Real Kato Blog: News News News

... and one funny link.

Wow, Katrina. You totally devastated New Orleans. What's that you say? It's our own damn fault for putting up all those levees and pumps, causing the river delta to shrink, and the city to sink below sea level? If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else?

I feel terrible for all the victims. Katrina has nearly wiped out a major American city, and the losses are staggering.

You know, mainly, I want to go back in time and kick the asses of whoever proposed the construction of all those environmentally-harmful levees. At the time they probably said, "The chances of that kind of hurricane hitting us are small"; "This will bring economic growth to the city"; and, "Environmentalists are overstating the damage to the delta plain." Meanwhile, they were probably pocketing kickbacks from levee construction companies.

Hmm, does this remind you of anything?

The big news around here today is that the North Carolina Senate just passed a bill establishing a state lottery. Since the House already passed the same bill, it'll become law as soon as Governor Easley signs it... which he's sure to, since he's the one who's been pushing for it.

The funny thing is, the bill had been two votes short of passage in the Senate... until today, when two of the opponents just happened to be absent. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand: "Um, HEY! Maybe we should vote on this, uh, TODAY! You know, I'm just thinkin', it's the 30th, and that's always been a super-lucky day for me."

The U.S. poverty rate has risen to 12.7% of the population. That's 37 million people. One out of every eight Americans lives in poverty. For a family of four, that means a household income of $19,307 or less.

The number of people without health insurance rose to nearly 46 million people... or about 15.7% of the population. One out of every seven Americans.

So, what was that about an "economic recovery"? Commerce Department spokesperson E.R. Anderson says, "We hope this is it, that this is the last gasp of indicators for the recession." Um, that's it? We "hope"? Try getting your kid's appendectomy with that "hope".

A study has found that there is no evidence of a link between cell phone radiation and brain cancer. Unfortunately, this study will probably do nothing to quiet people's fear.

I think people like to believe that some mysterious conspiracy will be responsible for their deaths, rather than their own idiocy. People want so much to believe that they're making all the right choices in life, so they tend to exaggerate unknown threats and diminish the risks that they bring on themselves. "Cell phone radiation? Sure, that's almost CERTAIN to kill me... but there's ZERO chance I'll get in a car wreck while talking on that same cell phone, because I'M SUCH A FREAKIN' GOOD DRIVER".

It's amazing how people can just throw logic out the window.

Bush. Flags. Poo. Go check it out.

Permalink 1 Comment

Posted by Ken in: commentary, politics

Comments

Comment #1 from Nicholas (Guest)
2005 Aug 31 - 12:20 pm : #

The lottery passed because "Two Republican senators, who had been counted as lottery opponents, missed the vote. They were Harry Brown, 50, a Jacksonville car dealer who was taking a delayed honeymoon, and John Garwood, 73, a retired insurance agent and real estate broker from North Wilkesboro, who was sick at home with a staph infection in his leg."

They waited until the poor guy got married and another guy got sick. WTF?

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/lottery/story/2771292p-9210105c.html

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