Apparently, this “where does my money go” site (see previous post) isn’t an original idea, although why the best summary of the battle for getting the matter unveiled appears in a Scots newspaper, I’m sure I don’t know. According to the font of information that is Wikipedia, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act has passed both House and Senate and is awaiting a Presidential Signature. It looks as if it’s focussing on listing the organizations that receive federal funding as well as the amounts received. Depending on how that gets translated from the legal-speak of the bill to an …
So, it’s that time of year again, and I’m wading through a (mercifully short) voter’s pamphlet in preparation for Washington’s mid-September primary. In compliance with some apparent rule out there that says one cannot have an election without something about taxes in it somewhere, there’s a local initiative looking to add approximately $150 to the “average” homeowner’s property taxes. They insist that these funds would go exclusively to local schools. I’m probably naive when it comes to things governmental, and I’m generally pro-education, but I find I have a small problem with all the repeated requests for more money (more …
I was driving, so most of my critical thinking brain cells were not paying attention to the radio, but I did catch most of KUOW‘s interview with Noah Feldman, author of What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building. How refreshing to hear someone speaking rationally on the topic, weighing in somewhere between “Stay the Course!” and “Bring the Troops Home Now!” His logic: No matter what flawed logic got us there, the US has more or less completely dismantled Iraq and, having made a mess, it’s our responsibility to clean up after ourselves. We owe the …
Caitlyn and I went to the aquarium the other day. This was the first such outing where she found the exhibits interesting. Sure, she seemed to appreciate the orange fish on her first aquarium trip (at 7 months), but this time she marched up to the tank windows, put her hands on the glass and stared at the occupants. At the sea otters, she pointed at the otters, turned to me, and announced, “Dog!” In contrast to our trip to the zoo a month ago, when she found the fences irresistible. Not the enclosure fences, but the “serving suggestion” fences …
We watched V for Vendetta over the weekend. I wonder if in fifty years we will look back on it as an amusing celuloid fiction or as prophesy. I wonder if it will take fifty years before we know.
I came upon this article today. We have three choices: destroy ourselves in the next 100 years through warfare; destroy ourselves in the next 100 years through environmental catastrophe; or, by some miracle, avoid disaster by radically and aggressively addressing the habits that are leading to warfare and environmental catastrophe. The article’s author asserts that “There will be sacrifices to deal with global warming, and we will need to change some habits of long-standing.” I’m sick of hearing, “Things must change.” Yeah. Duh. How about something a bit more concrete? And don’t go pointing me to the “50 Things You …