Shaking Up Washington
If Nature abhors a vacuum, it finally sent a message to empty-suit Eric Cantor by touching off an earthquake in the district of the House Majority Leader who last spring tried to defund the U. S. Geological Survey, which sends out early warnings about tremors.
Cantor is unlikely to be any more impressed by this 5.9 example of his own stupidity than he was in pushing the government toward default in the debt-ceiling debate. In Congress’ stampede toward invincible ignorance, Cantor is the undisputed leader of the pack.
But he is not alone. In the anti-Obama blogosphere, quake reports featured news that the President was on vacation and not in Washington closer to the epicenter to stop it while the British press, with no phones to hack, nonetheless described him as shook up and missing putts.
Meanwhile, in the other big news of the day, GOP presidential hopefuls were busy unlinking cause and effect by decoupling the President from the fall of the Libyan regime, harrumphing that he did too much or too little, too soon or too late to topple Qaddafi and, oh yes, what happens next?
In this news never-neverland, no earth-shaking event goes unspun.
MORE.
3 Responses to “Shaking Up Washington”
One needs to be careful when talking the progressive line about budget cuts to the US geological survey. You might find that the cuts that were proposed were to the environmental and climate work, but maintained disaster and hazard funds that are part of the seismic studies and warning systems in place.
But one does need to wonder why budget cuts caused the removal of seismographs in the early 90′s from the North Anna Power station where there was a history of earthquakes. Eric Cantor came to congress in 1992, so his influence in monitary policy at that time was minimal while progressives had more influence than they do today.
Once again enjoyed your calm rational assessment of the political scene. One usually has to go to a bowling alley to hear such astute and balanced portrayals of the political right.
This one has got me laughing because I have yet to hear of an earthquake, “early warning”.
Cheeky Mr.Stein, cheeky.
