krow's Journal: Thus Far

So Carter got the Nobel Peace Prize which I think is pretty cool since he was actually a pretty good president. A friend of mine had him as a prof at Emory, she was lucky enough to get in, and had nothing but glowing things to say about him. What is a shame is that people are commenting on this being a jab at Bush, which I think is a shame since Carter deserves this regardless of who is in the White House.

Seeds of protest growing on college campuses. Wow, that is a surprise. Bush is the one thing that could actually light that torch again. Now how long it lasts is a good question. My favorite quote though comes from the NYT where the president of Oberlin was surprised at the reaction.
Its Oberlin! What the hell does she think is going to be the reaction?

Stock Market is up (see-saw)

The Bureau of Land Management has caught officials selling off land for kickbacks and political favors. In similar news it was reported that "a lot of grass is green".

If I didn't read the NYT I an not quite sure I would know about the sniper in DC.

My favorite bit that I see in the headlines is that Rumsfeld has ordered faster plans for a war in Iraq to make it go a little faster and be a little cleaner. I wonder if he would like fries with that?

So China has a novel idea, which of course still stinks of politics, where they have decided to make the rich pay taxes and obey zoning laws. The problem of course is that this is selective but it is interesting to see it happen anyway. Makes one wonder what would happen if Gates, Jobs or Turner decided to speak out. That of course would never happen.

Nasdaq is considering dropping the $1 dollar limit for stocks out of a fear of probably closing up shop sometime in the near future. Where else would people be able to bet on the ponies out of season?

Bush realizing that he has been handed dictator like powers by congress has decided that he can confront the issue of economey now. He has an MBA right? Surely he will know what to do...
The Seattle Times mentions is an article on what the military takes with them to the gulf:
...the sumo wrestling suit ($3,395), cappuccino machines ($51,200) and white beach sand ($4,638)...
Wonder what would happen if they were to just turn this focus on building homes for a couple of days for the poor? BTW its only 2K tons of material to keep about 20K people in business per day in the army.

And on that note I think I will go put a cup of food in my dog's bowl, drink 16 ounces of soy milk, and plan to move a 50 pound dog to a park where she can run...

dictator

[JDizzy]

I wish I were elected dictator! Didn't the germans do this back in the 30's? Oh wait, some German person already made headlines on this subject, so I guess it isn't that interesting!

Trivia: Who was the smarted US president, as in schooling, iq, etc..

Fun: Who (in your opinion) was/is the stupidest US president?

time for me to cry foul

[Em Emalb]

The Army is taking all that? Hogwash. I did a 5 year stint in the Marine Corps, including about 2 years in the middle east. Let me tell you, in the Corps, no way in hell some high level butt munch would get to bring all that useless crap to a combat zone. Extra kevlars and a coffee pot, maybe. You have got to be kidding me. Sounds like Mr High-Ranking Officer is the type that would expect his troops to be lined up in pressed cammies, boots spotless after two months in the field, so he can "inspect" them. Gah, no wonder no one joins the military anymore. How the hell are the troops supposed to respect their senior officers when crap like this goes on?

Re:time for me to cry foul

[krow]

Check out the original article at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 134554089_provisions13.html [nwsource.com]

Re:time for me to cry foul

[Em Emalb]

Hehe.

Figures, they get all the crap for the Airforce and Army, then make the Marines load it and transport it to the beach/base. Typical :)

Trust me, all we ever got was an M-16, some MRE's and a couple canteens. No white beach sand, expresso machines, or any of that other crap. Just complaining because I didn't get to play with any of their creature comfort toys.

Carter

[wdr1]

So Carter got the Nobel Peace Prize which I think is pretty cool since he was actually a pretty good president.

Carter was an awful president. For countless reasons... inventing the "misery index" why running for president & then seeing it skyrocket. Massive gas shortages. International relations going to shit. Telling Americans they would have to accept that their lives would not be as good as their parents.

Carter, however, was and is, a wonderful humanitarian. His work in the international community is remarkable and matched by few. He surely deserves the Nobel Peace Price.

What is a shame is that people are commenting on this being a jab at Bush, which I think is a shame since Carter deserves this regardless of who is in the White House.

There has been a lot of misperception in the media as to why it's intrepreted as a dig against Bush. It is not simply because Carter won. It's because the the Noblel Committee Chairman, Gunnar Berge, explicity said it was:

It should be interpreted as a criticism of the line that the current administration has taken," chairman Gunnar Berge said. "It's a kick in the leg to all that follow the same line as the United States."

[A kick in the leg is the Norwegian expression for a slap in the face.]

AP Story [yahoo.com]

-Bill

Whatever

[Chacham]

Considering Arch-Terrorist Yasser Arafat (you know, the one who basically invented airplane hijacking) got the Peace prize, it has become a joke in my eyes. I would've been bothered by Carter getting it, but now, I just don't care. If they gave it to me, I'd sue them for slander.