A couple of days ago it was suggested somewhere that reporters on the campaign trail ask Gov. Romney if he still advocates replacing Federal disaster aid, including FEMA, with grants to the states, as he said last year in response to a direct question in a GOP debate. This morning that is the questionContinue reading “A flip-flop too far: Romney shuts up on FEMA after Sandy”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
Hurricane Sandy has a question for our politics
Toles frames the question: Eugene Robinson follows up: The words “climate change” were not spoken during the presidential debates. Hurricane Sandy wants to know why. Or, as Terry Tempest Williams tweeted: So ironic: no mention of Nature or wildness in the presidential debates and now, it is commanding force in chief. We are forced toContinue reading “Hurricane Sandy has a question for our politics”
Romney calls FEMA disaster aid “immoral” (6/11)
A year and a half ago, during a GOP debate, when asked by a journalist if he would oppose Federal aid to disaster victims, or replace it with something else, Mitt Romney said yes. He would want to cut agencies such as FEMA, he indicated, but would provide aid to the states, or allow privatizationContinue reading “Romney calls FEMA disaster aid “immoral” (6/11)”
Sandy: Hybrid megastorm challenges the language
The trouble between tropical storm Sandy and the English language began when the hurricane was still far from the United States. It started on Thursday in, of all places, an offical teletype-style all caps release from the National Weather Services Hydrometeorological Prediction Center that referenced, for the first time ever, surely, a 19th-century writer. ForecasterContinue reading “Sandy: Hybrid megastorm challenges the language”
“To sleep on the ground — talk about being grounded!”
A new feature, because I can't keep up: one quote posts. Here's an epic LA Times story on a woman who makes an annual pack trip across the Sierra with one horse, two mules and an Indian (really, no fooling). Great story. Here's the quote: "To sleep on the ground — well, talk about beingContinue reading ““To sleep on the ground — talk about being grounded!””
Toles on crazy Italians who jail earthquake scientists
A "Tsketch" from Toles: Here's the background. Interesting that the AGU took a position on the issue.
The Sessions’ source material: “On seeing a sex surrogate”
The trailer for The Sessions could hardly be more charming. This looks to be in the vein of that classic kind of ironic indy flick — a painful story told in a funny way, like Election or Heathers or Little Miss Sunshine. Wonderfully, the source material for this lauded movie — a riveting memoir/essay piece by aContinue reading “The Sessions’ source material: “On seeing a sex surrogate””
No El Nino or La Nina this year, just La Nada
Like the headline the Star put on my story from Saturday: No El Nino or La Nina this year, just La Nada. The crucial quote couple of graphs from the story, featuring media star and friend Bill Patzert: Veteran forecaster Bill Patzert, who works with the NASA-affiliated Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena on long-range forecastsContinue reading “No El Nino or La Nina this year, just La Nada”
Climate change + health in Philippines: Charlotte Kellogg
Last December at the AGU, I heard a presentation of a ground-breaking and troubling study on climate change and public health in the Philippines. Two young researchers charted typhoons and their aftermath, and argued powerfully that our reporting of the damage caused by these powerful but brief storms (one of which landed near Manila in August)Continue reading “Climate change + health in Philippines: Charlotte Kellogg”
Cheever: Life is for some an exquisite privilege
Today is, Allen Gurganus reminds us, John Cheever's 100th birthday. In celebration, here's the last couple of graphs from his story The Lowboy, which is about how some people turn life into a battle over stupid possessions. No one (in my experience) has ever dramatized this all-too-common meanness so eloquently: At some point — perhapsContinue reading “Cheever: Life is for some an exquisite privilege”
Kit Stolz 