I don't think anyone could have predicted that this baby would make my belly swell...
By now everyone is aware of the brilliant W. quote, "I don't think anyone could have anticipated the breech of the levees." But please allow me to dwell for a moment because, of all the grammar-busting idiocies that have emenated from that sneer, this statement takes the prize for Most Retarded.
Why? Smarter bloggers than I have pointed out that a breech of the levees has been anticipated for at least 100 years, if not hundreds more. But that can be chalked up to region-specific obsessive paranoia. What makes me sure that this event was widely anticipated is the fact that I was anticipating it. I, the mirror-obsessed, latte-swilling, blue-hearted blue stater, who has never been to the Big Easy and could not care less, knew all about this thing three years ago. I read and viewed stories, in Harper's and on NOW, about how New Orleans was going to get washed away. At the time, I really didn't care. I chalked the coverage up to liberal media bitching about problems for the sake of bitching. Who knew that stories in Harper's could be so relevant? So prescient? (Whereas the August/September 05 issue of poor Budget Living, a magazine where I still semi regret turning down a job, had a story about a burgeoning hip neighborhood in Nawlins where you can still snatch up a little bungalow for a mere $300k.) The point is, many, many people did anticipate the breech of the levees, and have been working for years if not decades to do something about it. His simplistic, aw-shucks view of everything is just embarrassing.
If you are feeling exhausted by Katrina and ready to bash (or just get really depressed about) the Administration on some other fronts, take a look at The San Francisco Bay Guardian's 10 Biggest Stories the Mainstream Media Ignored Over the Past Year (lest you decry the liberal media again, the list was actually composed by Project Censored, a media watchdog org from Sonoma - that's liberal intelligentsia - ahem, get it straight). Some of the items freak me out more than others. But I have to admit that the one I'm currently buying into is the stolen 2004 election. In the past 10 months or so, whenever Herr Guitar started spouting stolen election paranoia (and it has been often), I've sort of yawned it off and politely changed the subject back to me. But in catching up on some Harper's reading on my vacation last week, I read None Dare Call it Stolen , and I'm an election-conspiracy convert. If you think, like I did, that the whole argument is rooted is sore-loserdom, just read the first few paragraphs - I dare you - and see if you aren't swayed.
One last Katrina tidbit... I've found the news coverage about animals being saved from the flood waters just the slightest bit distasteful. I love my dog just as much as Oprah and Matthew McConaughey, but to me it seems like the news media's way of putting an adorable face on victims they otherwise don't want to look at. Plus, watching dogs get saved in style while there are still people that need to get out of there is just wrong. My Vegas friend said to me this morning (in her pricelessly callous style), "I care more about the dogs than I do the people. That's why I haven't been watching the news, because if I see one dog in danger I will freak out." Is she the typical American? Maybe that's why those 10 stories are being ignored.
Why? Smarter bloggers than I have pointed out that a breech of the levees has been anticipated for at least 100 years, if not hundreds more. But that can be chalked up to region-specific obsessive paranoia. What makes me sure that this event was widely anticipated is the fact that I was anticipating it. I, the mirror-obsessed, latte-swilling, blue-hearted blue stater, who has never been to the Big Easy and could not care less, knew all about this thing three years ago. I read and viewed stories, in Harper's and on NOW, about how New Orleans was going to get washed away. At the time, I really didn't care. I chalked the coverage up to liberal media bitching about problems for the sake of bitching. Who knew that stories in Harper's could be so relevant? So prescient? (Whereas the August/September 05 issue of poor Budget Living, a magazine where I still semi regret turning down a job, had a story about a burgeoning hip neighborhood in Nawlins where you can still snatch up a little bungalow for a mere $300k.) The point is, many, many people did anticipate the breech of the levees, and have been working for years if not decades to do something about it. His simplistic, aw-shucks view of everything is just embarrassing.
If you are feeling exhausted by Katrina and ready to bash (or just get really depressed about) the Administration on some other fronts, take a look at The San Francisco Bay Guardian's 10 Biggest Stories the Mainstream Media Ignored Over the Past Year (lest you decry the liberal media again, the list was actually composed by Project Censored, a media watchdog org from Sonoma - that's liberal intelligentsia - ahem, get it straight). Some of the items freak me out more than others. But I have to admit that the one I'm currently buying into is the stolen 2004 election. In the past 10 months or so, whenever Herr Guitar started spouting stolen election paranoia (and it has been often), I've sort of yawned it off and politely changed the subject back to me. But in catching up on some Harper's reading on my vacation last week, I read None Dare Call it Stolen , and I'm an election-conspiracy convert. If you think, like I did, that the whole argument is rooted is sore-loserdom, just read the first few paragraphs - I dare you - and see if you aren't swayed.
One last Katrina tidbit... I've found the news coverage about animals being saved from the flood waters just the slightest bit distasteful. I love my dog just as much as Oprah and Matthew McConaughey, but to me it seems like the news media's way of putting an adorable face on victims they otherwise don't want to look at. Plus, watching dogs get saved in style while there are still people that need to get out of there is just wrong. My Vegas friend said to me this morning (in her pricelessly callous style), "I care more about the dogs than I do the people. That's why I haven't been watching the news, because if I see one dog in danger I will freak out." Is she the typical American? Maybe that's why those 10 stories are being ignored.
posted by j.m. at 4:34 PM
1 Comments:
IP and Katrina
I guess the nifty thing about intangible property is that it can survive even a category 5 hurricane.
Hey, great blog! Keep up the good work. I will check back soon!
I have a positive affirmation site. It pretty much covers positive affirmation related stuff.
Check it out if you get the time :-)
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