September 29, 2005
Double heh.
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September 25, 2005
We have well-attended science fiction conventions in Toronto too! They last a few days as opposed to a few hours, so I totally expect commensurate news coverage.
Posted by: Debbye at
11:21 PM
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September 24, 2005
The second-guessing will be inevitable, but I'm from earthquake country and the idea that people actually have prior warning about the approach of a hurricane and can take measures to safeguard their lives and property makes me downright envious. I suppose it's just human nature to be irritated when precautions turn out to be unnecessary, but hey! we're alive, therefore we bitch.
Going further with a half-full glass stance, the evacuation of a city the size of Houston can be spelled opportunity as local, state and federal officials review evaluation reports and those lessons learned can provide invaluable information for all cities in the event they need to get millions of people out in the event of a natural or man-made catastrophe.
Media coverage of both Katrina and Rita have been much as we'd expect: breathless, drama-building reports from some poor schlubs who are forced to file their reports out of doors just so we can get a "feel" for what not having enough sense to come in out of the rain is like, but there have been some things they failed to report such as these:
Americans breathe a sigh of relief asCheck out a number of items that didn't make the press over at Countercolumn (and if you can take it, read about the sad and embittered race of men we call Logisticians.)
Texans stop bragging for 5 minutes...Floridians count blessings...
Dems demand recount...
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05:21 PM
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September 23, 2005
I've always had a pet theory that inviting the newly-American inhabitants of the city to join us in fighting the British - and beating the Recoats soundly - brought New Orleans and Louisiana securely into the American fabric and reduced the abandonment many felt when Napoleon sold them along with the territory. We cannot think of Andrew Jackson without remembering Jean Lafite, and the Battle of New Orleans is remembered with a glory which is scarcely diminished even when we consider that it took place after a treaty had been signed.
Abandoning New Orleans is literally a case of abandoning an important part of our heritage and an integral part of the history of extending our borders from sea to sea.
And then there's the personal. So many of us have wonderful memories of the times we visited there (and sometimes the memories are the more cherished because we can't exactly remember!) furthering the dilemma beyond logic and reason. The cuisine. The music. The people. The mystique. New Orleans is part of the American soul in ways I can feel more than articulate.
I can't even imagine how those who call New Orleans home are feeling today, but maybe it is time to bite the bullet and make some hard calls. It is going to hurt. Deeply. Even thinking about it hurts. Part of me knows that with time we'll do what we've always done: cling to that part of the American spirit that has always held that a new future means a better future, but for now I thinks its permissible to grieve.
18:25 - The news out of New Orleans is getting worse. Thank God the city stayed closed, but spare a thought for the troops there.
Glad to see the President sensibly cancelled his trip to the region. People on the ground there have enough to contend with and don't need the security nightmare.
I finally received word that my Texas friends are safely out of Rita's path. I have to go to work tonight (although I really don't want to leave the storm watch) and I'll be holding my breath even though I know on most levels that we'll weather it.
I can't help thinking that the destruction wrought by the hurricanes have brought us together again. I don't mean the politicians and other Important People but just us, the normal, everyday American whom everyone takes for granted. The press was all a-twitter at the lapses at every level of government but for me, it just reinforced the soundness of the joke "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
Say a prayer for Texas. We owe them: the people of Houston electrified the nation when they strode in with a "we can help" attitude and gave refuge to thousands of NO Katrina survivors (and, more importantly, challenged other cities to do the same) and rekindled belief in something that we've seen too rarely in these modern times: neighbourly actions. Southern hospitality and Christian charity have combined to remind us (again) that we are a decent, good people and that we can help and stand by one another.
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04:17 PM
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September 22, 2005
My third thought was that my kids (or anyone's kids) could have warned 'em that adults will not easily tolerate the same question a second - much less a third - time, and a general is The Adult in a room of adults.
The full impact of his words, however, contain a sharper rebuke (full transcript at Radio Blogger) than "being stuck on stupid." Seems that some in the news media just wouldn't accept their mission no matter how many times it was laid out for them and how urgent the matter was:
... You are carrying the message, okay?The news media's help is urgently needed to get information to those who need assistance evacuating New Orleans. The message is simple and clear-cut. Heck, a 50's era movie would have shown reporters racing to the phones and the presses rolling.... And we understand that there's a problem in getting communications out. That's where we need your help. But let's not confuse the questions with the answers.
... Let's not get stuck on the last storm. You're asking last storm questions for people who are concerned about the future storm. Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters. We are moving forward. And don't confuse the people please. You are part of the public message. So help us get the message straight. And if you don't understand, maybe you'll confuse it to the people. That's why we like follow-up questions. But right now, it's the convention center, and move on.
Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that's happening this time, though, and did not have that last time...
Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I'm not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with Rita. This is public information that people are depending on the government to put out. This is the way we've got to do it. So please. I apologize to you, but let's talk about the future. Rita is happening. And right now, we need to get good, clean information out to the people that they can use. And we can have a conversation on the side about the past, in a couple of months. [Emphasis added]
It's not the first time that I've watched a press conference and, as I listened to reporter's questions, wondered if they had even listened to the speaker. What is wrong with those members of the news media who are flustered when asked to simply report vital information in the public interest? Does doing so upset their itsy bitsy apple carts?
Too bad the general couldn't tell the offending reporter(s) "Drop down and give me 50" (you know he wanted to.)
The incident seems underplayed today in the news as Rita closes in, but it won't be forgotten. Milibloggers cheer and salute, and it's being adopted as a new motto. One Canadian has seen its logical extention to public life and has challenged politicians to stand up and tell the truth and a staffer for at least one California politician seems to be making it part of a re-election campaign.
There is a very good "reverse fisking" by Jack Yoest. He makes a lot of points I wish I had thought of but he got there first and does it well.
Generation Why saved me the trouble of digging up two vastly contrasting photos which goes to show that wisdom can be gained by learning from the mistakes of others (link via One Hand Clapping.)
(Other links via Open Post at Mudville Gazette.)
I haven't been able to locate a reference to the press conference at the Department of Defense Katrina news page. It may be just a time lag thingy (they don't seem to have any information about the military role in the evacuation, either) or maybe some public relations types are trying to figure out if they should ignore it, note it, or stand pat until they see which way the wind blows.
Note to DoD: that genie left the bottle and took the cork with her. It ain't rocket science.
19:31 - Here's the link in Dan's comment to a prior case of plain talk by the Ragin Cajun (scroll down to Sept. 5 entry.) Logic tells me that many members of the press are just itching to play "gotcha" with the good general, but they are insufficiently aware of how much we Americans (and many Canadians) treasure blunt honesty. It may have taken over 30 years to sink in, but finally, somewhere, Spiro T. Agnew is smiling.
Posted by: Debbye at
08:48 AM
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September 13, 2005
What Bush said:
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government and to the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. (Emphasis added.)This is as it should be, and the president is taking full responsibility for those things which are actually under federal control.
Had he intervened earlier and outside of the legal limits imposed on his office, of course, we'd probably be looking at the Dems building a case to impeach him.
In a bizarre twist, the one person who failed to take sufficient responsibility for saving lives is deeply concerned about the recovery of the dead: LA Gov. Kathleen Blanco is quoted in the same article criticizing "lack of urgency and lack of respect" recovering bodies of those who died.
I guess she really needs their votes for the next election.
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02:52 PM
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"Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them," he said. "The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire."He's right, so far as he goes, but the most contentious rulings umpires make are judgement calls - balls, strikes, safe, out, fair, foul, and even whether to invoke the Infield Fly Rule - and those are not to be questioned, discussed or argued over (unless you're eager for the hook.) Should the umpire get a rule wrong then the game can be played under protest (that must be stated before the next pitch) and, should the protest be upheld and it is found that the umpire's mistake affected the outcome adversely for the protester, the game can be replayed or picked up from the point of the protest if the game went enough innings to be considered a regulation game.
In other words, judges on appeal benches are more like the protest committee - but even the protest committee can't overturn judgement calls.
One more thing: the Official Baseball Rules are a lot longer than the U.S. Constitution.
A committee member (can't remember who) did pick up the baseball theme and pointed out that umpires don't make the rules but have to apply the definition of the strike zone as it is set out in the in the rules (see Definition of Terms which is Section 2.0 of the Official Baseball Rules and scroll down to "Strike.")
I really expected committee members and the gallery to burst out laughing at that point because an ongoing problem in MLB is precisely that far too many umpires are not giving the lower zone which is unfair to the pitcher.
Freakin' activist umpires.
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01:39 PM
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September 11, 2005
(From Shattered, a series of stark photos by James Nachtwey.)
Sept. 11 - Americans were a different people four years ago, idly wondering how a plane could have wandered off course and hit one of the World Trade Towers. Within a few minutes, we were wiser.
My family will again make our annual pilgrimmage to the Toronto Consulate this afternoon. It's lonely; last year the flowers and memorials were few and the flag was flying at full mast, but the Canadian military college next door did have their flag at half-mast and that simple sign of respect reminded me that many Canadians do care and remember even as I felt abandoned by my own consulate.
So much has happened this past month. The Able Danger revelations, Katrina, and damning report on the administration of the Oil-for-Food program all lead to one inevitable conclusion: can a house so divided still stand?
If any good came out of Katrina, it was a reminder of the urgency of electing people who can make the hard calls, swallow their partisan pride, and get to work on the challenges at hand. The Democrats, who have long resented that a Republican was in the White House on Sept. 11, had a chance to prove their leadership mettle when Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent floods hit New Orleans and their failures served to remind me why I voted for George W.
The responsibilities of citizenship at the ballot box have been brought home in a way we never envisioned. The danger of overly partisan politics and whatever motives led Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco to stubbornly resist federal leadership brought so much pain and needless suffering to her constituency that words cannot express my contempt for those who are scrambling wildly to protect her but do bring new and frightening meaning to the phrase "miserable failure."
Bill Whittle's newest essay, Tribes, places the contrasts in sharp relief. Me? I don't know if I'm a sheep or a sheepdog, but suspect I'm a Molly Pitcher. Folks, there's more than enough work for willing hands.
A last but by no means the least tribute and prayers for the courageous crew and passengers of Flight 93. They saved America by reminding us of the great deeds that can come from previously nondescript citizens.
God Bless America. May we never forget the lessons we learned that day - not only about the enemy, but about ourselves.
16:44 - The flag at the Consulate was at half-mast this year, and I deeply thank the official who saw to what to me was an all important detail. Our flowers were the only ones left, but we went late in the afternoon and I am going to assume that previous tributes had been cleared away.
Posted by: Debbye at
08:54 AM
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