Thursday, June 12, 2008
40 Days and 40 Nights? Fun in Iowa
I intend to write a post on America's bleak economic outlook; I'll do so soon.
But I am currently hunkering at a friend's place in Iowa City, Iowa. (Yes, close readers of UC will note some irony here...see the post of 3 Jan. 08 if you care about such minutiae.) Iowa is flooding, it's pouring rain, and every 5 minutes the radio has another of those Emergency Warning System broadcasts. The most interesting one so far is that a levee on the Iowa River broke, a little ways upstream from where I sit.
Now I am currently on very high ground, way, way higher than the river (too close for the lightning for my taste), but I feel sorry for those down along the river; this includes a substantial number of businesses, homes, and university buildings. These areas have largely been evacuated already, so I'm hoping people are safe.
Meanwhile, I've been involved in a rather strange and heated debate with Mr. John Lofton, editor of The American View, on the excellent Classically Liberal blog. It's a somewhat interesting if rambling debate, covering theology, medicine, medical ethics, libertarian political thought, abortion, and Terri Schiavo's death. Mr. Lofton is perhaps the most extreme of any political religious fundamentalist I've ever debated; he appears to be a fellow traveller of the Christian Reconstructionists (the people who advocate the death penalty for violations of teir interpretations of Old testament laws). I've set myself the task of swaying his views... we'll see. CLS is rather doubtful, and of course he's likely right. (Click the "Comments" to find the discussion.)
Iowa flooding update, 13 June : We're located on one of the high points of Iowa City, on what is the only though street still open with access to I-80. Hence, it's flooded, only with traffic, backed up from the Interstate all the way downtown, I suspect. I'm babysitting two dogs, and we're more or less penned in. Oh well, not to worry...it's nothing a good tornado won't cure. (Another summer in Iowa, good grief!)
But I am currently hunkering at a friend's place in Iowa City, Iowa. (Yes, close readers of UC will note some irony here...see the post of 3 Jan. 08 if you care about such minutiae.) Iowa is flooding, it's pouring rain, and every 5 minutes the radio has another of those Emergency Warning System broadcasts. The most interesting one so far is that a levee on the Iowa River broke, a little ways upstream from where I sit.
Now I am currently on very high ground, way, way higher than the river (too close for the lightning for my taste), but I feel sorry for those down along the river; this includes a substantial number of businesses, homes, and university buildings. These areas have largely been evacuated already, so I'm hoping people are safe.
Meanwhile, I've been involved in a rather strange and heated debate with Mr. John Lofton, editor of The American View, on the excellent Classically Liberal blog. It's a somewhat interesting if rambling debate, covering theology, medicine, medical ethics, libertarian political thought, abortion, and Terri Schiavo's death. Mr. Lofton is perhaps the most extreme of any political religious fundamentalist I've ever debated; he appears to be a fellow traveller of the Christian Reconstructionists (the people who advocate the death penalty for violations of teir interpretations of Old testament laws). I've set myself the task of swaying his views... we'll see. CLS is rather doubtful, and of course he's likely right. (Click the "Comments" to find the discussion.)
Iowa flooding update, 13 June : We're located on one of the high points of Iowa City, on what is the only though street still open with access to I-80. Hence, it's flooded, only with traffic, backed up from the Interstate all the way downtown, I suspect. I'm babysitting two dogs, and we're more or less penned in. Oh well, not to worry...it's nothing a good tornado won't cure. (Another summer in Iowa, good grief!)
