Deep Thoughts

Definitely a Divider

President Bush described himself as "a uniter, not a divider." One of the most important qualities voters are looking for in a Democratic candidate is the ability to beat Bush. How can he be a uniter if so many people want to see him beaten? Can you remember a presidential primary where the ability to beat the president was so important?

Will your average American finally understand that the Bush administration exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq?

Moving on...

Today was my toughest last day at a job. I had to get in early and lay off some of my employees. It's a difficult and painful task but it had to be done. I also decided that my own position was no longer necessary and took a voluntary layoff. (I had to lay off half my team so in all fairness to them, I had to evaluate my own position within the firm.) So after the meetings with the employees I let go, I signed my own paperwork and quietly walked out. I would have liked to talked to a few people on the way out but I felt it best not to.

One thing I struggle with is whether or not I want to follow up with the employees that I laid off. I care about them and I hope they find new jobs soon, but on the other hand do I really need the guilt if they can't find jobs?

After the first lap, it's John Kerry

Wow, Sen. John Kerry really rallied in the last few days to take Iowa. Needless to say, it takes a lot more than winning Iowa to win the nomination but this was an impressive win nonetheless. A few weeks ago, Kerry was looking close to done. He even loaned some money to his own campaign to keep it going. I guess I'll have to read up on where he stands on the issues.

Perhaps even more impressive is Sen. John Edwards taking second. What's nice is that he did it without negative campaigning. If Kerry were to win the nomination, I think that he would pick Edwards as a running mate--to try and win some votes in the South.

The US is going back to the UN for help in Iraq. I personally think that we're failing badly there. It's not just the bombing but as our history suggests, we're terrible at nation building. Can you name a successful democracy that the US has created? What made the Bush adminstration believe that democracy would just take off in Iraq? Did any of his policy advisors ever visit Iraq? Did they think the Iraqi exiles would fill that leadership void? You don't even hear about the exiles anymore--I'm assuming that they've been marginalized. I know that we just can't leave now, we have to finish what we started. But at this point, maybe the only thing we can do is try to minimize how bad this turns out.

My Aching Legs

I got back late last night from a short vacation to Whistler. Even though the snow conditions were terrible, it was still a fun trip. With the bad conditions, I telemarked just about all three days. I'm not sure when my legs will recover.

Just wanted to add a little story. I rode up the Horstman T-Bar with a guy who told me that Couloir Extreme was in great condition. For those of you unfamiliar with Whistler, that run is about as steep as it gets but with an easy entry (i.e. you don't have to jump off a cornice or cliff to get there). So I followed him down this run--and it was the best run of the trip. This guy I followed was a decent skier and made it down fairly well. The amazing part of the story is that he was 74 years old. Something to aspire to.

Beating around the Bush

A couple of stories have come out this week hammering the Bush administration.

The Carnegie Endowment for Internation Peace (a non-partisan organization) released a report on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and what the U.S. knew. Their findings:
1) Iraq WMD was not an immediate threat
2) Inspections were working
3) Intelligence failed and was misrepresented
4) Terrorist connection missing
5) Post-War WMD search ignored key resources
6) War was not the best or only option
Now I ask you, would you rather have a president that lies about an affair or a president that lies to send us to war (and go after the guy that tried to kill his daddy)?

It won't surprise me if we eventually find a missle or two with WMD that were buried in the sand 15 years ago. Not because the Iraqi Regime did such a great job of hiding it but rather they just lost/forgot about. I can guarantee you that our government can't keep track of everything in its inventory.

The other story is former Treasury secretary Paul H. O'Neill being quoted in the book "The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill." Only excerpts have been released so far however O'Neill is very critical of the present administration. He's not the first insider to criticize the way the Bush administration creates policy. There was also a 60 Minutes interview of Paul O'Neill yesterday that I missed, I'll try to listen to it on the web.

A new year

Seems like life has finally settled down from the craziness of the holiday season. I had a great time up in Anchorage over Christmas, seeing my family, and especially spending time with my nephews and niece. It was the first time that I met my newest nephew. Here's a picture of my sister and I with her kids.

Another thing I miss about Anchorage is the occasional moose wandering through the front yard. This wasn't the biggest moose I've ever seen, but it was a big one nonetheless. In the second picture, the moose is standing behind my dad's Nissan pickup which provides a good size comparison.

Speaking of kids, congratulations to Lynn & Mak who annouced this week that they're expecting parents!!! The number of single friends I have anywhere near my age is pretty close to nil and now the number of friends my age without kids is catching up. I was driving home from the grocery store when Howard called me this evening with the news. Later in the evening as I was washing my dishes I decided to listen to some music. I couldn't find the CD I wanted to listen to so I ended up playing "Forever Young" by Alphaville. I didn't see the humor in it until about halfway through the song. A Freudian slip perhaps?