It seems that there are distinct parallels between our president George W. Bush and Iran's leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Bush tried to distinguish himself from Iran by putting Mahmoud on the dreaded, yet strangely comical, "Axis of Evil". I am certainly not disputing the diabolical nature of Mahmoud, but upon further review, you can see that Bush's actions could very well land him on that axis too. Mahmoud was able to gain the support of his people but strongly condemning the Jews, promising to make Iran a legit nuclear threat, and of course, painting Bush as Mephistophiles. Bush on the other hand, used the September 11th tragedy as a way to scare the American people into invading the evil doers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for a minute Bush support and nationalism were at an all time high. It didn't hurt that Osama and Saddam were painted as our enemies. Incidentally, I am using all the major names and words to get this entry red flagged. Anyway as time as gone by, support for both Mahmoud and Bush have waned, mainly because they have not delivered on some important promises. Mahmoud, while maintaining HIS reputation as someone to be feared around the world, hasn't really boosted the economy in Iran like he promised, and some of his ideas have proven radical even for Iran. And it is well documented that Bush and his supporters continue to linger in Iraq for reasons that seem to change daily. So the question is, why the hell am I mentioning this in my blog? It is EASY to criticize Bush, and it is easier to look at a leader of a foreign country, and to just criticize them based on a 5 minute news report you see on tv. But I'm starting to see more and more, that leaders in general are basically the same with a few exceptions of course. They are complex, they let you down, they are corrupt, they are effective, and they are just enigmas all around. And its frustrating that in this country at least, we have some limited options with which to work with every 4 years. And then we(or Iran) have to live with whims and opinions of our "elected" President. Its very demoralizing at times. Ok i'm done.

My brother mentioned to me last week, that he is going to Jena, Louisiana on September 20th, to participate in the rally for the Jena 6, and more specifically, the rally for the tactics used against Mychal Bell. I told him that if he does indeed go down there, he should document every damn thing he sees and hears, and I'll write about it. Part of me wonders if I should go down there with the specific purpose of documenting all that I see on both sides of this issue. I haven't really made that decision yet, but I think it would be challenging for many reasons.

The above paragraphs are a DIRECT result of limited sports options on television last night. I need basketball and the baseball playoffs to start, so I can be covered with sports every day of the damn week.

Shame - Lewis Taylor