Let's play make-believe kids. Today we're an Iranian.

So the news has been filled with stories about Iran and their uranium enrichment program. I thought it would be entertaining to pretend to be an Iranian contemplating whether or not Iran should pursue nuclear weapons.

cue wavey (not those) lines
Hmm, I seem to remember hearing back in January of 2002 that President Bush mentioned us in his state of the union address, and it wasn't exactly flattering. He dubbed Iraq, Iran and North Korea the "Axis of Evil." A little more than a year after that speech, the Americans and their lackeys invaded Iraq looking for WMDs that they were certain they'd find. Turns out, they haven't found any yet and probably never will. So...even if we don't pursue an nuclear weapon program, the US still might invade us looking for WMDs. If you're going to get invaded for something, you might as well have done it, no?


Also, if/when the Americans finish up in Iraq, they're going to have a sizeable force in the area, and they may decide that we need some democratization too. They've dumped trillions of dollars into their military, and we simply can't compete. For his second term, it seems like Bush's goal for his cabinet was to eliminate dissent and fill it with like-minded "shoot first and ask questions later" types. Having a nuclear arsenal would serve as a pretty strong deterrent. We probably can't get to the level of MAD (mutually assured destruction), but it would definitely make them think twice.

cue wavey lines (still not those) and fade out

Next up: a Ukranian contemplating the hypocrisy of Americans criticizing election irregularities. Sample: "...at least in our country the guy with most votes won!"

Bare with us...We are trying to get a color scheme settled for the site so if it looks different everytime you visit...sorry.

Any suggestions, please feel free.

And the Winner of the Biggest Bush Basher is (triple B award)...

Maureen Dowd is the most complete bush basher around in my opinion. She's like some sort of triple threat small forward on the basketball court. She's the Kevin Garnett of Dub bashing. She is very politically astute and seems very aware of the events and movitvations behind things. She has some sort of Liz Phair mojo to her, a kind of dry sense of humor that allows her to say things that otherwise might not come off intelligent at all. And last but not least, she has the stones to essentially kill Dub at all times, in all arenas, (and sometimes) with no real evidence. Gotta love it.
~~Gama

Tax me, tax you, tax EVERYBODY

Here's something interesting about the "simplification" of the tax code Bush is trying to push in the next four years. Man I'm so disappointed since a more reasonable tax code was essentially the only thing I was hoping for with the re-election:

"Instead the administration plans to push major amendments that would shield interest, dividends and capitals gains from taxation, expand tax breaks for business investment and take other steps intended to simplify the system and encourage economic growth, according to several people who are advising the White House or are familiar with the deliberations.

The changes are meant to be revenue-neutral. To pay for them, the administration is considering eliminating the deduction of state and local taxes on federal income tax returns and scrapping the business tax deduction for employer-provided health insurance, the advisers said.

As the tax discussion takes shape, "we're not talking about a replacement system," said a former White House aide familiar with the emerging policy.

White House aides warn that no decisions have been made. "The president believes the tax code should be simpler, fairer, and more conducive to economic growth and he looks forward to appointing an advisory panel to review options for reforming the tax code," White House spokeswoman Clare Buchan said."
-- Washington Post

So we are planning on paying for the tax reform by making it more expensive for employers to give health care? And the tax 'reform' that is going to apparently take place is essentially corporate and investment incentives? That in no way makes the tax code simplier for the average person. It makes taxes easier on people who have enough money to invest, but in no way is this the populist approach touted during the campaign. Anybody out there have a good approach for tax reform?

I'm stumped by this solution and it seems like the democrats don't know what to do about taxes either. A little help please...

Ugh.The borders are officially out of control. Apparently Mexicans are getting a little desperate...

Okay, this is a little ridiculous...and apparently absolutely true. Apparently Mexicans have developed an ingenious way to 'hop' the border into America. Money Link. Judge Gonzales has his hands full in my opinion. This is when we need Pat Buchanan to actually build that wall around the country that he planned to back in the day. I have nothing to say about this other than lining all the borders with Flubber. We could always just help mexico not be such a hell hole and maybe it wouldn't be such a problem. I don't see a ton of Canadians ski jumping across the borders. That's all I've got on this one.

Birrfffffday

My birthday was yesterday. My wife and I had a great day. I dont' usually like to make a big deal out of birthdays and such but she always draws the best out of me. First of all it was as we all know, Veterans Day. Yes its horrible to have to share your birthday with a holiday but I've come to the conclusion that Veterans Day is the perfect holiday to share. The thing is, I have not EVER had to go to school or work on my birthday. I mean NEVER. That is officially money. Now this is the same thing as having your birthday on Christmas or Easter but the kicker is the presents. Lets be honest, you're born even NEAR Christmas and you're screwed. Yo u get the combo gifts which are almost always lamer that just simple Christmas presents. Its painful. I always felt for my grandmother who was born on Christmas Eve. Not only was she getting the grandma gifts which were lame to start with, but she'd get the grandma-combo gifts. I mean that shouldn't even be legal. Whatever happen to respecting your elders? She gets a potholder, three trivets, and an afghan for living 80 years on this planet. And what for 80 Christmas's? yup...potholder, three trivets, and an afghan. pootacular. See Veterans Day has nothing to do with gifts, so I don't get screwed. Best of both worlds.

That's about it...the day was great. Spent about 2 hours in Whole Foods Market. Okay like a lot of things, I'm a wanna be health nut. I love the idea of eating organic foods, whole grains, and foods that grow naturally in the happy world of niceville. Unfortunately the niceville chicken is a bit more costly than the steroidandria or smallcrateington chicken. Its a compromise I guess. C and I went nuts looking around. Its now her favorite store, topping Loehmanns, World Market, and TJMaxx. Sounds like a slow day...it was, and that was exactly what I was looking for. We also went on the first official Gym search. Along with the whole foods thing, we are on the fitness kick too. We went all over the place trying to find that diamond in the rough. Apparently there aren't any $5 / month gyms with towel service. What a rip. So we got home...cooked crabcakes, sea scallops and fixed the rest of dinner. Great day. Relaxation, I have found, has become the premium activity in the time that I have to myself.

Then came the movie...Passion of the Christ. That is for another post...
~~

Not to say I told you so...

So the world of politics works in mysterious ways. I called the victory for W. and I was so right, it hurts. But Sam, you say, there is no evidence that people voted for W. because of the stupid OBL video, what are you talking about? Okay okay, I might have said something about the video. And according to most of the pundit's exit polls, the all informative "moral values" issue was the reason people who voted for GeeDub gave at a rate of 22%. Compared to Iraq, the Economy, and the equally vague War on Terror (all close to 20%) it was an initial shock to many who thought issues like a WAR would trump two dudes getting married. After looking at all kinds of rebuttles to the whole "moral issues" exit polls, I'm pretty confident that, equal to the initial incorrect exit polling being for Kerry, this Moral Issues...uh...issue is nothing more than bunk. Yes, bunk. Here's my take on the election in as short and as sweet as I can make it.

First let me send my heart felt congratulations out to the Bush family for officially becoming the most powerful family in the history of American politics. Don't forget good ole' Jeb which they have slated to at least make a run in 2008. Secondly the conservatives in this country have spent the past 15 years working a near perfect campaign to establish a media infrastructure out there that has no pretense of bias and exists only to perpetuate the conservative agenda. I mean its like setting up preachers to speak the word of conservatism. The Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannity's, and Bill O'Reilly's of the world are the green berets that sweep in before the army and set the scene up for easy pickins'. The hypocracy of entire news organizations, talk radio, and others gaining momentum on the statement that mainstream media is biased is absolutely brilliant. The strength of the Republican party has not been greater as it is today. Well Maureen Dowd has things pretty much nailed down the impression I have on where things are right now. Its a conservatives dream for the next 4 years and that's the way it goes.

Okay okay. why was I right in my predictions? Well due to the Osama tape, it is my contention that the 'undecideds' which typically vote for the challenger, voted for Bush. Why? Well in the back of their minds was the idea that Osama Bin Laden wants us to elect Kerry and f-me if I'm going to do with he wants. No one is really mentioning that but I really believe that was a good percentage of the undecided vote.


Okay Ryan and I are InfoSec people it is our duty to weigh in on the voting machines issue....
I also watched the Passion of the Christ last night which I will attempt to review without starting a firefight.
~gamalama

Dumb...

From this Op/Ed piece:

"72 percent who cast votes for George W. Bush, according to a University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Knowledge Networks poll, believe that Iraq (news - web sites) had weapons of mass destruction or active WMD programs. 75 percent think that a Saddam-Al Qaeda link has been proven, and 20 percent say Saddam ordered 9/11. Of course, none of this was true.

Kerry voters were less than half as idiotic: 26 percent of Democrats bought into Bush-Cheney's WMD lies, and 30 percent into Saddam-Al Qaeda."

HI-larious

Get up on this...