George Lakoff on the Post-Katrina Era

I'd mentioned George Lakoff and his analysis of moral reasoning in conservatives and liberals. Here is what he says on that subject, post-katrina.

Thanks to minnehaha B. for the link.

A proper cup of coffee

Now that the girls are back in school, I am back to my non-summer coffee routine. Instead of freezing espresso at night and using the blender to make a coffee slushie in the morning, I am making a cup of espresso, frothing milk, and combining it into a latte.

However, I ran into an unexpected snag on my way out the door. I grabbed my hot coffee commuter cup and put the coffee into it--but I could not get the lid to screw on. I monkeyed with it for three minutes, getting more and more frustrated, but a glance at the clock showed I was pushing my luck, and I grabbed my purse and bag and the open cup of coffee and headed out to pull out my car.

At every stop light, I tried to put the lid on, but I could not for the life of me get the lid to screw on. Finally, the cup holder collapsed, spilling coffee all over the floor, prompting a string of curses.

Fuming, I pulled into work, brought my stuff upstairs, went back down and mopped up the mess with paper towels, and then came back and washed out the cup. "Here, you try it," I told my cubicle mate in exasperation. "Can you get that lid on?"

She messed with it for about thirty seconds, getting more and more puzzled, and then turned the lid over and looked at it. "Your cup needs a screw on lid--but this is a snap on lid. See?"

I looked, chagrined, and realized that she was absolutely right. The plastic matched perfectly--but it was the lid for an entirely different cup.

So I wasn't crazy after all.

Just stupid.

All I want is a proper cup of coffee, made in a proper copper coffee pot,
I may be off my dot, but I want a proper coffee in a proper copper pot.
Iron coffee pots and tin coffee pots, they are no use to me!
If I can't have a proper cup of coffee in a proper copper coffee pot, I'll have a cup of tea!

I hurt all over

I am walking wounded this morning. My arm's sore from the rabies shot. I've got cramps, and I hurt all over from trying to start my workouts again. I am really appalled at how sore I am; it shows how much I've let my general conditioning slip by thinking I could get away with just doing karate and the elliptical machine. I did a pilates workout this morning, and only managed about twenty minutes. I was doing the fricking beginners' adjustments, fer heaven's sakes.

I am such a wimp.

Poll on the government's handling of Katrina

If you haven't seen it, ABC News has released a poll assessing opinions about the government's handling of Katrina.

Americans are broadly critical of government preparedness in the Hurricane Katrina disaster — but far fewer take George W. Bush personally to task for the problems, and public anger about the response is less widespread than some critics would suggest.

In an event that clearly has gripped the nation — 91 percent of Americans are paying close attention — hopefulness far outweighs discontent about the slow-starting rescue. And as in so many politically charged issues in this country, partisanship holds great sway in views of the president's performance.

The most critical views cross jurisdictions: Two-thirds in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say the federal government should have been better prepared to deal with a storm this size, and three-quarters say state and local governments in the affected areas likewise were insufficiently prepared.

Other evaluations are divided. Forty-six percent of Americans approve of Bush's handling of the crisis, while 47 percent disapprove. That compares poorly with Bush's 91 percent approval rating for his performance in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but it's far from the broad discontent expressed by critics of the initial days of the hurricane response. (It also almost exactly matches Bush's overall job approval rating, 45 percent, in an ABC/Post poll a week ago.)

Similarly, 48 percent give a positive rating to the federal government's response overall, compared with 51 percent who rate it negatively — another split view, not a broadly critical one.

See the rest of the analysis at the link above. The poll sample was only about 500. I wonder how many, if any, were people who were directly affected by Katrina (lost homes, job or relatives) and how that would affect their responses.

Edited to add: The poll has been criticized by MediaMatters for their polling method (too small of a sample; one day poll taken on the Friday night of a holiday weekend). Thanks to sarekofvulcan for the link.