"Now, we talked to Joan Hanover. She and her husband, George, were visiting with us. They are near retirement—retiring—in the process of retiring, meaning they're very smart, active, capable people who are retirement age and are retiring." —President George W Bush, Alexandria, Va., Feb. 12, 2003
I make no secret of the fact I’m not a fan of the policies, practices, or much else about the current administration. And if asked (and I rarely allow myself to be asked outside a political science class, as discussing politics is generally as enjoyable as humping a porcupine*), I try to provide good reasons for why. And those reasons are in fact more complicated than “Bush is an idiot-puppet.” In fact he’s not. He’s very committed to a very firm set of ideas and competent as a CEO-style manager (whether this is a proper way to manage the country is up for debate–I believe it’s not).
Having said that, the quote above is real, and it’s one of many. I think, and I’m completely serious here, a good part of the reason so much crap has been allowed to happen in and through the executive branch is about three quarters of the President’s remarks are so stupefyingly bizarre in terms of syntax and semantics a lot of people are too busy going “What did he just say?!” to ask the proper question: “He just said he wants to do what?” Honestly, as a nation we’re too busy pointing and laughing ("Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country." -—Sept. 6, 2004, Poplar Bluff, Mo.) to pay attention to the really important stuff until it’s too late to stop it. That trend has only recently started to roll back, but at the expense of a horrific quagmire of a conflict in the Middle East and severe erosions of our civil liberties and freedoms at home.
But I swore not to get into a true political rant when I started writing this, so I’m gonna cut it off there. I think it’s a good decision, and shows my mastery of strategery**.
In Astronomy news, we a had a viewing on Tuesday. Got to see Saturn and Jupiter through a 16000 dollar telescope, as well as a globular cluster of stars. Actually hada good view of the ring system on Saturn and the Galilean (the five largest, as seen by Galileo) of Jupiter. So pretty. Tres cool, and not just because I got extra credit just for showing up and looking through a telescope. Test tomorrow. Fifty questions, 35 of which are multiple choice. I’m anticipating an easy victory. It’s so wierd being in a class that’s actually easy. After the last couple years of this-course-will-make-you-raze-a-city-block-with-a-flamethrower level difficulty, it’s a welcome and refreshing change.
As a bit of a rant, does anyone else get creeped out when astronomy texts devote significant time to what the solar system will look like as the sun burns out, the galaxy as it dies, and so forth? This stuff is freaking depressing. I know it won’t happen for billions of years so I should (hopefully) be dead by then, but still. It would help if they could be a little bit more clinical about it and write less in the style of emotive prose.
At least they don’t devote a lot of time to the far more likely near term cause of the the end of humanity: comet or meteor extinction level events. It gets about a page or two max and is framed solely in terms of past events. So…um…thanks for that.
On a somewhat wierder note, I also find the Jovian planets in general somewhat depressing. Giant gas balls with no real surface where things just keep sinking forever. Seems like the kind of thing you’d find in an Inferno-esque description of hell. Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks this way, as when I mentioned this to my professor (I left out the comparison to Dante’s work) he gave me an odd look.
Infusion tomorrow to keep the HS from getting worse. My doctor’s also started me on monthly cortisone injections to try to beat down what’s already there. Let us hope it works.
Kind of in a wierd mood. My lower brain is trying to be anxious about my paper over telescopes and related tech (which I’ll be doing this weekend) even as my upper brain knows that this is probably the easiest paper I’ll ever have to write as a student here. The only concrete requirement is that it be 3-5 pages.
In current events, I must say I’m thrilled with the Enron verdicts. Here’s hoping they’re held up on appeal***.
Later days.
*There are a number of documented cases of people trying to fornicate with porcupines and other such potentially damaging animals. Ignoring for the moment the whole sickness related to animal fornication … Darwin at work? Not necessarily, though they certainly want you to think that. More likely an alien plot to prevent the coming of the next great generation of humanity by using mind control to force the forebears of that generation to sterilize themselves in bizarre and distracting ways so no one catches on to the conspiracy. You be the judge.
**Not really a Bushism.
***Why is it the really guilty people, at least in the world of white-collar crime, are the ones most able in terms of fiscal and legal resources to successfully appeal their convictions. There should be a name for this paradox. It should be a palindrome, because they’re awesome.
[tags]humor, medical, politics, university[/tags]
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