It’s a Wonderful Machine

I’ve been reading this story every Christmas for nearly a decade now. To properly enjoy it, you need to appreciate the historical context: When this was published in December of ’97, Apple hadn’t released the iMac, let alone the iPod or iPhone. A year earlier at Macworld Boston, Jobs had been booed on stage when he introduced the new Apple/Microsoft partnership. The clones had been killed. Apple’s next-gen OS plans at least appeared to still be in constant flux and confusion. AAPL was trading at under $5 a share.

Now, sit back and enjoy, It’s a Wonderful Machine.

Merry Christmas!

No, you can’t live there

Do you have somewhere to sleep tonight? I do. It’s clean, safe, and well heated. If your place is too, we’re both lucky.

But for other folks, the ripple effects of the Katrina catastrophe just keep on spreading. I can’t pretend to be able to give you a full recap, but this holiday season, 4000 homes and apartments are being demolished. Here’s the deal (Terrific short video, with music, at that link).

Get daily updates at Justice for New Orleans. And listen to presidential candidate John Edwards:

Edwards said there is a lack of affordable housing in New Orleans and that the crisis is a result of government policies that have failed Gulf Coast residents since Katrina and Rita struck in 2005.

“Rents have doubled,” he said in a statement. “Families are being evicted from FEMA trailers and now the administration is trying to make a bad situation worse.”

Edwards said the demolition should be halted until replacement housing is ready to be inhabited.

We failed our fellow citizens miserably when the hurricane came. That’s no excuse for failing them again by letting our government officials treat people unfairly. Right now in New Orleans, the message is that if you’re black and poor, you’re not allowed home. That’s not right.

Please go watch that video. And then pick up the phone, send a donation, or get yourself on a bus.