XXV Olympic Winter Games, Milano Cortina 2026 (More)

The Winter Olympics over the last few cycles has been turning for me into the World Series of Curling with a whole bunch of other events and hoopla going on around and outside the arena. Kind of like when they used to play some basketball games and have a parade in connection with the Sugar Bowl. Maybe they still do.

Anyway, curling is fascinating, and I love it. The United States’ mixed-doubles team—a Corey and a Corey, “the Coreys”—has advanced to the medal round after two thrilling wins Sunday. Right now on USA Network, I’m enjoying their preliminary-round match, or round-robin match, or first-round match or whatever with the Italians. I’m sure the outcome here has bearing on seeding for the medal round, but I don’t really care. I’m treating this as more of a Monday-morning victory lap, and I’m hoping to not get too worked up because I need to focus on other things.

I enjoyed the Olympics over the weekend, mostly on mute, and I’m enjoying rooting for my American home slices, despite what an awful period we’re in as a nation. 

In his first term, President Trump lied and got a bunch of people killed and clobbered a lot of young Americans’ mental health and good feelings about the country, because he was too scared of what would happen to himself if he told the truth about COVID-19 being an airborne virus in the first several weeks of 2020. In his second term, he appears to be willing to do or say anything he can to enrich himself and his family and to distract his shrinking base of idolators from the pedophilia. (Also, over both terms so far, he has been awful to immigrants, refugees and other groups of vulnerable people, and our best moments in those areas are my favorite things about U.S. history and the primary reasons I am patriotic.) 

There is no plan. Certainly, President Trump doesn't have one; this poor abused and sick fellow is just hurting and lashing out. And while there are people around him who have their plans, it's just that they all think they're actually the smartest ones in the room, cleverly owning the libs or using Trump as a Trojan horse or whatever. But don’t kid yourself—there is no plan, and we’re dangerously lost. You can't fool around with somebody like this. We should've never done so.

It’s hard to imagine how we’re going to ever recover from President Trump, at least in my lifetime. We’re all just going to have to pray however we pray, and we’re all just going to have try our best in our own little ways and places. This is where we are. It’s awful. Please, God, for better. 

And, of course, in the meantime, it’s hard to have fun chanting U! S! A! … U! S! A! ..., as nothing at all feels U or fun. That stinks. But I'm fifty-freaking-seven years old, and the Winter Olympics come around only once every four years. So, go Coreys. It's 6-6 going into the eighth and final end on USA Network.