals. We know Marion Jones was.

The real problem is that the father, who had obviously given power of attorney to his wife, was being ignored because he was placed in a home. It never should have been up to the mother to determine if he could come home, it was his home. If he was rational and could discuss and comprehend his situation with medical staff, he had the ability to make decisions.

I personally found the LW's predicament to be extremely disturbing. Someone should have been able to speak for the father since his wife was no longer taking that responsibility seriously. I would advise the LW to ensure that this never happens to them and to complete a power of attorney that includes wishes for long-term care, hospice care, etc.. No one should be able to leave you in a nursing home just because you're sick. If you are dying and want to die at home, if you understand that you WILL be dying at home, you should be able to do just that. The idea that no one seriously attempted in-home care for this man is shameful.

The doping cheats like Jones have had all of the opportunity and benefits and sacrificed nothing. No one forced them to cheat. They just did it. He is quite obviously working in a system that allows for no personal choice. It's immoral to hold a young teen in an oppressive and coercive system to the same standard as others who are free to make their own decisions.

BTW- As I predicted, nothing has changed. The Chinese simply gave more documents that support He's age as listed on her passport. He and the Chinese federation have been cleared. End of story except for the gripers. If you want to see something change, complain to the IOC. Their rules, their Olympic Games, their decision.

This is almost laughably absurd. Most certainly the Chinese will go to all lengths to defend their champion with backup paperwork. I fully expect Internet sleuths to find articles claiming her (real) age of 14 and there will be nothing resolved.

Personally, I'm furious. All of this was known weeks ago when the Chinese team was set for competition and the number of underage gymnasts on team was around 3 members. So, why does Jacques Rogge wait until the competition is completely over? Perhaps the bad press pouring out of Beijing has given the IOC cause to worry about the legitimacy of the Games, or at least the appearance of it. This is the perfect strategy...for a jackass: wait until a problem can cause the greatest harm to everyone and then do something, whatever that may be.

This "investigation" is sure to cause bitterness is China, a lot of unwarranted negative attention for He Kexing, and most likely will end in nothing changing at all. Perhaps a few journalists will add this incident to the list of supposed grievances other athletes faced in Beijing, not the least of which apparently was not winning gold.