Sunday, August 28, 2011

Irene's post hoc ergo propter hoc


In Latin it means "after this, therefore because of this".

In other words, if the politicians hadn't ordered evacuations, thousands would be "dead".

This from a hurricane turned tropical storm that had Tesla, Teller and Eastlund's life's work used against it since 22 August.

He looked crestfallen fell briefly silent when a weatherwoman told him that the rain was not going to get any worse. “Wow, because this isn’t so bad,” he said. “It’s an annoying rain but it isn’t even a sideways rain.”

Then came the press conferences from the politicians, with Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey that his evacuation of the Jersey Shore was “a pre-emptive measure that I am confident saved lives” and there could still be damage worth “tens of billions” of dollars.

Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security chief, declared that there was ” a ways to go with Irene” but “with the evacuations and other precautions taken we have dramatically decreased the risk to life”. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York seemed thoroughly delighted with himself, as if he personally had calmed the waters and stifled the winds.

When you look like an ass because you ignored weather mitigation, simply declare that if you hadn't issued orders ignored by most everyone that more would have died.

SPQR

No comments: