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Sunday, September 11, 2005

A song, a thought, and a question

Four years ago, after September 11, 2001, the first time I left the house, this is the song I put in my tape deck. Of course, the lyric can't give you the full effect. Especially as it's missing the recitation of "The Lord's Prayer" that runs throughought the song, ending with the haunting repitition of "God deliver us from evil."

But this gives you a rough idea.




I stand alone and watch the clock
I only wait for it to stop
And in the room locked up inside me
The cutout magazines remind me
I sit and wait alone in my room

And in my room against the wall
There is a picture very small
A photograph I took some years ago
It shows a picture of the room I know
I sit and wait alone in my room

The walls are white and in the night
The room is lit by electric light

I stand alone and watch the clock
I only wait for it to stop
The doors are shut and all the windows lock
The only sound is from the clock
I sit and wait alone in my room

The walls are white and in the night
The room is lit by electric light

--Yaz, "In My Room"



If there was one sure bet back then, it was that this country would spend whatever it took to make this country safer, especially in terms of airport security. A lot of money has been allocated and it's been a long time since I've heard anyone claim it has spent wisely or even that it's achieved much of the stated goal. Even before the Katrina disaster exposed the inadequacy of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, there were reports of waste; of cash that had been earmarked to improve security going for the customary government pork instead, lavished in states and on locations that are on no terrorist's intinerary. Here's an article about how so much of it went to low-interest loans for small businesses like pet salons and Dunkin' Donuts stands. At the same time, no one seems to think that our nuclear plants are guarded as well as they could be...but, hey, at least you can get a cruller in Seattle.


--Mark Evanier, news from me

"What have we learned, Charlie Brown?"

--Linus Van Pelt

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