Lies, lies, and more lies

Have you ever noticed how dishonest the world as a whole has become? It's been glaringly obvious to me lately. Two specific examples:

1) John (liar) Edwards
Another one bites the dust. Another cheating politician. I have to say, naive as it is, I was really almost heartbroken over this. I really really liked John (liar) Edwards. I thought he was honest family man with a spectactular wife (one out of three ain't bad), and I would have voted for him in the primary had he made it to the California vote (and if yours truly hadn't registered as the "American Independent Party" instead of "Decline to State" Independent...but that's another story).

To find out he was not only a cheatin' lyin' politician, but a cheatin' lyin' politician with a heart of black coal - who cheated on his terminally ill Betty Crocker-esque wife - just floored me. I guess you really can't tell who people are from their public persona at all. Which I knew, but still...still!

Worst of all, more and more details keep coming out that show (liar) Edwards is still lying about how long he was involved with the woman, did he pay her off, is he her baby's daddy, etc. It's like, you've already screwed yourself royally, just come clean with it all. It will come out, and you've already violated the trust of anyone who knows you exist. Get it done with, already.

I'm voting for Obama now, but my faith is shaken. It makes me wonder what skeletons are his closet, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Which is just another tragic consequence of John (liar) Edwards and his absolutely rotten, selfish behavior.

On to Example #2:

2) China's Gold-Winning Gymnastics Team
China's Gold-Winning Women's Gymnastics Team, to be more specific. Who were admittedly fan-freakin'-tastic is the team overall competition and beyond. As were the Chinese men, but they look their age. They ARE their age. Which brings me to my point.

No way, no way in hell, are all those Chinese girls 16 years old. I'm not only trusting my eyes here, either. There's an interesting commentary in Yahoo's Olympics coverage today about how the IOC needs to get up the guts to investigate: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/gymnastics/news?slug=dw-gymnastsage081408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The article cites several examples of how the Chinese girls were registered in former competitions as being born in 1993, 1994, etc... and then mysteriously their passports produced at the Olympics listed them as being born in 1992. In one case, a girl considered a 13-year-old prodigy as late as Dec 2007 all of sudden became 16 this summer. An amazing feat, no?

The columnist basically calls out the IOC for not having the cohones to investigate China's glaring breach of the rules. It's open and shut, as far as the IOC is concerned. China provided valid passports stating all girls are 16. That's good enough for them.

Because obviously, China is trustworthy. Obviously, a country that takes girls from their villages at age 3 and puts them in government-run training facilities the rest of their prepubescent lives and allows them to see their parents once a year has only the girls' best interest at heart. Obviously they wouldn't allow a 13 year old to risk serious injury by competing before her bones and body are fully developed, no matter how advantageous their nimble young bodies may be during all those gold-winning twists and layouts. Obviously a corrupt government wouldn't even think about how easy it would be to slap a digit change in the date of a year on a passport. I mean, it's not like they make the passports, right? Oh wait...

But China wouldn't do that. Obviously. And obviously, the IOC's lack of courage to address the situation has nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with the millions upon millions they receive from the host country of the Olympics (ie: China). Right?

Right?

Like I said, a dishonest world man. I need to go listen to some Bob Dylan or something now.

PS. For the record, I have already mailed in my new voter registration. I am now - or soon to be- officially "independent" independent... not the stupid American Independent Party.