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In Need of a Leader

Bush on Vacation

Last Thursday, President Bush left to spend 32 days at his Crawford ranch on ‘retreat.’ Historically, it is the longest presidential retreat in 36 years and unprecedented during war. This will be his 49th trip to his ranch during his presidency. As of last Tuesday, Bush has spent 319 days away from office, about 20% of his presidency. The current record holder is Ronald Reagan who spent 335 days away in Santa Barbara, CA, during his presidential 8 years. Bush will surpass this record during his current vacationing and still have 3 and ½ years left of his presidency!

Everyday I read at least three separate Cincinnati news sources. Everyday, the front page has an article about a local soldier killed in Iraq. On August 3rd, an insurgent bomb killed 14 marines of the Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force. Two days before, on August 1st, 7 other soldiers of the unit were killed. Almost all of them were from Ohio.

I don’t give a damn what your political affiliation is, George W. Bush’s retreat is both disgusting and wrong. So far, he’s asked and commanded at least 150,000 Americans to risk the greatest sacrifice and put their lives in danger for American ideals. As of today, at least 1, 832 of those soldiers have made that sacrifice, according to U.S. military reports.

Why can’t Bush make simple, if not grand, sacrifices? Why isn’t he giving up his vacation time? Why isn’t he focusing his efforts on calming a continuously growing insurgency? Why isn’t he meeting with business leaders for support in getting water and electricity back to the majority of Iraqis who lost them during our invasion? Why isn’t he in Iraq spending time with and supporting the troops who are doing the fighting? If he can run the country from Crawford, TX (if you consider that ‘running the country’), why the hell can’t he do it from Iraq or Kuwait?

Last week, a freelance journalist, Steven Vincent, was kidnapped and murdered in Basra, along with his interpreter. Shortly before the tragic incident, he was part of an internet symposium titled “Iraq: A Report Card,” held by Frontpagemagazine.com. Frontpagemagazine.com is well known for its strong right-wing stances no matter what the issue. They gave Bush an A+. Mr. Vincent who was part of the panel appears to have been the only attendee in Iraq. Historically, his views of coincided with those at Frontpagemagazine.com. This is what he said:

With respects to you and Karl, Jamie, I have to give the war effort a B-. Judging the conflict by Saddam’s removal—and thank Allah the monster is gone—is setting a pretty low bar. I mean, let’s face it: military-wise Iraq was not Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Then you have to factor in U.S failures, such as not sealing the borders or halting the looting—not to mention the fact that American military tactics have widely alienated the very people we liberated. Something’s not working right.

But the important point is this: this conflict is not just about killing bad guys, but building a nation. True, maaku Saddam, and yes, there is a democratically-elected government, but when Baghdad lacks power and water, and the road to the airport is life-threatening crap shoot, and I can’t leave my hotel here in Basra without Iraqi protection—I can’t see much nation building going on.

Insurgents win by not losing. If they keep Iraqis living in misery, then no matter how many “insurgents” we dispatch to Paradise, Amir Zarqawi gets the prize. In assessing the war effort, then, we must also include the quality of Iraqis’s lives. Want a grade for that? F.

Wall-Art

Banksy barrier artBanksy is at it again! Banksy, the ‘guerilla artist,’ is well known for his stunt art. He made the news last year for secretly planting a fake cave painting in the Bristish Museum that depicts a man pushing a supermarket trolley. It went unnoticed for three days.

Banksy’s latest target: Israel’s West Bank barrier. Just recently, he put nine paintings on the Palestinian side of the barrier. The images include a hole in the wall showing a beach paradise, two chairs by a window overlooking a mountain landscape, and a ladder going over the wall.

The controversial wall is supposed to protect the country from ‘suicide bombers.’ The construction has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice and continues to flame problems in the Middle East.

Novak Nuances

Bob Novak on CNNEveryone knows Bob Novak as the reporter who wrote the story leaking Valerie Plame’s identity in the Rovegate scandal. In light of recent events, he has been trying very hard to shape his public image. On a discussion on CNN, James Carville jokingly calls him out on it. Novak’s response was not really that… mature. OneGoodMove.org is hosting the Daily Show clip of the event.

Update: For a longer video of the interview, check out MediaMatters.org.

Update [08/05/05 – 9:10pm]: Due to his actions, Mr. Novak has been ordered “to take some time off” by CNN. Mr. Novak has been seen constantly on CNN since 1980. You can read the full article at Reuters.

Is Cheesecake Atkins Friendly?

Fatkins SquirrelHey Everybody! (Hey Dr. Nick!)
I’m sorry that I’ve been MIA for a bit. Between work, Mr. Matt Kelley visiting, birthdays, and homemade cheesecakes, my time has been occupied. But I’m back now!

Here are a cool flash game and a movie sent to me by Miss Rachel Rumely:

1) For those of you tired of the Fatkins diet, here is a squirrel’s take on it.

2) And for you girls out there angry at boys (like Rachel’s roommate), here is a great game to relieve your stress.

Big Beer Ad

Carlton DraughtThis has to be the coolest beer ad I have seen since Bud’s singing lizards. It takes a bit to load, but it’s worth it.

Service Scholarships

Shannon sent this to me. I think many of us from Xavier will understand.

Community Service

Picture courtesy of Toothpaste for Dinner.

Star Trekking

Don’t we have people floating around in space right now?

I know I haven’t posted anything yet about the Discovery mission. I am waiting to get lots of eye candy for you. As Rachel and Shannon know, I’ve been watching NASA TV 24/7 for the last week, so hopefully I’ll have some good video and stuff in a day or two.

Until then, this will have to do.

CNN Discovery 'Coverage'

New Incentives to Be a Cop

Strip ClubThis was sent to me by Scot Buzza.

A new law in Florida added some new perks for male officers in Pasco County. Legislation recently passed by Pasco legislators and Governor Jeb Bush allows police officers to visit strip clubs undercover in order to arrest law breaking exotic dancers. On their first trip out the door, police officers arrested fifteen strippers for various charges including solicitation of a beverage, exposure of a sexual organ, and prostitution. The news station that ran the article even put up the ladies’ mug shots for all to see.

Scot’s favorite part of the article was the final paragraph.

Before arresting the women Thursday, the undercover deputies watched nude dancers on stage, bought some of them drinks, and received lap dances from others.

I guess this brings new meaning to the phrase “I wanna be cop when I grow up.”

“I See,” Said the Blind Man as He Picked Up His Controller….

Brice MellenThink you’re good at video games? Maybe it’s time you went up against Brice Mellen of Lincoln, Nebraska. What makes Brice so special? He’s blind.

Blind since birth due to Leber’s disease, Mellen sharpened his skills for many years through patience, memorizing key joystick operations, and listening to audio cues. Beginning with “Space Invaders” and “Asteroid,” he now plays modern combat games. Learning to play video games without sight was anything but easy. “He enjoyed trying to play, but he wasn’t very good at first,” says his father. “But he just kept on trying… He’s broken a lot of controllers.”

Brice spends his time hanging out at the Dog Tags Gaming Center in Lincoln. Apparently, people will come in and challenge him, expecting an easy win, just to get their heads handed to them in Soul Caliber 2. With only a year left of high school to go, Brice plans on attending college. What might he be studying? Video game design, of course!

Next time you’re stuck on a hard level of Halo 2, imagine doing it blind! You can read the full stories at CNN and TheOmahaChannel.

Thanks to J-Love for sending me the original article. If anyone is interested in challenging Brice, it’s pretty close to my place in Omaha. Road trip?

Of Course I Can Walk on My Hind Legs…..

Storm Close-UpI just choose not too.

Continuing the ongoing saga of my page header, I have now added back paw prints to the puppy walking across the screen. Thanks for all the great comments and feedback. Let me know if you have any other ideas.

Also, on an interesting note, the picture in the header is from my expeditions in El Salvador. I took it at the basin of a volcano where my Nica group spent the afternoon. During our meal, it began to get a tad rainy. When we were finished, however, rays of light began to break through the clouds and illuminate the lake. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Finally, I put up a new cool somewhat daily video called Ddautta. If certain Japanese fluent friends could translate it for me, I would be very appreciative. Peace.