Top 10 Reasons History Will Be Kind to George W Bush

Before leaving his job, Karl Rove said that he thinks history will be kind to Bush.  I agree.  I decided to put together this list of the top 10 reasons that history will be kind to George W Bush.

History will be kind to George W Bush because:

10.  It wasn't his fault.  It was that mean kid in Iraq.

9.  Presidents are not responsible for hurricanes.  And apparently not responsible for responding to hurricanes.

8.  No matter who is elected in 2008, they can help but look good in comparison.

7.  It wasn't his fault.  It was that mean kid in North Korea.

6.  He tried to help America by setting a new standard for vacation days.

5.  He didn't shoot any friends in the face.

4. It wasn't his fault.  It was that Axes, Axial, Axs group of evil guys.

3.  He saved so much money by not rebuilding the Gulf Coast.

2.  Even people who hated Clinton now look back fondly on his term.

And the #1 reason history will be kind to George W Bush: because history's mama said that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!

Should Oracle Worry About Open Source Databases?

This is a blog entry at my blog on ITToolbox.com. Does Oracle have anything worry about from open source databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL? Charles Babcock, at InformationWeeks' Open Source Blog posts Why Oracle Should worry . In that entry he talks about FTD and how they recently switched from Oracle to EnterpriseDB for a reporting application and, according to Jason Weiss, FTD Software Architect, "EnterpriseDB enabled us to run our Oracle application at one-sixth the price of Oracle, freeing budget for other important initiatives. EnterpriseDB's fantastic technical support is also a refreshing change from what Oracle usually delivers." He even said, "Oracle should be terrified." That is bad. In one fell swoop, Oracle lost a client, to a competing database, who went very public about his dissatisfaction with both Oracle's licensing costs and it's support. In Oracle's defense, I have dealt with Oracle support for many years and have had pretty good results. I can think of only a single instance where I was completely unhappy with the results. In most cases, things were resolved quickly. No support organization gets it right every time. I personally think Oracle support does a pretty good job. Having said that, I have not liked Oracle's licensing for a long time. I think it is too confusing and too expensive. This is not just an Oracle issue. I think all of the major database players are too expensive and and most enterprise licensing schemes are too complex. If I could change anything about Oracle, it would be licensing. I think stories like FTD will become more common over time as EnterpriseDB, PostgreSQL and MySQL become more mainstream. Oracle does need to look at their licensing and make changes. Oracle does NOT need to worry on this score. If they adjust prices, modify the process and continue innovating, they will stay the number one database. Oracle has something else to be worried about and I think it is a much more significant threat. Recently, Tomax switched from Oracle to EnterpriseDB. Tomax is the leading provider of real-time merchandising and store execution applications and services. "EnterpriseDB allows us to bring the benefits of open source to all our customers, large and small, without sacrificing the quality or performance of our retail management solution," said Eric Olafson, chief executive officer, Tomax. "We are also extremely pleased with the outstanding technical support provided by EnterpriseDB. Thousands of smaller, retailer-owned food distributors and grocers now have an affordable way to realize the same labor cost savings and competitive advantage enjoyed by their larger rivals." You can finished reading this blog at Should Oracle Worry About Open Source Databases?

Cartoon Violence Headlines

The violence brought on by some cartoons is really surreal. Everytime I hear "cartoon violence" I think of Tom & Jerry. Here are some of my favorite headlines so far (the articles are unimportant, it's all about the headline!): Cartoons: 2 Dead in Pakistan Riots Hmmm? I wonder if Wile E got some Pakistani road runners? The Reality of Cartoon Violence Hmmmm? Am I the only one who sees something fundamentally wrong with "cartoon reality"? Blair: Cartoon Violence Unacceptable Hmmm? Maybe they should put ratings on them? That darn Bart Simpson! Danish Imam Condems Cartoon Violence Hmmmm? I wonder how he feels about video games and porn? Cartoon Violence: What's wrong with this picture? Hmmmm? I don't know. Maybe the fact that we're even asking what's wrong with this picture? And my favorite headline so far: Hezbollah Leader to Bush, Rice: 'Shut Up' Well that's mature. Tags: cartoon violence coulter politics

CALVIN AND HOBBES -- AND MUHAMMAD - Yahoo! News

I am not really a right winger. I'm not a left winger either. I tend to be right down the middle in that I think all politicians are idiots. I normally consider myself a republican though. George bush has me leaning a little bit more left than I used to. I won't go into the details of that in this post except to day that W needs to hire Ann Coulter as his media person. I haven't read any of her books but I love watching her on fox news. Not so much because I agree with her (I do some, I don't some) but because she is so feaking funny. The post below is a prime example of that. CALVIN AND HOBBES -- AND MUHAMMAD - Yahoo! News I think insulting someone's religion is a bad thing. I think freedom of the press is good. To kill people for any reason is bad. To commit violence for religious reasons is real bad. I feel bad for all of the people who did nothing but have been killed and injured. What a world we live in! Tags: cartoon violence coulter politics