Experts in risk analysis have a model they use to describe the dynamics of disasters and our efforts to prevent them. Â It’s called the cumulative act effect, or more frequently (and popularly) the Swiss cheese model. Â In short, it imagines
Politics and Wonderland
With election season in full swing, the word “caucus” has become ubiquitous in the news.  I first learned the word when I read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, many, many years ago. ‘What I was going to say,’ said the Dodo in
And It’s Not Coming Back, Either.
(With apologies to Monty Python and anyone else who’s already worked this gag on this subject.) Dear Mr. President, Once again this week you have spoken of bipartisanship, and how you still see the possibility of bipartisan cooperation in addressing
We’ve Spilled It All Before — Proposal
(Crossposted on Daily Kos and should appear on Facebook as well.) As I write this, it looks like the BP – Deepwater Horizon oil spill may actually be coming to an end. The actual spillage, anyway. Despite the White House’s
Constitutional Pet Peeve
(Part of the larger “Jamie’s Spelling and Grammatical Pet Peeves” department.) What with a conflict between the President and one of his generals leading the news, it seemed like a really good time to bring this peeve up. I have
A Rap CD vs. 2 years of Prison — what’s the better investment?
[crossposted on my DailyKos diary page] Despite having moved out of California over a decade ago, I still have strong ties to the SF Bay Area and one of my main sources of online news is the SFGate website. Today
To My Congresscritters
Dear Congressman Wu (and Senator Smith and Senator Wyden): Today President Bush called upon Congress to allow a vast expansion of oil drilling in the United States, especially in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and off our coastlines. I am
It’s Not April 1 Yet, Is It?
From the AP wire: WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush, dispatching Vice President Dick Cheney to the Middle East, said the goal is to get Israelis and Palestinians to hold firm to the promises they’ve made toward peace. Bush said Monday
This is just too much …
This is the sort of news story that just gets me so mad. When I get really mad at a story on the radio, I’ve been known to start yelling back at it. I can’t do that here, but I’m
An Open Letter to Dianne Feinstein
In the spring of 1980, for an exercise in my eighth grade class, we were asked to name our heroes. In front of my whole class, I named you. I didn’t live in San Francisco. I never had. But even