San Diego is not Iran

Iran has no homosexuals. Their president says so. And presidents never lie.
San Diego's Mayor not only admits that there are homosexuals in San Diego, he has changed his mind and decided to support everyone's right to get married.
Maybe old dogs can learn new tricks.
It is refreshing to see a politician with a genuine emotional attachement to an issue.
It is even more refreshing to see a political mind that is open to change and not clinging to useless relics of the past. I hope his conservitive constituates will see this for genuine growth and a commitment to compasion and equality. But I have a feeling that the GOP in San Diego will punish this brave man for publicly stating what so many of them must secretly be thinking.
How about it Dick Cheney? Are willing to support the Mayor of San Diego?

The Shock Doctrine

I haven't read Naomi Klein's newest book, The Shock Doctrine, yet. But I have heard her speak several times and liked her book, No Logo. She has a short film by Alfonso Cuaron illustrating her main thesis: that "free market" capitalists take advantage of the shock of disasters to push through changes that stable populations would never allow. Take a look even if you don't buy the book.

Catch Up

I'm getting ready to go to Florida for a week. My company has landed a big deal with Tree of Life, so I will be designing software for their sales people.

I've been watching the Weather Channel to see if there are any hurricanes brewing in the Atlantic. They all seem to be hitting Mexico and Central America so far this season. But the high temperatures appear to be in the 90s and there are thunder storms all over the Houston and St. Louis areas, where my connecting flights are. But I have my fingers crossed hoping for a decent airport experience.

Watched a video about Rudy Giuliani. He wants to do for America what he did for New York City. I say, No Thank You. We have had 8 years of arrogant ineptitude, we don't need Rudy's egotistical variation on that theme. Getting hit by terrorists does not make you an expert in fighting terrorism.

You can watch the video at: http://therealrudy.org/

I've really enjoyed (not) the 9/11 Pre Game Show. Feel good stories about our troops in excess on the network news shows. Terrorists with hair care products arrested in Germany (yes, I know you can use hydrogen peroxide as an excellerant in explosives). But I really thought that the White House would have arranged to arrest some people here in the U.S. before 9/11 to really put an explanation mark on the argument that we need to stay in Iraq for another year at least. There is still time I guess.

The Senator Larry Craig song and dance has been a real toe tapper! Nothing like self loathing and hypocrisy played out in the media. If you look at the time line of events you will find that the Honorable Senator from Idaho was making public statements about how dangerous, demoralizing and immoral it would be to allow gays and lesbians in the military two weeks after he had entered a guilty plea in Minneapolis after peeping into the stall of an undercover policeman and then trying to lure him into his stall. But he's not gay and neither is his wife. I don't care if he is gay or not, but apparently nothing will get you busted out of the Republican Party faster than being caught being gay in public.

Now we just need to measure to see how wide Dick Cheney's stance is.... If it is wide enough the Republicans might just ride him out of town. Uggh, that's an image.

And thank the gods that Marcia, Marcia, Marcia has finnally written an autbiography! Life just hasn't been the same since the Brady Bunch went off the air.

Don't Forget What It's All About

As the White House performs it's latest soap opera, Surging the Illusion of Progress in the Iraqi Surge till 9/11 and the Big Report to Congress on the Illusion of Progress in the Iraqi Surge, (Oh did we mention 9/11?), keep in mind what George Bush believes is the real worth of his legacy: money.

The President, and every other member of the Cabinet who hasn't resigned yet, made their "surprise" visits to Iraq to show the American People, I mean Media, how successful the Surge has been and how peaceful Iraq is. It is so peaceful in Iraq that Bush had to come in unannounced in the dark. But as long as the people, I mean the media, get those shots of how brave our soldiers are the Surge to 9/11 Show will have been a success. But all the White House wants from Iraq is another year's worth of delay. One more year of status quo, and Iraq becomes a Democratic President's problem and the Republicans can settle into their "Oh we almost had it won over there, and then those damn Democrats took over and ruined everything just as we were about to win" revisions of history.

But the President has more immediate plans for next year. He has already told us what he wants to do with his post-presidential life: make money. Other presidents become spokesmen for peace or at least charity, but Bush wants to make money. And he wants to make money making speeches. As if he has ever been a great speaker. But read the quote below and tell me why Americans shouldn't be disgusted by this money-grubbing upper-class twit disguised as a president?

"I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch," he says. He also has big plans for making money. "I'll give some speeches, to replenish the ol' coffers," says Mr Bush, who is already estimated to be worth $20m. "I don't know what my dad gets - it's more than 50-75 [thousand dollars a speech], and "Clinton's making a lot of money".

"Replenish the ol' coffers?" When did he ever build up his coffers originally? Oh, that's right, he didn't. He was handed free positions on dad's boards of directors. He was handed ownership in a baseball team. When Bush tried to build up his own businesses they failed miserably. He would have to build something for himself to be able to "replenish" anything. He has been pretty good a draping flags on coffins. Maybe that is his plan, to replensh the ol' coffins?