Questions and Answers

Dear Madam,

As Newton Emerson answers the questions of thousands of desperate columnists in today's Irish Times one is struck by the pointless nature of his derision.

Who cares about the questions of thousands of desperate columnists, who cares whether George Bush's minimal popularity is finally wavering towards death, who cares whether Bill Clinton had the same flaws but managed to hide them better, who cares whether John Kerry would have put America and in turn the rest of the world in the exact same position, who cares whether the Democrats can sort out election fraud in the next year?

It is common knowledge that journalists ask questions to sell newspapers, it is common knowledge that rich America keeps poor America poor, it is common knowledge that unsustainable growth will exacerbate Global Warming, it is common knowledge that there is no real effort to curb this warming, it is common knowledge that people are dying across the world due to the greed of others, it is common knowledge that we are not as 'developed' as we'd like to think.

This is all common knowledge and yet we still argue over who is the lesser of two evils.

Regards,


Ill wind blows all the way to Washington, or does it?
Newton's Optic: Newton Emerson copes with the consequences of an ill wind.

As the full horror of Hurricane Katrina sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if this is the end of George Bush's presidency. The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that every copy of the US Constitution was destroyed in the storm. Otherwise President Bush will remain in office until noon on January 20th, 2009, as required by the 20th Amendment, after which he is barred from seeking a third term anyway under the 22nd Amendment.
As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if the entire political agenda of George Bush's second term will not still be damaged in some terribly satisfying way.

continued...© The Irish Times