Geee Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 National Review:When a loved one dies (as my brother did last month), one of the standard pieces of advice is to avoid any big decisions. Don’t reorganize your life in a moment of existential panic or remorse. Take your time. Cope. But when thousands die, or when some sudden calamity befalls us, the tendency of politicians, journalists, policymakers, and experts is to seize the moment to advocate some radical changes. A crisis, Rahm Emanuel famously declared in the early days of the Obama administration, is a terrible thing to waste.That this axiom didn’t generate more controversy always struck me as bizarre. I mean, shouldn’t it be “a crisis is a terrible thing to exploit”?So here we go again in Japan, where the tragedy is literally too terrible to comprehend. The death toll, the scale — the whole nation moved 8 to 12 feet — the suddenness: It all overwhelms.And yet the search for scapegoats and the thirst to confirm one’s preferred policies kicked in almost immediately.The most egregious examples were attempts to link, no matter how tenuously, the earthquake with climate change. In fairness, such naked balderdash has been far less common than it was in the wake of the Asian tsunami of 2004, never mind the riot of idiocy after Hurricane Katrina the following year (when, for example, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blamed Mississippi governor Haley Barbour: “Now we are all learning what it’s like to reap the whirlwind of fossil-fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged”). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepper Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 BREAKING NEWS FOX NEWS IS OFF THE AIR At least at Chez Pepper for the next day or two. The three on the Kirby Couch on the early show make less sense than three chattering chipmunks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanguine Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 BREAKING NEWS FOX NEWS IS OFF THE AIR At least at Chez Pepper for the next day or two. The three on the Kirby Couch on the early show make less sense than three chattering chipmunks. At my house too! This is disgraceful and damaging. The media hype will directly and negatively affect public perceptions and policy for years to come. Besides, I can't stand all the drama queens swooning and hyperventilating all over the place. Good grief, what's wrong with dignity and accuracy? Prayers for Japan. I can't even imagine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geee Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 BREAKING NEWS FOX NEWS IS OFF THE AIR At least at Chez Pepper for the next day or two. The three on the Kirby Couch on the early show make less sense than three chattering chipmunks. Ditto-second day now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 TRIFECTA! A little perspective on the radiation threat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickadee Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 TRIFECTA! A little perspective on the radiation threat... Gotta love those radioactive bananas. Great find Rheo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearvision Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Fatalities from Chernobyl's meltdown were not closely monitored, but estimates range from 4000 to close to one million. Really!? One million fatalities? The media is going crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Of course I could be wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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