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The Way The World Is Now
The world is a really screwed-up place.
I mean, really. Priorities are so far out of whack that it's gonna take a long time and a lot of effort to fix everything. Several blog stories caught my attention this morning, and they each highlight something about how our country works at this point.
First, for the umpteenth time, it's discovered that virginity pledges don't work. Pledgers are just as likely to have sex as non-pledgers, and, because they don't have near enough sex education (because they've pledged to be virgins, y'see, so they don't need it), they're much likelier to have unsafe sex.
Next is the statement of a social worker who can't do enough for his clients. No, literally, can't do enough. (h/t Crooks and Liars)
Then we have a dKos analysis of a story in the Times about some former government officials who are helping their clients grab as much of the $700 billion bailout as they can.
And... okay, I lied. The last item highlights how vacuous our modern press corps is, but the denouement is heartening.
It feels all bad sometimes, but it's not all bad. But we've got to get our priorities in order.
What five things do you think the country should focus on first? I think revitalizing infrastructure (and thereby creating a whole lot of jobs), fixing the damn health care system, and getting a lot of oversight on this stupid bank bailout NOW are imperative. Follow up immediately with rebuilding the industrial base, and getting us the hell out of Iraq. All of it done with an eye towards energy independence and greening things up.
And, yeah, I'm thinking big. This incremental shit doesn't work any better than conservate economics or neo-conservative politics did.
I mean, really. Priorities are so far out of whack that it's gonna take a long time and a lot of effort to fix everything. Several blog stories caught my attention this morning, and they each highlight something about how our country works at this point.
First, for the umpteenth time, it's discovered that virginity pledges don't work. Pledgers are just as likely to have sex as non-pledgers, and, because they don't have near enough sex education (because they've pledged to be virgins, y'see, so they don't need it), they're much likelier to have unsafe sex.
Next is the statement of a social worker who can't do enough for his clients. No, literally, can't do enough. (h/t Crooks and Liars)
Then we have a dKos analysis of a story in the Times about some former government officials who are helping their clients grab as much of the $700 billion bailout as they can.
And... okay, I lied. The last item highlights how vacuous our modern press corps is, but the denouement is heartening.
It feels all bad sometimes, but it's not all bad. But we've got to get our priorities in order.
What five things do you think the country should focus on first? I think revitalizing infrastructure (and thereby creating a whole lot of jobs), fixing the damn health care system, and getting a lot of oversight on this stupid bank bailout NOW are imperative. Follow up immediately with rebuilding the industrial base, and getting us the hell out of Iraq. All of it done with an eye towards energy independence and greening things up.
And, yeah, I'm thinking big. This incremental shit doesn't work any better than conservate economics or neo-conservative politics did.