Friday, November 20, 2009

Congressman's Flapping Lips: Like Butterfly Wings


Members of Congress are like butterflies, only elected officials flap lips, not wings. Chaos theory has the butterfly effect, how small differences in initial conditions causes dramatic changes in the long term behavior of a system.

The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month's time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen, does.

What happens when a Congressman flaps his lips in a small town in central Texas? Can it be felt in Arkansas? Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) hopes so. The Burnet Bulletin reported on Mike's effort to stymie health reform:

“The grassroots organizations, individuals and collective groups can weigh in on the 100 senators that are going to be making this important decision over the next three to four weeks and stop this bill,” Conaway said Friday evening at an open forum at the Burnet Bulletin newspaper office on the Burnet square. “…So if you are part of the group that wants to see it stopped and you know someone in Arkansas, have them call up the senator.”

A Congressman flaps his gums in central Texas, phones ring in Arkansas. Conaway hopes for a Blanche effect. Mike's prior utterances were Genentech talking points. Congressional chaos at its best.

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