The OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY in BEJING is the most stunning, spectacular, mind-boggling event I have ever witnessed, with the history of China told in human scrolls. Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism were represented in gorgeous pageants... 
I am so happy that the IOC lifted the ban on Iraq. I was devastated when sprinter Dana Hussein thought all her hope was lost. I have been praying non-stop for her tso go to the Olympics. Here's an excerpt from Sports Illustrated:
Some athletes have been through far more adversity than others to reach the Beijing Olympics. Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussein is one of them. A sniper took a potshot at her while she was training in Baghdad. She runs in donated spikes. And all the risks she takes were almost for nothing: A dispute with the International Olympic Committee nearly kept Iraq out of the games.Triumphs of the human spirit; it's not winning but taking part. Hussein embodies both those sporting ideals. In Beijing, the terrors of Baghdad are being replaced by a new fear: having to measure her speed against the world's best.
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A Personal Note: I want to honor Elizabeth Edwards' wishes by respecting her right to privacy during this trying time, but I have to say I am stunned and deeply disappointed by John Edwards' affair. I interviewed the Senator, his incredible wife Elizabeth and their daughter Cate Edwards — each on three on separate occasions for our radio show. I have always had the highest respect for Edward's humanitarian work, his plan for One America, his stance on eliminating poverty and his plan for universal health care. I adore his wife Elizabeth and she has been in my prayers since her admission that she has cancer. I have long been intrigued with how the "human element" often brings the best men down. The Edwards' affair is like a Shakespearean tragedy. Politicians seem to have feet of clay. In fact, all humans are flawed. As Leonard Cohen puts it, "There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." - Lydia
ELIZABETH EDWARDS STANDS BY HUSBAND
Elizabeth Edwards: 'John made a terrible mistake'
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards -- who today has admitted he had an affair with another woman and then lied about it during the '08 campaign -- has posted a statement on her DailyKos.com diary.
It reads, in part:
"John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well"
She also writes:
"The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John's conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time."
