Trick or Treat?
The nomination of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court:
A treat for the Right, a trick on all of us.
- posted by Chris @ 9:38 AM

 
Hurricanes and firestorms
If it's not Mother Nature getting us all worked up, it's political idiocy.

Can't do anything about the hurricanes themselves, but it does seem like we could be a helluva lot smarter about how we respond. Like not building, rebuilding, cleaning up, rebuilding in areas prone to being swept away by the ocean? And if you have to have your ocean view, then take responsibility for it. Don't run to the government to rebuild your house.

And political idiocy. I confess, I was glad that some kind of action came out of the grand jury investigating the Valerie Plame leak case. (Are we finally done with -gate lingo? Thank Goddess!) But as one of my new work colleagues notes, Lewis is just a fall guy (aka "disposable ensign" in Star Trek mythology).

We know that this administration plays by its own convoluted insider/fraternity boy/TeamBush rules. We know that a relatively minor player like the VP's chief of staff didn't come up with the idea on his own to "out" a CIA agent (thereby possibly endangering established webs of the much valued "humint" that the government so desperately needs?). Are we soon going to hear that it was a "Becket" moment ... that one of the big boys said "I wish we could distract the American people from our serious fuckup on WMD intelligence by giving them the head of naysayer Joseph Wilson, garnished with the safety and reputation of his wife, on a plate"? And thus, it was done, by a flunky?

Wouldn't surprise me. I'm ready for some social revolution, people. Or a return of the Enlightenment, at the very least.
- posted by Chris @ 9:22 AM