Roundup

So what does it mean when you have deja vu, and remember having deja vu about the same thing before, when you were doing the same thing, because it's something you do fairly regularly? Even as simple as leaning on a counter and looking through a binder.

Sometimes, I think we've lost important things to irony. Reminded, of all things, by cartoon themes. We make fun of the goofy things, and they were goofy, and not terribly deep, but they weren't supposed to be. But they get ironic jabs in part because they were earnest and optimistic. What's wrong with earnest optimism?

Y'know, I kinda think it wouldn't hurt to have codes of honor again. Not just codes of ethics, those just say mostly "don't do this." What would make a good code of honor? Or a basis for one? (This is not entirely speculative, I need to make one up for a story, too.)

Sometime in the next 30 years or so, we're in all likelyhood going to elect a President who's had a Livejournal.

I'm sick of being introverted. Of course, changing something like that is a pain in the ass.

Reality and parody

I'm not sure how much to believe this. Just because it seems like exactly the kind of thing someone would make up if they were trying to play to the worst views people have about Bush. And Good Morning America doesn't seem to have transcripts up. On the other hand, I have no reason to doubt the people who reported it, and I've heard it from multiple places.

George Bush was on Good Morning America today. They were talking to him about New Orleans. And he said:

"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."

That's bullshit. Everyone in New Orleans knew what might happen. It was warned about in National Geographic. Three quarters of the coverage of the hurricane leading up to the hit on New Orleans mentioned "Oh, shit, it's gonna wipe out the levees!" It was listed by FEMA in 2001 as one of the top three worst possible emergencies for the country (the other two were a terrorist strike on New York, and a strong earthquake in California)

Assuming he's not deliberately lying, the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES must be considered so willfully ignorant he didn't pay attention to ANY of the coverage of a giant storm headed toward the country he's supposed to be serving and protecting. All of his advisers must not have mentioned it to him (which means they've failed at their jobs, too). The sheer, staggering, mind-numbing incompetence and disconnect from reality it would take for him NOT to know is in many ways worse than figuring he's utterly dishonest and trying to spin the country about the worst natural disaster in the US in years.

Of course, he couldn't be trying to cover up how badly his administration has cut FEMA and funding for New Orleans's Levees.

[EDIT: A chronology of Bush's FEMA]

[EDIT AGAIN: And More]

CYA is really more effective when it's not a blatant lie.

Sweet monkeys. People who think government can't help should not be in charge of government. Because they don't care, do a half-assed job, and then use the fact that THEY fucked things up as justification to go "See! Government sucks! Vote for us!"

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