Hell in a Handbasket

June 19, 2005 8:21 AM

The "Other" Washington Memo. But, but..its haaard doing sweet f#@# all about the environment, besides I'm just too damn busy making things great in Iraq.
posted by Mr Bluesky (32 comments total)

This is not even newsfilter since it isn't news anymore.
posted by srboisvert at 8:32 AM on June 19, 2005

Robert Redford says that there's a long list of problems which could blow up like Watergate and he's just waiting.

Well it is getting old and he can keep on waiting. Only someone with their head completely buried in the sand could think that any slight blemish will befall the administration. They are ultra teflon ++. Their people can walk around sullying whomever they like, and everyone knows, if you try to put it back in their court, they have a picture perfect smile of angelic innocence.

You can continue to think this "power to the people" nonsense, when in fact, the people voted for Bush, knowing full well that his policies hold the corporation at a higher level than the citizen, and that there's not going to be any eco-bs, a policy 1st laid down with the Kyoto stink.

It's just wasted breath, and wasted time.
posted by nervousfritz at 9:03 AM on June 19, 2005

I'm never sure whether to laugh or murder when I see the apathy that's got hold in some sections of the left. You'd think there were tanks on the outskirts of your town and helicopter gunship spotlights keeping you up nights and no weapons available.

There's no surer way to both facilitate and endorse poor policy and adminstrative debacles than by just quitting. That attitude will ensure, perhaps rightly, that another republican member of the monetocracy will continue on in the footsteps of GWB in 3 years time.

If you want something bad enough, you put some effort in. And if the road's a hard slog, then you have to try harder. It's not brain surgery.

And Mr Bluesky, couldn't you have put a little effort into sifting around for some other links - wasn't the Bush admin's attitude already a done deal? What about some Balance? Outrage? Incitement to action? mirth?

Anyway, here's this site on stopping global warming. And you don't have to get out of your chair.
posted by peacay at 9:23 AM on June 19, 2005

The nice thing about Bush is he is so clear in his actions and position it is easy to point fingers and place blame and resign ourselves without actually doing somthing on a local level. The truth is, this will have to be a ground-up movement, the last thing to change will be govt and large corporations. Vote with your dollars and your actions and trust the rest will follow in time, history will not be kind to Bush once we start hitting major nationwide droughts as forecast.
posted by stbalbach at 9:25 AM on June 19, 2005

(I know "Bad Form" responding)

"This is not even newsfilter since it isn't news anymore."
I'll agree with this if your referring to Bush's overall stance, but this is documented proof printed in today's paper. Q.E.D. The "other" memo analogy thereby taking this from political conjecture to reported events.

As to "Balance? Outrage? Incitement" I feel this is a well trodden subject and if "mirth" is my avenue of conveyance then so be it. Its not like its the end of the world, just the beginning.

In closing, up here in the Pacific NW we tend to leave our talking till after the walking. MeFi has some pretty sharp individuals and they don't need a sermon, just the facts.

But yes peacay, apathy and indifference are this nation’s greatest flaw.
posted by Mr Bluesky at 9:56 AM on June 19, 2005

Just ignore those who choose to express their disinterest in significant developments in the world situation as ridicule. It's understandable that news like this would make them uncomfortable, but press on.
posted by digaman at 10:06 AM on June 19, 2005

I meant mirth as being some other potential angle, as a token leftfield ring-in. I critiqued the content not the delivery or the reasoning. Perhaps I was a bit harsh. It's an important topic and it needs to be illuminated.
posted by peacay at 10:08 AM on June 19, 2005

More altered documents were reported in LA Times yesterday.
These edits polluted the work of a hydrologist and a biologist,
and were used to justify relaxation of grazing restrictions put
in place in 1995.
It's probably safe to assume that almost all science from the
government is now part of the larger confidence game.
posted by the Real Dan at 10:17 AM on June 19, 2005

dear peacay, what are you doing to stop global warming? i hope that you are doing something that takes getting out of a chair. local action is more powerful than signing on to yet another "virtual march". the bottom line is that levels of all consumption must be reduced. but it is highly unlikely to happen anytime soon through political means--it is highly likely to happen by necessity, as conflicts over resources continue to increase, and it will eventually effect the apathetic american culture which revolves around consumption.
posted by tarantula at 10:34 AM on June 19, 2005

Face it. The public has ceased to care. The years SINCE Watergate have basically been spent teaching the public how little their vote really matters, and how the government will do whatever the hell it wants no matter what the People have to say about it.

Right now, Congress has a ONE THIRD approval rating. (give or take a couple points) The vast majority of the country, left or right, hates them all and wants them to pretty much stop everything they're doing to screw up the country. Yet Congress just keeps barrelling along. This is exactly the situation Jefferson was talking about when he talked about watering the Tree of Liberty, but in the end, the people just shrug and say, "fuck it... those assholes won't listen to me anyway."

So, we have successfully achieved complete apathy. And I don't think ANYTHING short of (not that I believe this) a 100% ironclad, unrefutable memo proving the Administration personally planned and executed the 9/11 attacks would shake the people out of their stupor.
posted by InnocentBystander at 10:34 AM on June 19, 2005

OT: the UK's "scupper" is equivalent to the US' "scuttle," yes?
posted by schoolgirl report at 11:12 AM on June 19, 2005

tarantula, I'm in Oz. We get this hole in the ozone above us in summer so I'm reasonably interested. I've never owned a car. I walk or catch public transport. I am low maintenance so I don't use much. I've been in Asia for a couple of years and am now betwixt abodes so my local political involvements are yet to be determined.
That said, I don't overly disagree with your assessment. My railing was against the 'giving up' attitude -- maybe it's a difficult engagement on the political level but that shouldn't mean that the citizenry ought to just accept the outcomes as predetermined. The positing of the virtual march link was rhetorical although it is one avenue of voicing dissent. But I'm outta here. Late.
(scupper = ruin, destroy)
posted by peacay at 11:31 AM on June 19, 2005

rock on peacay. in the USA many people feign concern about climate change on the way to the cubicle in a SUV. sprawl is statistically kicking "smart growth" or "new urbanism" in the ass. as a country we are on a very slow learning path, but fortunately there are pockets of sanity here. If the Bush regime continues to choke the world with its long long fingers past the next election, I will be ready to start believing in conspiracy theories.
posted by tarantula at 1:11 PM on June 19, 2005

It seems to me that all roads lead to the media... if the misdeeds of the current administration were more widely publicized, there might be some accountability. To say that they're "teflon" presupposes proper coverage of the issues, which isn't happening.
posted by mert at 2:15 PM on June 19, 2005

It seems to me that all roads lead to the media... if the misdeeds of the current administration were more widely publicized, there might be some accountability.

What 10 Bushfilter FPP posts a day not getting it done? The media is reporting it. It's the people who don't care. Their social responsibilities were fulfilled when they slapped a "Support the troops" magnetic ribbon on the SUVs.

The reason I don't like this post is that there has been one of these a day for so long that is abundantly clear that nobody is going to be persuaded to believe anything they don't already .

I think this kind of trickle out constant scandal stuff actually immunizes the administration from scandal. Nothing ever comes of it and people just start tuning it out.

Plus what is the actual memo obtained? How does it actually undermine Blair - a leader of a sovereign nation? Did they redact his submission to the G8 or are they merely submitting their own document? Or are these proposed changes to a proposal for the G8? Are White House officials and Washington officials the same things? Which officials were they?

The article is more editorial than reporting and has more questions than answers.
posted by srboisvert at 2:55 PM on June 19, 2005

Sad but true. I can think of dozens of reasons why people voted for Bush (most of which I disagree with), but if you voted for him because you care about the environment, you're a fool. If you voted for him because you don't give two shits about the environment, you're 51% of America.
posted by fungible at 3:07 PM on June 19, 2005

Hmm srboisvert, some good questions and I apologise for my weak posting. I have studied some of your own and now see what makes for a good substantive post, such as:

Celebrity Ping Pong, The Guinness Diet Challenge, Ratablog If the rats could type (or more accurately, if they could type actual words and refrain from peeing on the keyboard) they would tell their own stories, Seven Minutes of Deadwood [NSFW] - one episode worth of Deadwood profanity, Get some Half Life in your photos, Cute Animals Blog- Japan style and of course my favourite, Fingerbootyology.

So dude, stop expecting a fricken thesis when all I did was link to an article in todays paper, with my own flippant comment attached. (A clue that this was a readable article but hardly a declaration of environmental genocide) So, worry about ya ass being under 10ft of water vs. whether the newbie MeFier has enough of a subtantive case to earn the right to post. Sheesh
posted by Mr Bluesky at 3:36 PM on June 19, 2005

Srboisvert, I agree that people are apolitical in this country, but you have to admit that the press is either asleep at the wheel or complicit. They are NOT reporting the important issues.

Anyway, the majority of people don't get their news from the internet, they watch TV or they read their local papers. When I ride the subway to work I see the voting populace reading the Post and Daily News, which are a cross between Fox News propoganda and the National Enquirer.

It's taken months to get the Downing Street memo reported in the press. People would have taken notice if the major networks had reported it as the top story on the day that it leaked, as they should have. Who knows whether anyone has the power to do anything about it now given the Repubilcan control over each branch of government, but that's a different issue.
posted by mert at 3:52 PM on June 19, 2005

I think I'm gonna like this Mr Bluesky newbie guy.
posted by nofundy at 4:01 PM on June 19, 2005

all I did was link to an article in todays paper, with my own flippant comment attached

I agree.


I have studied some of your own and now see what makes for a good substantive post, such as:

Celebrity Ping Pong, The Guinness Diet Challenge, Ratablog If the rats could type (or more accurately, if they could type actual words and refrain from peeing on the keyboard) they would tell their own stories, Seven Minutes of Deadwood [NSFW] - one episode worth of Deadwood profanity, Get some Half Life in your photos, Cute Animals Blog- Japan style and of course my favourite, Fingerbootyology.


If people didn't like these posts they would have let me know. I now deliberately avoid posting agenda or news filter stuff because I almost never consider it to be the best of the web.

I didn't always and people called me on it when i posted agenda motivated crap and I snarked back at them exactly the way you have by trawling up their FPP histories. Over time I learned that the best posts don't have an agenda and that newspaper editorials are weak posts unless they are incredibly well written. Largely due to their unsolicited and until know unacknowledged feedback I went on to try and post links that matched what I felt was the spirit of metafilter.

But that is just me. It's a community site and part of that is that people will think differently about these things.


[oh btw - i am far more of an environmentalist than even 99% of the people here but just because there is a global warming crisis and my hometown is buried under a haze of brown all summer long doesn't mean I ignore whether or not your post has substance . You have to the right to post the link, after all you paid your fiver, but I also have to right to call it low quality fare lacking in factual substance. You don't beat Bush by shovelling more shit than he does. You beat him by clearing the shit away with facts.]
posted by srboisvert at 4:52 PM on June 19, 2005

Shall they just change all the rules and then do whatever they want to?
posted by Viomeda at 6:04 PM on June 19, 2005

Call it apathy, or (more appropriately,I think) fascism, Corporate America and the government are conspiring at a level unseen since the turn of the Twentieth century.

A hundred years ago, Teddy Roosevelt saw the same thing we are seeing today. Thirty years after that FDR saw it, too. By calling corporations to account and legalizing the labor movement, they engineered the rise of the largest and most successful middle class in the history of the world. More importantly, the unions gave the working middle class a seat at the political table. Politicians and corporations couldn't pull the things they do today because Labor was there to call "bullshit".

This is a simple case of reaping what we've sowed. The average American has bought the forty year campaign to destroy unionized labor. IMO, the concurrent fall in labor's power and the rise in corporate power to dictate things governmental are not coincidental. Middle America has voluntarily abandoned their seat at the table and invited the Robber Barons back. Meet the new Boss, same as the 100-year-old Boss.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:10 PM on June 19, 2005

The average American has bought the forty year campaign to destroy unionized labor.

It is more than just anti-labour. There has been some weird warp occuring where people are vehemently opposed to their own interests whether they are labour or not. Where does it come from?
posted by srboisvert at 7:55 PM on June 19, 2005

i am far more of an environmentalist than even 99% of the people here
Hmm and I shall also take notes from you on humility oh wise MeFi guru.

is more than just anti-labour.

Ahh, you are like the light upon my darkened novice path..and so by way of response does one mean "Labour" the UK political party, the english spelling or what your mumma wasted 10hrs on?...awww yeah.

Just kiddin its all love..anywho back to the finals.

Deeetroit!
posted by Mr Bluesky at 8:32 PM on June 19, 2005

Unions carry little weight in a knowledge based economy.
posted by stbalbach at 8:47 PM on June 19, 2005

Deeetroit!

You really need to stop leaping to premature conclusions.
posted by srboisvert at 6:21 AM on June 20, 2005

Unions carry little weight in a knowledge based economy

where is this knowledge-based economy located? are you eating knowledge? clothed by knowledge? wow, who knew the future would be so rad? where do you live?
posted by eustatic at 8:21 AM on June 20, 2005

But yes peacay, apathy and indifference are this nation’s greatest flaw.

No, our nation's two greatest flaws are apathy, indifference, and greed . . .

Our three greatest flaws are apathy and indifference, greed, and self-absorption . . . no . . .

Our four . . . no . . . amongst our greatest flaws are such elements as apathy, indifference . . . I'll come in again.

(Exeunt.)
posted by brain_drain at 8:46 AM on June 20, 2005

Unions carry little weight in a knowledge based economy

OT, but: EA workers could use a union. I'm sure they're not alone. It should probably be international, too, so that companies couldn't pit Indian programmers against American programmers by waving around the possibility of outsourcing. But IANAP.
posted by skoosh at 9:45 AM on June 20, 2005

Unions carry little weight in a knowledge based economy.

Yeah, and aphorisms are easier than thinking.I guess we should admit that management holds all the cards, and just submit.

Collective bargaining can work in any management/labor paradigm.Knowledge is a marketable commodity just like physical labor. There still exists an adversarial relationship where the worker wishes to maximize income, and management wishes to minimize expense.

It constantly amazes me that otherwise sane people, who would never consider abolishing our governmental system of checks and balances,feel that a one-sided relationship in the marketplace is acceptable. History has proven over and over again that uncontested management is no better than the proverbial fox guarding the henhouse.

Anyone without blinders on can see the march backwards we've begun since unions were substantially broken: no traditional pensions, repeal of overtime rights, more shifting of insurance risks to workers, pay that doesn't keep pace with inflation, etc. All while corporations,in general, showing record profits and CEO's are receiving record compensation.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 10:07 AM on June 20, 2005

What 10 Bushfilter FPP posts a day not getting it done?

No, because a huge number of people don't have internet access and watch mainstream news, which will not report this.
Those that do browse are just as likely to read this stuff
posted by CynicalKnight at 2:23 PM on June 20, 2005

But yes peacay, apathy and indifference are this nation’s greatest flaw.
No, our nation's two greatest flaws are apathy, indifference, and greed . . .
Our three greatest flaws are apathy and indifference, greed, and self-absorption . . . no . . .
Our four . . . no . . . amongst our greatest flaws are such elements as apathy, indifference . . . I'll come in again.

Can we add something about Paris Hilton in that? We have to a term for that. Hiltonization maybe?
posted by Mr Bluesky at 5:40 PM on June 20, 2005