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| Thursday, September 8, 2005 |
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Party off 
| | are thick on the ground here in Northern California and in Silicon Valley. These are the folks who helped elect Arnold Schwarznegger governor of the state, believing him when he said that he would fix state government and make it more responsive. |
| | For the nothing it's worth, I didn't vote for Schwartzenegger. Libertarians usually get my "none of the above" vote. Like most Libertarians, I prefer less government, less bureaucracy, less regulation, less protectionism (especially of dead or dying industries), less interference with private lives and private enterprise. (If I were a pure Libertarian I'd substitute "no" for "less", but that's not me, because...) Like most Democrats, I believe there are some things only governments are in a position to do. Or to lead. Also, like most Democrats, I believe government should embody the caring that citizens hold for each other, and that always appears after a disaster. In that respect, I'm in alignment with the Progressive Vision outlined by George Lakoff and the Rockridge Institute. |
| | I could go on, but I don't have time and it's all beside the main points Chris makes, and many of us (including but hardly limited to Jeff and me) have been bringing up in the wake of Katrina. We need to make the functions of government, reacting to an emergency, for instance‹work better through smarter use of technology, better organization of people and resources, better preparation, Chris says we say. And she's right. |
Hindsights
| | And, I have no doubt that Blanco was far too dilatory and Nagin less than skilfull when it counted. They take their fair share of the responsibility. But you know what? Blanco and Nagin weren't elected as commanders-in-chief. The fundamental reason George W. Bush was re-elected was his commitment to national security and a government able to deal with post-9/11 real crises and calamities. That was his promise. And when the first real post 9/11 test came, he flunked it. |
| | Would Kerry have passed it? Gore? Clinton? Bush the Elder (who lost to Clinton after failing to respond commandingly to Hurricane Andrew)? Reagan? Carter? Just asking. |
| | My sister arrived here last night after a layover in Atlanta, where she got to talk with some firefighters convened there to obtain training as "community relations officers" for FEMA (which is also busy censoring the press). One told her the best way to understand various military (and other) branches' approaches to post-Katrina New Orleans was to imagine four different directors making four different disaster movies with four different crews in the same location. |
Thread of life
| | I've been taking turns manning the virtual call centre we have set up using Skype linked to KatrinaHelp, to help cover 24 hours of the day. I am beginning to understand what it feels like to be a call-centre operator :). |
| | What amazes me though, is that I can volunteer my time, sitting in my living room at home in Mumbai India, and be of use to help those seeking information about their loved ones who are missing on that other side of the world. This morning, I was on a shift for a couple of hours, and I received about 8 calls on our Skypein number, and made a few on SkypeOut. It was really rewarding to be able to point the callers to resources and hook them up with those offering help. And they were so grateful someone was listening to them, and that they did not have to figure out how to navigate pages on websites and wikis. |
| | I arrived at Dina's via Ming the Mechanic's blogroll, which includes a large number of interesting people to whom I pay insufficient attention. I arrived at Ming's while digging around for thinking other than my own about the live Web (the one that's written and spoken and played and shown and shared through blogs and other live sources, rather than just "built" on "sites" — which is what we've had for more than a decade with the static Web). Ming's latest featured this: |
| | This is an absurd question, yes? Of course! It simply doesn't matter whether we "believe in" life or not. Life is all around us, and in us. We're part of it. Life is, period. What we say about life, however, is another story. If I say, "Life is wonderful," or "Life's a bitch," or "Life's a jungle," you may or may not believe me, depending on your own experience and the stories you've heard from others. What we say about life - its nature, its essence, its purpose, its patterns - along with the metaphors and analogies we choose to describe it, are all open for discussion and debate. But the reality of life is indisputable. |
| | And, of course, we can only define death in terms of life. Death explains nothing on its own. Without life, death is silent as a shadow. |
| | I had no idea Ming's blog would talk about life. The thought just popped into my head: What's up with Ming? |
Advisory
| | Susan Kitchens: Note to self: Thou shalt replace boxes of D batteries more often than once every 16 years. |
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