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Lots of people evacuated who could just as well have stayed home. Irene was not the apocalypse for which Bloomberg, Christie, and the other elected officials who pulled out all the stops prepared. Were they wrong? In a world without the second law of thermodynamics, in which time can be run back and forth, obviously [...]
Archive for the ‘Post-disaster reflections’ Category
May 20th, 2011
Category: Post-disaster reflections, Woolgathering
Obviously, we should be blogging furiously in the remaining day. On the other hand, there’s other stuff I really want to do while I can, like learn Arabic and change the oil in my car, so I will have to be brief. Here are some useful updates of the sort for which you naturally turn [...]
April 4th, 2011
When most people hear the word “trauma” they understandably think about combat veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. But traumatic events are not confined to the battle field. They include being involved in an accident, being the victim of crime, surviving an earthquake or other disaster, or even witnessing others go through terrible things (e.g., some [...]
January 11th, 2011
The “Second Amendment remedy” discourse of the last few years is a near-monopoly of the far right, “crosshairs map” and all. And Arizona does have extremely permissive firearms laws, and it’s full of people who really, really, want to be able to play with guns and take them everywhere. I would love to hang the [...]
November 20th, 2010
Ian Ayres to indebted graduates: buy stocks on margin!
October 5th, 2010
Obion County, Tennessee is a rural patch with eight towns in it, each of which has a fire department supported by local taxes. If you live in one of these towns, and your house catches fire, your neighbors put out the fire through the agency of the fire department. Some people prefer to live out [...]
June 26th, 2010
Once upon a time, writers and pols gathered in physical places nominally devoted to consumption of ethanol and chemicals with names ending in -ine, including but not limited to caff- and nicot- , and engaged in social capital formation, sharpening of wits, and exchange of information that made them all smarter and happier. Some of [...]
January 18th, 2010
Category: Disasters, Economics, Haiti, Organizing, Political Science, Politics and Leadership, Post-disaster reflections
Haiti is not doomed. To the extent that Haitian culture inhibits prosperity, Haitians will do as people in that condition always have: they will work around their culture—or leave it, and benefit their home countries no less by doing that.
January 18th, 2010
Category: Disasters, Organizing, Political Science, Politics and Leadership, Post-disaster reflections
I’ve been waiting for this story ever since the earthquake. It turns out the rich folks up on the hill are pretty much OK, and they are being protected from looters as always by the police who have been invisible to date down among the poor. Haiti is a society operating under rules called amoral [...]
