I Drew This: the Incompetence of King George

Normally, I would just post a link to I Drew This and have you read it yourself, but I think that D.C. Simpson is right on, and it's important that you read the whole thing. So, and please forgive me, D.C., here is the full text from I Think This from September 1, 2005:

The irony is enough to make you vomit.

Today, September 1, the Department of Homeland Security launched National Preparedness Month.

Preparedness for what? The display of unpreparedness going on in Louisiana is greatest human tragedy on American soil in my lifetime so far. How dare these people talk to us about preparedness. People are dying amidst disease, squalor and misery because of their unpreparedness.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm sorry. I'm really angry.

What we keep hearing, from the administration but also from people who should know better, is that this is not the time to "play politics" with the disaster.

Well, first of all, who's playing? I could not possibly be more serious.

And second, why do so many people have this idea that politics are a game? Some sort of popularity contest, unrelated to people's actual lives? I have news for you. Politics are the means by which we select the leaders who will, in turn, make policy. Policy affects your life. At times like these, policy can be the difference between life and death.

Poll after poll shows that people agree with the Democrats on almost every major issue. We would be a liberal country if we voted for the leaders who would actually enact policies we agree with. But we don't vote that way for some reason. You saw it in the last election. It was all "I'm going to vote for Bush because you know where you stand with him." And "I'm voting for Bush because he makes me feel safe."

It is not the quality of a leader's Clint Eastwood impression that keeps you safe, people. It is the quality of his (or her) policies. And this administration's policies are terrible. Al Gore's would not have been. John Kerry's would not have been. You would have agreed more with their policies and priorities. They would not have been asleep at the switch. America, your nearsightedness in returning this man to power made this crisis worse. It made people die.

George W. Bush said on "Good Morning America" that no one anticipated that the levees might break. That is flat out false. In fact, many people anticipated it. FEMA, in 2001, identified a category 5 hurricane destroying the levees and flooding New Orleans as one of the three major disasters most likely to befall the United States. One of the others was a terrorist attack on New York.

Well, guess what? We've had both. Guess what Bush did to prepare? Nothing. Then the administration looked us straight in the eye, both times, and said no one could have anticipated that this would happen. Well, bullshit, George. It's bullshit and I don't think you care.

This one is even worse, because in 2003 and 2004, the Bush administration specifically cut the funds for strengthening those specific levees, because it needed the money for Iraq. It's ironic that we were told, ad nauseam, that we had to invade Iraq because it posed a real threat to our safety and we had to be proactive. So, in the name of that, the administration took away the funds that might have prevented a far more likely tragedy from claiming so many lives, as it is now in the process of doing.

And who normally deals with these tragedies? Well, the National Guard. That's why we have a National Guard. It isn't designed to fight wars. It's designed to deal with domestic disaster scenarios. But nearly half the Louisiana National Guard is in Iraq.

George's vanity war and his neo-imperialist fantasy of remaking the middle east and his obsessive desire to slash his friends' taxes all came before these people's lives. And now they're dying. Old people. Children. Sick people. Mostly poor people, who couldn't escape, and, when the hurricane was bearing down on them, got no governmental help in doing so. And now they're dying, George. Dying.

Playing politics? George, you've spent your whole presidency invoking 9/11. You've spent your whole presidency trying to claim anyone who doesn't support your policies doesn't care if 9/11 happens again. This despite the fact that the other side tried to stand with you right after that tragedy happened. They ignored your policy failures; the fact that Clinton's National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger, gave you specific warnings about bin Laden and plans for dealing with them; FEMA's warnings that such an attack would be a huge disaster; and the fact that Hart-Rudman warned explicitly in Spring 2001 that one was coming. And you did nothing, but the Democrats let it slide because no one thought it was the time to dwell on past failures.

Well, now we're in it again, and in a lot of ways this one is even worse, and you not only did nothing to prepare, you impeded others' ability to do so. And again we're being told this isn't the time. Well, when is the time? How many times do you have to get people killed before we're allowed to talk about it? How many dead babies do we have to see on TV before criticizing the people who let it happen stops being "shrill"? I've had enough.

America, to you I say, this is proof that your policymakers should be people who are competent and whose policies you actually support. If you install a government because, gosh, they look likable and macho on television, you're going to get lousy policy, and people will suffer and die. It is not a game, it is not an abstraction, and you need to stop treating it so casually.

George, to you I say, we are not playing politics. You're the one who's playing. Playing golf, playing guitar in photo ops, acting like nothing was wrong the day after Katrina hit, the day the levees broke and New Orleans started to disappear. Giving speeches comparing yourself to FDR while lives were being washed into the Gulf of Mexico. You're the unserious party here. You don't get to base your whole career on playing politics, then urge others not to do so the moment politics becomes inconvenient.

People are dead because of your policies. If you really do talk to God, I hope he gives you an earful for this one.

Let me reiterate...

I love my TDI Golf.

Gasoline (the lowest octane) was $2.899/gal tonight. Diesel was $2.799. Plus I get 40mpg.

We made the right choice.

Some old Limericks

There once was a lady of Ryde
Who ate a green apple and died
The apple fermented
Inside the lamented
And made cider inside her inside!

There was a party of Lyme
Who married three wives at a time.
When asked, "Why the third?"
He replied, "One's absurd!
"And bigamy, sir, is a crime!"

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Today was a restful day. We got up relatively late, nearly finished off the waffles (and had some with pineapple!), and played cards for a while before showers. We went in to town, and stopped at Lighthaus to get mom a Compactflash adapter and another memory card. Then, to Border's so Steve could post for his classes while mom and dad went shopping. After returning, some swimming before trying out mom's new toys and dinner. Some TV, then I worked on labeling my photographs for posterity. Now I'm writing this.

Two weird things today: first, I broke Steve's nail clipper while cutting my nails. And I don't mean operator error - the metal snapped! Anyway, I suppose it was an omen, because shortly thereafter, Steve tor his toenail. It was bloody. Poor thing. I think it hurts a lot. He's sleeping now, though. Will try to do some reviews tonight. Nothing in the papers (that I saw) about tourists being trapped by a lava flow. Forgot to check the USGS website, though. Unfortunately, Amy's shots didn't turn out.

That's all for now.

Monday, May 16, 2005

I hate it when I don't have time to finish an entry. Ah, well. Here we go again...

We had pizza the evening we arrived, baked ourselves. Sunday, we rested a bit, and went to the Ali'i Gardens market, where we got leis for the incoming travellers. We met Amy and Brenden at the airport that evening, though we got there a bit early 'cause mom was excited. We got them checked into their hotel and had dinner at the "Kona Style Fish and Chips" restaurant. Pretty good, although we didn't have fish and chips. Then, mom, dad and I headed back to our hotel.

Monday, mom and dad picked up Amy and Brenden from their hotel, and Amy hit her head on the car roof getting in. Oops. We did a late checkout and we had lunch at Drysdale's waiting for the condo to be ready. That evening, we picked up Steve from the airport.

Tuesday we listened to Chris (that's the manager of the timeshare in Kona) tell ten-year-old jokes - although there was some new and some old info. We went to Costco to stock up, and we also had lunch at Quinn's.

Wednesday, we got up relatively early and went snorkeling. Steve shot a whole roll of film, and he got some nice shots. Brenden was attacked by a rock; Amy, Steve and I were attacked by fish. Then we hung out at the condo for the rest of the day.

Thursday, we went to the Hilo side of the island. We stopped at many places along the way... Waimea, Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls. WE took a wrong turn in Hilo and spent a while trying to figure out the way back. We also went to the "Boiling Pots," though we couldn't see them boiling. Steve is sometimes rather adventurous... at Rainbow Falls, he found a trail and hiked back to the top of the falls. Literally... he has pictures looking down the waterfall. On the way, we also stopped at a pier/park that had some beautiful views. We think it was Laupahoehoe Park. We also found a Japanese (?) graveyard.

Friday we didn't do a whole lot, though we went up to the Keauhou Shopping Center for the Polynesian Paradise show. It was different this time. No male dancer and no young girls. It was also a bit better.

Saturday we went into town and walked around a bit. Steve and I watched the ocean for a while, and had a drink it Durty Jake's before we met for dinner at Hard Rock. After, I cut some pineapple for Steve while the others went to watch the sunset.

Sunday we rested and hung out at the pool until it was time for the Luau. We also picked up pictures from Costco. The Luau was good, but the don't have you take a picture with the Luau girl and boy anymore. Oh, well.

Today, we got up bright and early (8) and started out (~9:30) for Volcanoes National Park. We stopped at Kealekekua Bay (where Captain Cook first landed), and Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (the City of Refuge). Also, we stopped at Na'alehu to eat. The bakery is very good. A bit later, we stopped at a black sand beach called Honolu'u. We saw some resting turtles there, too.

Later, we passed Volcanoes and went to the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens. Lots of pretty orchids there, but very expensive.

After that, we went to Volcanoes and checked in at the visitor's center. The walk out to the lava is three miles each way, and the last couple miles, the ground has been falling into the ocean! We watched the video and took a look at the steam vents. The road to the sulfer banks is gone! We also went to the Volcano House to look out. Then, we headed down to Thursten lava tube and went through. Steve and I went beyond the lit part a ways with flashlights.

Then we went up to the Kilauea Military Camp for dinner. Now, we're heading towards Chain of Craters Road to see if we can see the lava. Will update later.

---Later---

Ok, so we went out to the Ranger station and looked through the telescope there and were able to see it flowing into the ocean. Steve wanted to go out and see the lava up close, so Brenden, Steve, Amy, mom and I hiked out across the barren, jagged field a ways - slightly past the end of the trail markers, though not all the way out and not as far as some people were going. We climbed up an outcropping and had a pretty good view of the lava coming down the mountain, but we didn't get very close. Then we came back to the car. As we were driving back up, we saw a glow off to the right side of the car. We stopped, an as near as we could tell, it was a new lava flow. Amy got a couple picture of it, so we'll see how they turn out. Pretty spooky - I think we got out in time. If there's anything interesting in tomorrow's paper, I'll save it.

We're on Hwy 11 again, we we're headed back to the condo. If anything interesting happends, I will write more.

Monday, May 9, 2005

(photo by SLehr, 2005)
Well, here I am in Kona, Hi, again. As always, it's gorgeous here. This trip should prove to be an interesting one. Along with mom, dad, myself and Amy, we have Brenden, Amy's fiancé, and we will pick up Steve, my boyfriend, from the airport tonight. With six, it should be an adventure. But let me fill you in on what's happened so far.

Saturday, we (mom, dad, and I) got up ridiculously early at 3:30am and Amy drove us out to the airport. Fortunately, the flight to San Fran was uneventful, as was the much longer flight from there to Kona.

Ok, so the others just got back, and apparently Amy hit her head on the car. Ouch. I think she'll be okay, though.

Anyway, on the flight to Kona, I mostly read, though I did work a bit on one of the plays that Amy and I are writing. During the flight, I was sitting next to a group of cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. - 13 in all - who had decided to all come together to Hawaii. Pretty neat. After landing and getting the car and the luggage, we headed over to Quinn's for lunch, since it was only noon. Good food. The catch was Ono.

After lunch, we went over to the farmer's market and took a look around. There was an orchid show nearby, so we went there, too. So many types of orchids! Big, small, all colors... crazy. After that, we headed back to the car and came down to the Royal Sea Cliff and checked in. It's kinda a hotel, but the rooms are condos. It's pretty nice, although the pullout bed is pretty soggy. After a while, we went swimming. The RSC has two pools, a slatwater and a regular pool, though we're not convinced the saltwater is anything special.

Before I get started

The following posts, from May 9 through May 23, are from my personal jounral during my Hawaii trip in 2005. These were not originally posted on these days.

Wow... such a long time...

It's weird... the last time I posted about my life itself was February 11. And yet, there've been a lot of things going on in my life. So, here we go, an update on me!

I guess I'll start with the Journey and Chartering weekend. Thursday, March 3, Dusty arrived via a combination of airplane and bus. I spent the day with him, mostly just hanging out. Friday, I had class as normal, but Dusty decided to go ahead and get his tattoo done, so I met him at a shop on the Hill (though I don't remember its name). It looked painful; I don't think I'm going to get a tattoo. But, it looks pretty good. It's DLP letters, on the back of his right (I think) calf. We also tried to find something suitable for gifts for Cole, but didn't. That evening, the whole chapter, even the pledges, went out to dinner at Old Chicago. It was a nice meal, fun. Then we went back to the mentors' hotel room (well... some folks took a detour or two) and got our first clue, which was fun to solve. Most folks left, but some of us stayed and listened to stories for a while. Then the rest of us went home for some needed rest.

Saturday morning, we got up and met at Denny's for breakfast and the second clue. Eventually, we ended up: up the mountain, Target, Fascinations, Safeway, Pearl Street and Old Main before we had dinner (though lunch was in there somewhere). We did have some problems with some of the clues... a couple of times we went to the wrong place, but we eventually figured everything out. Then, the questioning at the UMC. Talk about nerve-wracking! But everything worked out, and we were initiated shortly before midnight on Saturday. Hooray! Sunday, we had breakfast at The Egg & I as full brothers of Delta Lambda Phi.

The other important set of events took place around April 14, which was my six-month anniversary with Steve. On Tuesday of that week, I masterbated with a friend, which itself was agreed on by Steve and me as acceptable. Unfortunately, although I stuck to the letter of the agreement, the spirit of such did not escape unharmed. And, in doing so, I hurt Steve, something I have never meant to do, which lead to the biggest argument that he and I have had. Really the only argument. You can read his comments, as well. As for me... it's in the past, and I don't think I'll discuss it more.

I had two (or more? I can't remember) concerts, as well. The DPO concert, which was titled "A Celtic Celebration," went really well. Probably among our best concerts, though it was, of course, not without fault. The Brighton concert... was not as good. It actually got snowed out and rescheduled.

I've also finished another semester at CU. Just finished my last two exams on Thursday. Unfortunately, they scheduled both physics tests on Thursday, so it was the hardest and most stressful day I've had in a long time. It was a great relief to be finished with them, even if I didn't do as well as I would've liked. Actually, I think the Quantum test went just fine... but I'm a bit worried about the E&M test. As for the other classes, well... I know I got an A in one and an A- in another, and I'm pretty sure I have an A or A- in the third, as well. So, at the very least, the semester grades look good overall.

Oh! Also, since my seizure, my parents decided to get me a new car. Something with airbags. I had a pretty stringent set of requirements, but we eventually settled/compromised on the VW Golf TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection... that's right, it's diesel!). So, the beginning of April, we actually got one. TDIs seem to be relatively hard to find right now. Whether it's because of the rising gasoline prices (creating a demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles) or that VW just doesn't have very many in the US is hard to tell. Now, "Why diesel?" you may ask. Good question. Firstly, the diesel engines are more efficient; my current gas mileage is around 40 mpg, and the fleet manager of the lot where I bought it indicated that this would go up as the engine is broken in. Secondly, biodiesel. Biodiesel is better than petrodiesel for a number of reasons, but one of the most important being muchly reduced emissions. Unfortunately, VW America has not approved B100 (or 100% biodiesel) for use yet. It has apparently approved B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% petrodiesel) recently, though I'm awaiting confirmation on that. And, biodiesel can be used in diesel engines with little or no modification. So, win-win. Better gas fuel mileage either way, plus the option of switching over to a better fuel in the (hopefully near) future.

And I love my new car. It's shiny and neat, not underpowered, and fun to drive. If things go well, I'll probably be a VWer for life.

What else? I can't think of much else to write about now. My family is going to Hawaii for vacation tomorrow, and Steve will be joining us this time. Very exciting! I love him so. Then, when we're back, I have a doctor's appointment (I found a lump on the inside of my leg, and it was pretty big, but it's shrunk almost to nothing now), and back to work after that. I'll keep a journal of happenings on the trip, though whether they'll ever make it onto my blog is uncertain, especially considering that I still don't have my journals up from the last Hawaii trip.

And, in closing, a poem:

Travels afar and journeys within
Broadening hearts or something akin
The goal of life; what joy's in.

Prelinkage

Ok, some prelinkage before a longer post.

RadGeek has some thoughts on crushing walmart.

Hmm... I guess that's it for now. Stay tuned!

I missed May Day

Again. Sigh. Someday I'll remember it. Fortunately, RadGeek remembered. He's not the only one, of course, but probably the best writer.

William Gillis has a post on why copyleft is morally unsound and what he's doing about it.

The Colorado Indymedia site was attacked, along with 10+ others. I'm going to see if I can help at all.

It turns out I'm nerdier than 82% of all people:



Also, eventually I'll post on the past few months. They've been interesting.

Anarchism, from La Liberation

Minus some important diacritical marks.

Aaron over at La Liberation discusses Anarchism, Habits and Mores. RadGeek tells the Democrats to grow a spine.

And I beat Kingdom Hearts today. Whee! Oh, plus we found a car! Yay!