Friday, September 16, 2005

TGIF. It's a rainy, cold day in Chicago again, but it looks like the clouds may pass and give us some good weekend weather. I'm going to be at Sedgwick's early tomorrow morning to play some cards and watch the Hawks. All Hawkeye fans are welcome to come and join me and the rest of the Hawkeye faithful. Look for us up front this time, we're hoping to get a seat in front of the projector screen. Plans for post-game Saturday are still somewhat loose, but I am probably going to be doing something awesome. Stay tuned.

Summer CD will be burning tonight and tomorrow. If you are reading this blog, I probably like you enough to get you a copy.

We haven't talked politics in a while, so let's get into it. Do you agree with the resentful reaction to Bush's speech from New Orleans last night? And perhaps even more important, do you believe his mea culpa to be genuine or a political move to make him seem like he is stepping up to the plate for his people that are screwing things up down there? It's hard for me to think that any apology he offers is ever genuine because he always has that smug, smarmy attitude about policy failures or bad news...as if we think they are going bad because we either aren't sophisticated enough to understand the issues or don't have enough information to make an informed decision. I always said that my biggest issue with this administration was not so much the policy decisions it makes (which can be reasonably debated), but the arrogance with which they go about the business of the country. Weigh in.

4 comments:

shane said...

well here is my two cents.

I have become more and more concerned and angry about the state of this country in the last few months. I guess ever since I came back from London. I have often analogized that this must have been what it was like to watch the downfall of the Roman Empire--our Rome is burning.

More specifically, I too don't appreciate the political discourse that comes out of this administration being dumbed down.

I am equally as fed up with the other side of the aisle(both sides actually) that continually divided every along party lines. Out system was not designed to work as a strictly 2 party system, teh division of this country and its politics into two is killing the America I loved. For example, it seems as if the vote in the Judiciary Comm. on Judge Roberts will be right down party lines. This doesn't encourage lively debate on the qualifications of Roberts and future justices and judges, it just does the opposite.

Another thing, we need a modern day Teddy Roosevelt to come in and break the strangle hold that big business has on American politics. Political decisions are being made to favor these big donors at the expense of the American public. This is wrong and damaging--this is why our Rome is burning.

enough ranting from me. I will take questions or challenges to my views of the situation in America today.

s

shane said...

one more thing, if any of you good friends of mine know of anyone in Minneapolis willing to give a would be lawyer a temporary job doing anything(i have many skills honed through years of meaningless work), I would greatly appreciate an introduction. For those who don't know i am in Minneapolis right now because i have a free place to live, so I am trying to find temp work or something that pays so i can save some money and move to Chi-town. right now i am too broke to move so i really need help, if anyone has any to offer, in the form of someone to give me work that pays

s

Via Chicago said...

The mea culpa is simply a product of low poll numbers and absolutely no possible way to spin the complete f' up that occurred under Dubs "leadership". If the President could have spun this issue as a left/right issue then he would have _never_ apologized. Lord knows they did by trying to pin all the blame on the state and local officials (who, admittedly, aren't exactly immune from criticism). I don't think the public cares at the end of the day who was supposed to do what and all the technical and legal details involved in responding to a disaster or crisis. They just want to see someone take control and handle it. America witnessed a major national disaster occur in the continental united states four years after 9/11 and it looks like our federal government shit the bed when it came to managing the crisis. That is their takeaway from this and that is why he has to say my bad.

shane said...

oh and anyone who cares should congratulate Stephen 'Scuba Steve' Brown becauses he passed the IA bar.

you can check out who passed at http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/news/pressrel/Bar_results_July_05.asp