We Are All Innocent

I should probably just install a permanent link to David Brooks' page on the NY Times Website because I enjoy his writing so much, but due to my limited knowledge of HTML, we will have to settle for the daily links in this space.

Mr. Brooks continues to write on the U.S. Government's response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but today his response touches on foundational aspects of two of the classes that I am taking this semester, Public Administration and American Public Policy. His assertion that the fragmentation and diffusion of power throughout the American governmental system is the root cause of so many of the response problems is a astute observation. In times where the status quo reigns, the American system of democracy, division of power, and fragmentation is usually the ideal system for caring out the daily functioning of society, but in times of crisis that system is often woefully inadequate.

Due to the necessity of proper communication between superiors and subordinates in times of crisis, constant collaboration and haggling between organizations, and a wide, but disparate base of resources and power, the response of governmental organization is often much slower than is usually desirable.



Moving on to other topics, I was obviously very pleased by the outcome of the UT-OSU game on Saturday night. There are few things more fun than watching a big game with your friends, especially if some of your friends (Jake Roseberry and Jon Heintz) are rooting for the other team. For anyone who has watched Vince Young since his days at Madison High, you know that Vince's skill-level often makes it appear that he is coasting through some games, but on Saturday, I think we saw the real-deal.

Late in the game, with over 105,000 screaming and doing their best to disrupt anything the 'Horns attempted to do, Vince began to drive. With quick passes to Jamaal Charles, he led the team down the Horseshoe. On a scramble to his right, he was hit, and as he fell to his knees, the Longhorn faithful watched Matt Nordgren begin to warm-up, but we knew otherwise. We knew that there was no way Vince was coming out. He would begin what he had started. Just a few plays later, a ball that only Limas Sweed could catch was fired into the corner of the endzone and the comeback was complete. Vince stepped onto the national stage in the Rose Bowl last year, and this game was just another step on the return trip.