Author Archives: Kit Stolz

Cutting government in a time of “natural” disasters

Krugman has some words for it (Sandy vs. Katrina):  Consider, in particular, the history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Under President George H. W. Bush, FEMA became a dumping ground for unqualified political hacks. Faced with a major test in the form of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the agency failed completely. Then Bill ClintonContinue reading “Cutting government in a time of “natural” disasters”

Humiliation planned for losing candidate: Romney set

The most astonishing book of the year to date around here is critic Wayne Koestenbaum's Humiliation, from 2011, a pained confessional essay about being brought low, about being crushed, about what the pain of embarrassment, shame, and mortification brings to a sufferer.     Tomorrow the media pillory that Koestenbaum describes so well will begin (it's alreadyContinue reading “Humiliation planned for losing candidate: Romney set”

Will Ventura County’s Prez-picking streak continue?

Ventura County is one of just eight counties around the country that has picked every winner of the Presidential contest since Warren Harding successfully (with one exception — l976). Timm Herdt, the reigning political writer in this parts, hints that the streak may continue:  In early 2008, Democrats overtook Republicans to gain a plurality amongContinue reading “Will Ventura County’s Prez-picking streak continue?”

Climate change is like leprosy to the GOP: Untouchable

When Timothy Egan is good, he is great:  Climate change is to the Republican base what leprosy once was to healthy humans — untouchable and unmentionable. Their party is financed by people whose fortunes are dependent upon denying that humans have caused the earth’s weather patterns to change for the worse. From, of course, TheContinue reading “Climate change is like leprosy to the GOP: Untouchable”

Nation suddenly realizes global warming is just going to be a thing that happens from now on

NEW YORK—Following Hurricane Sandy’s destructive tear through the Northeast this week, the nation’s 300 million citizens looked upon the trail of devastation and fully realized, for the first time, that this is just going to be something that happens from now on. From The Onion, of course. My fav part is the concluding quote:  “RightContinue reading “Nation suddenly realizes global warming is just going to be a thing that happens from now on”

“Lying is what makes you sound like a conservative”

From Rick Perlstein's dark journey into the mind of Mitt Romney:  It’s time, in other words, to consider whether Romney’s fluidity with the truth is, in fact, a feature and not a bug: a constituent part of his appeal to conservatives. The point here is not just that he lies when he says conservative things,Continue reading ““Lying is what makes you sound like a conservative””

Denier at Watts Up with That: Sandy not really a hurricane

At climate change denier central, Watts Up with That, Willis Eschenbach wrote on Monday:  I had said a couple of days ago, when Sandy was a hurricane, that it would not be a hurricane when it hit the coast. How did that go? Well, as of the time that this location and projection of the pathContinue reading “Denier at Watts Up with That: Sandy not really a hurricane”

“Every hurricane is a fluke” — Atmospheric scientist

"Every hurricane is a fluke, to some degree," said Adam Sobel, an atmospheric scientists at Columbia in New York, in a fascinating discussion around the question: Is New York becoming a hotspot for tropical cyclones? Short answer (from Will Oremus) is: No.  Here, via Wikipedia Commons, is an image of hurricane tracks in the Atlantic, 1851-2005. HowContinue reading ““Every hurricane is a fluke” — Atmospheric scientist”

Refiners push up gas prices in CA today: L.A. Times

A sharp letter to the editor this past weekend alerted me to a startlingly good Los Angeles Times story I had missed on California's high gas prices, complete with a graph that almost tells the story itself. Here's the letter, from Jim Cody of North Hollywood:  The graph that accompanied this article, which shows how crudeContinue reading “Refiners push up gas prices in CA today: L.A. Times”