Tr1v14l Pursu1ts: “If we don’t pass it, we shouldn’t be a Congress.” --Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire

Maxims, rules of thumb and other observations on human cognition and sociocultural affectations

This will be added to on an irregular basis...

What is said to humans directly is received with skepticism and considered with dubiousness while that which is heard in passing, especially that which most conforms to their mentality or prejudices, is readily believed.
Humans have a certain cognitive latency between exposure to new information or experiences and the ability to think dispassionately and intellectually about it.
Humans have a certain cognitive spectrum starting with the moment of exposure to new information or experiences and ending with some point at which the thing is effectively "in the past" for them.
This cognitive spectrum is linked to the emotional process often referred to as shock, anger, denial and acceptance.
The more and faster information or experiences are presented to people and the closer the quarters and the lesser the distance between people, the more their early reactions in the passionate emotional stage are reflected back to them in the manner of responses to those reactions from others in light of those responses.
The more outrages which are suffered without sufficient time to allow emotional bleed-off, the farther the bar for subsequent reaction and outrage are pushed, and the more further events must progress before reaction and outrage.
It is possible for serious detriments to eventually sit below this threshold for long enough for their damaging effects to build and multiply until their entire society undergoes some reactive convulsion.

Monday, September 29, 2008

“If we don’t pass it, we shouldn’t be a Congress.” --Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire

They didn't pass it.

They choked.

Senator Gregg was exactly right.

Try to keep in mind when Congress tries to pass the buck to the Republican president at the time, and go on about who caused it all to happen, that the Congress was dominated by Democrats since the last congressional election, and when the time came to deal with the problem at hand instead of assigning blame, they could not grow up long enough to deal with it and fix it, preferring to fixate on the past instead of the right now.

A bit like being stood up to a wall for execution by guerillas for wandering into their territory and screaming at your partner it was all his fault as they are about to fire.

The economic bullets are being loaded and the American economy is about to be shot. Good going Congress, for not picking up the phone and staying the execution.