Day: December 20, 2003

RE: Officials: WMD chief may quit

I’m totally dismayed but not surprised that people have not taken up arms on this latest development. Perhaps it’s just too much Iraq and bad news and people would rather just bury it and move on with life’s mundane issues — like where’s my next job coming from? All the critics can and should gloat about this. Bush has so set back America’s credibility and standing in the world with its cowboy foreign policy. Only someone who’s never stepped outside of America could come up with such a brain damaged policy. Poor hick white trash, art thou Mr President. Yale should disown your legacy and bestow it upon more worthy candidates.

However, this is something the pundits and Democrats needs to latch onto and beat Bush into a pulp even though Saddam has been caught. Good news however… Bush is still laboring under the weight of the poor economy and people feel there’s a need for a new president. See Re-Elect Numbers Still Behind in Newest Zogby Poll
for some news on this. In a perverse way, I was hoping that the economic malaise would continue unabated into 2005 which would insure a resounding Bush defeat in the 2004 elections (You know the old adage about history repeating itself). Even now I think that 2004 won’t see much but 2005 and 2006 we will see significant improvement in the employment/economic sector. 2004 will be full of empty pyschological placebos, to make people think that things are better, when in fact, that is so far from the truth. An economic paradigm shift is occurring and the professional class is not immune to the same fate that befell the blue-collar class.

So, a wish for a depressed 2004 so we can have a brighter future in 2005 ….

=YC

Thinking about the shrimp tortillas that I had yesterday ….. tempura battered jumbo peeled and cleaned shrimp that’s such a delicious cross-cultural metaphor. As confirmed by my co-worker, there’s no such thing as a shrimp tortilla in Mexico. If you ever look closely enough, you have to realize that most of the fresh taco places, including this one, are actually run by Chinese. Some of them look and dress ambiguously enough that you aren’t sure until they call out their orders to the kitchen.

I had gone earlier in the week to pick up some other stuff for the office luncheon and realized that they are doing gangbuster business. They got the Mexican food, they do Chinese food, and they do fried chicken, and people in the neighborhood can’t get enough of it. The thing that is really bizzare is that, two doors down, there is an authentic Chino-Latino place (with real Chinese from South America that speak fluent Spanish) that’s been there since the ’70s, and they’re getting creamed by these guys that probably never set foot in Mexico. Talk about mindblowing!

Last night I sat down in a marathon session and watched the whole 10 episodes. It was nuts, I couldn’t put it down and sleep. This box set would make a great gift for any guy during this holiday season. The top 4 war movies would go down as:
1. Das Boot
2. Band of Brothers
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. Apocalypse Now

=YC

Re: After First Month in Office, Schwarzenegger Continues to Surprise and Dance steps and missteps: Governor Displays Unique, Brash Style

When I visited NYC this past Thanksgiving holiday, a few friends joked with me about Governor “Ah-nold” and what a joke it was to have him be California’s newest governor via special elections. I admit yes, it’s rather bizarre and it could only happen in California, uniquely (and sometimes fondly known as) the land of fruits and nuts.

On the other hand, one had to have lived in California for a little while to appreciate why this could ever happen. Knowing this history, it’s not hard to understand that this was the only possible result due to a chaotic and broken political process. Viewing it from the lense of the common citizenry, this is nothing short of a citizen’s revolt against the political establishment. Both Republicans and Democrats fully participated in these elections — the outrage, the desire for change, or whatever was palpable. This was more a testimony against the California political establishment, not a right vs. left. Many conservatives voted against Arnold because he was too “left” for their tastes. Many Democrats/liberals voted for him because Gray Davis and his Latino side-kick Bustamente were just too Establishment and the California mess was blamed on the long-time politicos and needed someone new and not beholden to the usual constituencies was going to trump anything resembling a “professional politician”.

Arnold is a centrist and my prototypical Republican candidate. I can’t wait to vote Bush out of office.

=YC