It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of
a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into
privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing
algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the
planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times. George W. Bush likes to call himself "compassionate." How is it that a compassionate man would go about trying to cut the funding for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program? That's just what his 2006 budget proposal calls for. WIC, as it's popularly called, helps make sure that nursing mothers and growing kids have enough food so that the next generation doesn't grow up stunted. Heck, you don't even have to be compassionate to support this program; any fool can realize that every dollar invested in helping children grow up without developmental delays from improper nutrition will lead to hundreds if not thousands of dollars in increased adult productivity, and will prevent hundreds if not thousands of dollars from being spent on taking care of sick and stunted adults. Even George W. Bush must know this. Cutting the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program? That's not "compassionate," and it's not smart. It's stupid and mean. Let George W. Bush go be stupid and mean to waiters in Kennebunkport, but it's just not called for in our White House. (Source: Washington Post, May 27 2004) ![]() ![]() ![]() |