A butterfly farted before the 1936 and 1980 Olympics and is the real reason for freedom in Germany and Russia.

Or is it that the Olympics caused war to break out, which means that Olympics are eevil?

Which one is it, you dumbass Neuharth?

Please force yourself to not respond to anything using Obama-speak.

The author of the most recent edition's "Think Again" piece in Foreign Policy might argue a point or two with Mr. Neuharth. 

It wasn't the Olympics that brought down Hitler; that took lots and lots of BLOOD.

Nor did it do much for Mexico.  Just before their Olympics, the Mexican government whacked quite a few unruly student protesters.

I'd argue full democratization happened in South Korea in spite of the Olympics, not because of them. 

He may want to recall how the Games in Moscow were marred...and how the Soviet Union fell in spite of the Olympics, not because of them.  (If the Olympics destroyed the Soviet Union, how come they were still raising hammers and sickles in Seoul for medal ceremonies eight years later?) 

The Olympics are now under way in Beijing.  May the people of Beijing gt thoroughly sick of hearing The Star Spangled Banner.  May the Beiing Olympic Committee run out of U.S. flags for themedal ceremonies!  USA!  USA!!  USA!!!

Germany is a Democracy because we a) kicked their butts into the stoneage, b) didn't let the Soviets take over all of Germany and c) rebuilt them after the war and kept troops there so they wouldn't get any smart ideas about going back to being Fascists.

The Olympics had zero to do with Germany's Democracy.

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"A society that puts equality...ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom." ~ Milton Friedman

Neuharth has a point here.  If I remember my public school history education correctly, here is what happened in 1945.

Following the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and Patton's march through Africa and Italy, Hitler suddenly remembered that Germany had hosted the Olympics and was overcome with such goodwill that he surrendered.  Oh, and he also committed suicide because he was worried about being sent to Guantanamo Bay and being mistreated by the Bush Administration who pees on the Constitution.

Do I have that correct?

P.S. That was sarcasm.

P.S.S. After watching Montenegro tie Hungary in water polo, I definitely have caught Olympics fever.  To remedy this, I'm drinking lots of orange juice and getting plenty of bedrest.  And tomorrow I plan on getting a Bob Costas haircut.

 <insert witty signature here>

or to quote Monty Python:

in 1945 peace broke out

These older guys in the MSM invented this template that Jesse Owens was some type of millenial figure that rendered Hitler's visions of a master race moot--this view has now become a cliche of history. However, the truth is that Hitler believed in the "master race" as much after the Olympics as before, and fear and memories of the vast Soviet army murdering and raping their people on a unprecidented scale had much more to do with the German move to Democracy than Jesse Owens. And even then, half the country moved to Soviet Socialism.

I love the Olmpics as much as anyone, but c' mon!

I think you folks are being a little hard on this fellow. I don't see this as some sort of systemic bias. But rather one poor man's descent in to madness. Perhaps the onset of Alzheimer or a brain tumour. Have some compassion.

 In typical fashion, fascist such as Neuharth says presto change-o.. history is as I say it happened. And why do you ask?

This type of gibberish spouting does make you wonder if he in fact has taken leave of his senses. The Olympics!? Honestly, it may need to be pointed out to him publically how wrong he is.

But again, in typical fashion, if it makes him feel good to say crap like this, and it makes certain numbskulls feel good to hear crap like this, how wrong is it? So goes the progressive thinking. And this little speech by Neuharth sums up the democratic party's thought process. "It makes us good to imagine that this is what the Olympics did, so it can't be wrong." And you (Conservatives)  are mean spirited to say that it is wrong.

As the world watches China and the "games", Russia has invaded the Free Republic of Georgia, is killing her people, is sending war ships to the Baltic Sea, while the head of Georgia is begging for help on CNN, and the WORLD is PLAYING GAMES!

What the hell is going ON? HOW can the leaders of the "Free" world let this go uninterrupted?

The United States and NATO should drop a big something on Russia and get them to knock this crap off.

I am livid.

Russia is allowed to arm IRAN, arm Chavez, talk of sending missles to Cuba agian, and we are PLAYING F'N GAMES!!

PING PONG MY A$$ 

So, the whole solution to turning Cuba or North Korea away from communism would have been to award the Olympics to Havana or Pyongyang?!?!?  Dang.  Think of all the money we could have save enforcing the embargo or keeping troops in South Korea.

What a maroon...

Yes, but what effect will the US topping the French in the 4x100 Freestyle swimming event have on shutting up trash-talkin' Europeans?

Sorry, I just wanted to interject somehow how awesome that race was tonight. I'm officially hooked on the Olympics again. I didn't think it would happen, but here I am. 

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"People only insist that a debate stop when they are afraid of what might be learned if it continues." - George Will