How can we use this disaster to our advantage?

Firms with Bush ties snag Katrina deals

White House connections attract renewed attention from watchdog groups

At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President George W. Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast. One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root.

Katrina may cost as much as four years of war

Government certain to pay more than $200 billion following hurricane

"I cannot put a cost figure on it," Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday in a visit to the hard-hit states.

Robert Lichter, a statistician who studies the use and misuse of numbers in public policy, cautioned against reading too much into the early figures.
"Assume that all estimates are self-interested and all estimates are too low," Lichter said, especially those coming out of Washington. "The government is like a contractor — whatever it says, triple."

Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico

This weekend we went down south to vacation at the Sonoran Spa Resort in Rocky Point, Mexico! It was a total blast!!! The resort is right on the beach and has everything you need without ever leaving the resort. There is plenty of other fun to be had but you could stay there the whole time and be just fine.

The first night, I drank way too much and got crappy with everyone. Luckily they love me and forgave me.

The second night, I did not feel like partying at all and went to bed fairly early. The third night was the best and we went to eat a huge dinner and blow off some fireworks on the beach and do some dancing. (don't try and visualize me dancing please...)

Our drive home was uneventful and smooth. Our new Dodge Durango got about 20 miles per gallon and took us just about a tank there and back. With gas prices over $3 a gallon, that was nice...

Well, that is about it. I am going to go cook up some salmon for dinner. Eating the foreign cuisine and the fast food on the freeway ruined my innards and I am looking forward to getting some healthy stuff back in me!

YouTattoos

A fairy from my dreams as a child. I used to dream of a fairy that came to play with me. I had this fairy in my dreams all the time until I was about 7 years old. Then one night, I dreampt that me and my friends, including my fairy, were swimming. My older cousins came and told us to get out as it was time for the big kids to swim. Soon water came bubbling up and my fairy drowned and I never dreampt of her again. Then one day, I met a girl and asked her out. That night I saw this tattoo. IT WAS THE EXACT FAIRY THAT I USED TO DREAM ABOUT!!!

Viva Bush! (not)

(quoted from msnbc.com) To make matters worse, the chief of the Louisiana State Police said he heard of numerous instances of New Orleans police officers — many of whom were from flooded areas — turning in their badges.
“They indicated that they had lost everything and didn’t feel that it was worth them going back to take fire from looters and losing their lives,” Col. Henry Whitehorn said.
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It is nice that President Bush could come back from his 5 week vacation and begin paying attention to the country that he is the (supposedly) elected leader of. It is a show of his true colors. Seeing him talk today about "teaming up" and "working together" to get this taken care of was a little like hearing him tell us that the war in Iraq is "hard work". Then when he said that he was going to make sure that Trent Lott had a new house and he planned on sitting on the porch, I had to step back and wonder if I really heard the president put aside the rotting corpses and the dehydrated and starving survivors to assure his buddy that his home would be rebuilt. (unfortunately that was a fact...)

I am sorry sometimes to be so powerless to change things in Washington. All I can do is vote and speak my mind. Just for the record, I did not vote for Bush Jr or Bush Sr. I did on the other hand vote for William Jefferson Clinton, who in my opinion was the greatest leader of our time...

Our 12th Wedding Anniversary!!!

On September 3rd, 1993, I married Heather. I have grown happier by the day and we are celebrating our 12th anniversary this weekend. We are taking the family down to Rocky Point to stay at the Sonoran Spa Resort. The condos have an awesome view and are right on the beach. My buddy Mike from way back in the day and his family are also going down and have a condo just 3 down the hall from ours. It should be a good time for all!


Now, the story. When I was a child I used to dream of a little fairy. The fairy was my best friend and I dreampt of her every night. Well, when I was seven years old, my fairy drowned in my dream and I never dreampt of her again. (but I never forgot the dreams) Then one day, at my job, I met the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I flirted with her and finally got up the nerve to ask her out. Luckily she agreed to... I went that night to pick her up and when I was opening the car door for her, I noticed a tattoo on her right shoulder. It was a tattoo of the exact fairy that I dreampt of so many years ago. When I asked her who the artist was, she said she drew the fairy imagining that is what her daughter would look like some day. I took this sign very seriously and am glad to say that this weekend is the twelvth anniversary of the day that I married the fairy from my dreams!!!