Anthrax Sanity At last someone notes, in calm tones, that the media have no clothes on this one. Not to mention that, “Why are we panicking over a single anthrax…
At last someone notes, in calm tones, that the media have no clothes on this one.
Not to mention that, “Why are we panicking over a single anthrax death even as 20,000 of us die annually because we refuse to get flu vaccinations?”
(Link via InstaPundit)
Substitute “Anthrax” for “Boba Fett,” and you have the media’s reaction to, well, the Great Anthrax Scare of 2001. Now, I really hope I don’t eat these words. But it…
Substitute “Anthrax” for “Boba Fett,” and you have the media’s reaction to, well, the Great Anthrax Scare of 2001.
Now, I really hope I don’t eat these words. But it really seems like the media is so desperate for something to report on other than godawfully grainy night shots of Kabul being bombed that they are engaging in the worst sort of scare-mongering and panicking in the streets over this.
Some facts, bearing in mind that this is in a nation with a population of some 275 million:
Fact: One person has died from Anthrax.
Fact: A couple more people have tested positive for it.
Fact: Several more people have tested positive for antibodies to it.
Fact: More people are seeing mysterious white powder these days than are seeing Elvis.
Either Anthrax is the worst possible “biological warfare” weapon in the world, or the folks ostensibly spreading this stuff around have chosen the worst delivery vector in the world. Because, frankly, in the event of a real biological warfare attack, you’d see dozens, hundreds, thousands of folks dying.
What we’re seeing instead are dozens, hundreds, thousands of folks crowding ERs, demanding antibiotics.
Now, arguably, if there are terrorists behind all of this, then they may be having their desired impact by creating such a foofoorah. But in the process, the media are at least complicit. Anthrax has replaced Sharks as the Most Dangerous Thing Out There And We Have The Stock Footage To Show You, You Bet!
Call me when the smallpox epidemics break out ….
Victory Blog cites a Slate article on “War and Commentary.” The article touches on what responsibilities a commentator, editorialist, or writer in general has during a time of crisis, both…
Victory Blog cites a Slate article on “War and Commentary.” The article touches on what responsibilities a commentator, editorialist, or writer in general has during a time of crisis, both to speak out and to refrain therefrom.
A few quotes of note (good article, btw — go read it):
Today’s Ted Rall cartoon Today’s Tom Toles cartoon Yup….
One of the few things I regret in my move, several years ago, from LA to Denver, is losing the Los Angeles Times as a paper. Or, rather, being stuck…
One of the few things I regret in my move, several years ago, from LA to Denver, is losing the Los Angeles Times as a paper. Or, rather, being stuck with the local papers (the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, now quasi-joined in their mediocrity) instead of the Times.
An aspect of the papers that very much stands out in contrast is the reader letters. Granted, there are plenty of yahoos, dimbulbs, and people who see the world in sound bites in LA, too. Probably more of them. But the larger population there allows the editors of the Times to be a pit more picky-and-choosey as to what letters they print. Thus, on the whole, they are a more articulate, and, usually, more thoughtful bunch. It’s not a fair sample, to be sure, but it’s better reading.
From this morning’s letters:
“If we are to be secure … we must make them fear us more than death and more than dishonor. Our response to their attack on us must be so brutal, so violent and deadly that they will cut their own throats before daring to attack us again. And since they are obviously willing to sacrifice their own lives to kill us, we must be willing also to sacrifice the lives of their famiy, friends and neighbors.”
“Most of the world’s problems stem from religion. If you go from the Crusades to the persecution of the Jews in World War II to what’s going on in Ireland between Protestants and Catholics now and then this. The institution of the church is the root of all problems in this world.”
“It is time for an end to politically correct speech about radical Islam. The truth is that it is a cancer that feeds on violence and murder. It is totally alien to Judeo-Christian morality. The children and grandchildren of the free world are not safe until it is eradicated.”
And this gem from the other end of the political spectrum, as given by an anti-globalist activist from San Francisco to the Wall Street Journal: “We’re supercritical of [Tuesday’s] terrorists’ scorn for human life. Why couldn’t they have done what they did on a Sunday? There are always ways to make allowances for people’s lives.”
It’s the Silly Season, folks. Only problem is, too many of the Sillies have access to guns, or to Congressmen.
On the bright side, as asinine, if not infuriating, as much of the above was to me, most of the commentary, and the letters, were within the bounds of sanity. Messages of tolerance, of compassion, of determination, and of justice. Those are the voices we need to be listening to.
On another note, we went to visit Rick & Amanda’s new house yesterday afternoon, up near Longmont. As we traveled along I-25 north of the city, the continued suburban sprawl was apparent. Indeed, Rick & Amanda live in brand-new block of houses, with vacant agricultural lots (with zoning change signs festooned upon them) in all directions.
It’s a problem that has needled Colorado for decades — how to accomodate those who wish to come here, adding to our economy and diversity, while also preserving the rural and mountain character that makes this such a neat place to live.
In some ways, the dangers, threats, fear and devastation of the past week render such considerations trivial. And yet … these problems, and so many others in our society, the ones that in any relatively sane week would have been our headlines, remain. The horror of terrorism, and the difficult, complex decisions we need to make regarding it and our future, do not replace these issues on our list of Things to Do. They simply add to that list. The same way a serious illness in the family doesn’t mean the bills don’t have to be paid, the furnace doesn’t have to be replaced, or the baby doesn’t have to be fed.
Life goes on. We have to along with it, handling what it throws at us. The alternative is not really an option.
Home, reading Newsweek over lunch. The 17 September issues, which is, of course, published a week ahead of time, so we got it earlier this week. Very pre-911, of course….
Home, reading Newsweek over lunch. The 17 September issues, which is, of course, published a week ahead of time, so we got it earlier this week.
Very pre-911, of course.
What was on the editors’ minds that week?
Does give one perspective.
I have no idea if it was planned this way or not. But if you were planning it, you couldn’t have done better than to crash a plane into one…
I have no idea if it was planned this way or not.
But if you were planning it, you couldn’t have done better than to crash a plane into one of the WTC towers, wait 15-30 minutes, then, once all the media were assembled, news choppers winging past, TV crews down on street level, then, and only then, crash another frickin’ plane into the other tower, so that it can be broadcast and rebroadcast and rerebroadcast around the world.
I don’t know if I want things to have been that well planned.
The most reliable site (both in terms of what they report, as well as availability today) has been the BBC Online. They’ve already got some good analysis up there, as…
The most reliable site (both in terms of what they report, as well as availability today) has been the BBC Online. They’ve already got some good analysis up there, as well as rock-steady information.
I love Molly Ivins. In a “I like to read what she writes” sort of way, not in any way that Margie needs to worry about. She’s witty, she’s clever,…
I love Molly Ivins. In a “I like to read what she writes” sort of way, not in any way that Margie needs to worry about. She’s witty, she’s clever, she’s incisive, and she’s not afraid to poke fun at anyone in the political spectrum — though most of her barbs tend to be aimed toward the right, which is just fine by me.
Yahoo! and Intellivu both carry her columns, but the home is at Creators Syndicate. You can find her current column at that site. A recent one (the most recent, at this writing) is “The Fatal Weakness of Libertarian Thinking”, a fine example of her wit and insight.
She wrote an entertaining biography of Dubya prior to the election, Shrub. I enjoyed it. Margie enjoyed it. My folks (staunch conservatives) enjoyed it. And we all probably had nightmares about it.