Little Duck (Not to be confused with the little yellow chicken)

Tee heee hee hee!
Bill Clinton advised Dubai as Hillary criticizes its US ports deal
Ah listen to them skate around that one!

You know, after reading and hearing a lot about this deal, and its premise, I find myself on the opposite side of 70% of the American public, and I'm in rare agreement with W, Carter, and Bill Clinton (although Billy's backtreading due to the Hillary snafu). First off, the only reason this deal didn't sail through is that it is an Arabic country. Secondly Dubai is a very westernized capitalist modern nation. They are trying to emulate us, and they, or at least their government, are our allies. Third, the idea that there will be security breaches is B.S. If this company does not uphold stellar security, (they'll likely be held to a higher standard) then not only will the stakes be high for that company but for all of Dubai. Security, if anything, will be even better with this company.


It is really sad to see all of the politicians jump on the anti-Dubai bandwagon. It goes to show just how many of them legitimately care about what is good for the United States, vs. what is good for their poll numbers. The politicians are smart enough to know that this deal could strengthen relations, and democracy in the Middle east. On the other hand, they know it will be easier, and more quickly rewarding politically to play to the fear card.

The Bush administration did a real horrible job of communicating this deal. Not only was it poorly communicated to the Legislature & public, but even the president himself was not aware of it until after it was put through.

This is a controversial deal, and it is a no-brainer that it would raise eyebrows.
Political savvy strategists everywhere say one of W's strongest assets is that he can talk to the American people on their terms. Why isn't this being exploited? Reagan made frequent use of evening addresses. The Republican party likes to preach that government should trust the American Public to make their own decisions. Why don't they practice what they preach? This stuff isn't rocket science, it just needs to be talked about in the open and not done in shady corners of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I'm pretty convinced that this deal is going to fail, and it will deal yet another serious blow to Middle East relations, in a country that had become increasingly favorable of us. All because some greedy senators and representatives fear the risks involved in the game of politics.

For your enjoyment, I'm tagging on this bizarre series of pictures that were taken at the University of Wyoming. They are myself, Brenen Ulrich, and Jason Potts respectively. I had film to use and it was shortly before my graduation, so our creativity was sort of ummm.... well the pictures speak for themselves really.