The Gordo Blogga

Formerly known as "Untying the Gordian Knot"

Monday, March 27, 2006

Bush - a voice of reason?

I've been very pleasantly surprised by Bush recently. On two recent major issues he served as the voice of reason, in contrast to the apparently hot-headed Congress and Senate. During the heated discussion on Dubai Ports taking over some American ports he kept asking for calm and pointing out that we must work with our allies, that the deal has been checked and that the actual security will be done by American services. Now, he is making similarly calming statement about immigration reform.

"The immigration debate should be conducted in a civil and dignified way" and

"No one should play on people's fears or try to pit neighbors against each other," Bush said. "No one should pretend that immigrants are threats to America's identity because immigrants have shaped America's identity." and

"No one should claim that immigrants are a burden on our economy because the work and enterprise of immigrants helps sustain our economy," the president said. "We should not give in to pessimism. If we work together I am confident we can meet our duty to fix our immigration system and deliver a bill that protects our people, upholds our laws and makes our people proud."

Wow! This is a stark contrast to the old Bush we used to know. Is it his low approval ratings, growth or something else? Either way I am impressed. This is exactly what the president is supposed to do - lead this great nation! I think this is the first time during his entire term that I've seen true leadership from him.

Unfortunately it comes at a time when his approval ratings are at a record low (hovering around ~39%) and so he doesn't hold that much weight anymore - especially with Congress and the Senate which are up for a re-election this year and if anything are looking to distance themselves from an unpopular president. Still, it is a breath of fresh air and I commend him for it!

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Goodness

It always warms my heart when I hear of good deeds. This 19 year old woman found $30k in cash in a New Orleans home she was volunteering to clean after the hurricane. She turned it over to her church (which organized the cleaning) and they in turn gave it to the cops. Turned out the woman who owned the house (which was pretty much destroyed) didn't even know about it - her father hid it there as he didn't trust banks. Yay for the good people of this world!

Real estate agent scams in Britain

Fascinating article on a BBC undercover investigation into estate agent practices in the UK. It really goes to show why laws and regulation are a an absolute necessity.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Chick Trips in South Carolina

If you are like me when you saw this title (on "The Official Tourism Site of SC" no less) you probably thought: "Hmmm... what could this be? Maybe a tour of a chicken farm." Well, turns out the State of South Carolina officially recognizes the hip term chick as a refererence to a female homo sapiens. Unfortunately no "Dude Ranch" or "Homey Park" links were found.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Business "leaders" as politicians = bad idea

If you thought Bush has done an excellent job of showing just how badly a business leader can "lead" a country look no further than Thailand to further strengthen that belief. I think anyone who has worked for a corporation or read Dilbert understands that electing business "leaders" to political office is just asking for punishment.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

... and I quote

"Young people live in their dreams; middle-aged people live in reality; old people live in their memories" - Paiz Mukunana quoting a common saying in "Wooden Clogs"

Monday, March 06, 2006

Well said...

"luckily, there are women who like every conceivable kind of guy."

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The wine wars: screw top vs cork

Go cork!!