We have all come to learn than things incessantly reported on television, and its cable bastard, frequently become accepted fact, even if absurd. Recent examples of this include the idea that unusual, record setting snow storms in places that never used to get snow are evidence that disproves the existence of global warming, that the United States has the greatest health care in the world and that "nobody" really likes President Obama anymore, and he is likely to be a one term president.


Knowing full well that the assertions, by the blow dried hair cutie pies, or faux goober former Congressmen, who show up on my tv screen, not to talk about their only expertise---the romantic ups and downs of movie stars and other Important Celebrities---but to pontificate on the issues of our day, will pay not the slightest attention, a few suggestions about how to report on the winter Olympics are offered here:
1. When a skier, figure skater or other participant in an individual sport, "we" do not win any medals. We love our country for what it stands for (or has stood for) in the world. That a very good skater was born in or lives in the United States does not make their well deserved medal ours.

2. Indeed, many of us watch at least one team sport---ice hockey which use professional players who otherwise skate for National Hockey League team---rooting less for a specific team, than that the players on our local N.H.L. teams do well and, most importantly, do not get hurt.

3. Your faithful correspondent was born in a city generally referred to in full as "Boston, Massachusetts" not "Boston, U.S." Canada, too, is a large country. Vancouver, B.C., (and, not, thus, Vancouver, Canada) is further away from Toronto and Montreal, as it is from Los Angeles and Chicago. Nobody speaks French in B.C., except for the requirements of the federal (Canadian) government which requires an excessive use of French in government and commercial business so that people from Quebec and New Brunswick can travel out west and at least be able to mail a letter back home.

4. On roughly the same point, the name of our country is "the United States" or more fully "the United States of America." Despite the lovely song about how beautiful we are, our country's name is not "America." If "Americans" have won the most medals, do they include those won by Canadians or Mexicans or others who are from the western hemisphere? And, really, who cares?

5. Except for a few hockey games, by the way, many of us will never watch the Olympics. If NBC is required to have all of its news programs serve as commercials for their Olympic coverage, we will have to see how Diane Sawyer is doing in the anchor chair or see what's up with Katie Couric these days.