Sleepless in Midland

Fox Friday 8-31-18 -- what great posture he has

What posture! Straight as an arrow.

Just a nice profile.  They're so cute

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3:50 PM 8/30/2018

Yahoo, AOL selling email data to advertisers

This is how much a curmudgeon I am. For months -- since Yahoo sold out to Verizon and Oath -- I've been scrolling to the bottom of the first page and clicking "I'll do this later." That first page is a long winded script telling us what all they can do with our emails. I read enough of it to conclude they could do plenty with whatever users said in their emails and that I didn't want any part of it.

So it's nice to see some push back on them. Phil Baker at pjmedia.com summarizes a wsj.com article today. Baker at Yahoo Admits It Scans Emails to Collect Data to Sell to Advertisers and wsj at Yahoo, Bucking Industry, Scans Emails for Data to Sell Advertisers.

Here's an excerpt from Baker:

Doug Sharp, Oath’s vice president of data, measurements and insights, told the Wall Street Journal that email scanning is an effective method for improving ad targeting. "He said that the practice applies only to commercial emails in people’s accounts—from retailers, say, or mass mailings—and that users have the ability to opt out," the WSJ wrote.

Opting out is a challenge. A search for the word "opt" in the document turns up nothing. So by avoiding accepting maybe I haven't yet opted in.

But get a load of this:

"Yahoo paid $4 million in 2016 to settle a federal class-action lawsuit that claimed its scanning of email violated federal wiretap laws," the WSJ noted. "Yahoo, which didn’t admit wrongdoing, agreed as part of the settlement terms to make a technical change: Rather than scanning emails while they are 'in transit,' Yahoo now waits until they arrive in an inbox to scan them."

Well, isn't that sweet of them to wait until the email is actually delivered before purloining the user's conversation?

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2:04 PM 8/29/2018

Daniel Pipes provides a history lesson on Venezuela -- spoiler alert, unhappy ending

The road to serfdom is paved with false promises.

Venezuela was going strong at one time with natural resources aplenty, having the world's fastest-growing economy in 1980 and ranked as Latin America’s wealthiest country as recently as 2001. But then government happened. Here's Daniel Pipes in Venezuela’s Tyranny of Bad Ideas (alternate link):

Socialism might have been a proven failure globally, but Hugo Chávez convinced Venezuelans to try it. On becoming president in 1999, he stole, dominated, polarized and jailed. Benefiting from about $1 trillion in oil sales during his 14 years as president, he had the means to launch massive social spending programs to secure votes. He could even afford to kill the goose laying golden eggs, replacing competent professionals at the government-owned oil company with agents, stooges and sycophants. In the grandest socialist tradition, his daughter María accumulated a fortune estimated at $4.2 billion in 2015, according to Venezuelan press reports.

“The trouble with socialism,” Margaret Thatcher once observed, “is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” Chávez pre-empted that problem by seeking treatment for his cancer in Havana, where, Fox News reports, he “was assassinated by Cuban malpractice.” He died in March 2013, about a year before oil prices tumbled, and conveniently bequeathed the disaster that followed to Nicolás Maduro, his still more brutal and incompetent handpicked successor. Once oil revenues shrank, the true costs of Chávez’ bankrupt ideas became clear. Venezuela is now sinking into totalitarianism, using military force to keep socialism afloat.

Margaret Thatcher certainly had a way with words. And she sure did nail socialism precisely.

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12:20 PM 8/28/2018

How influential is Tom Steyer, anyway?

Tom Steyer is on a campaign. It's not entirely clear whether the primary goal is for his own election as president or to get Trump out of office. But he undoubtedly wants both. And he's betting his own money on it.

Most Democrat office holders are too shy to come out solidly in favor of Trump's impeachment at the moment for fear it will create a stampede of frightened Republicans to the voting booths in November. But once the election is over, you can bet the movement will return with a vengeance.

In any event, it's amusing to watch those rich guys like Tom Steyer and Mark Cuban try to work through the thought process that if a guy like Trump could win, maybe they have a shot, too.

Meanwhile, a couple of msm sources:
Tom Steyer slams Washington establishment for not pursuing Trump impeachment; and
Steyer Campaigns for Trump’s Impeachment While Other Democrats Stay Away.

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2:21 PM 8/27/2018

Movie: Absolute Power. Clint Eastwood made a two star movie out of a five star book

The Ector County Library held a used book sale a couple of months ago, and it was a great place to get some good books at the cheap price of $4 per bag. I took home two bags.

One of the books was "Absolute Power" by the prolific writer, David Baldacci. It was a riveting mystery story that involved a master burglar, the burglar's daughter, a homicide detective, and a lawyer. The hero was the lawyer, and although the burglar was an important part of the plot, his character was mainly in the background.

Well, Clint Eastwood must have liked it too, since he bought the rights and made a movie based on it. But the fellow who rewrote the story, William Goldman, made a huge change which didn't make it a better story.

Coincidentally, I found a copy of the movie and watched it after finishing the book.

In the movie version of the story, the lawyer was completely absent, and the hero and main character was the burglar. And guess who played the burglar? Yup. Clint Eastwood.

Oh, I know what you are saying. "The book always seems better." Well, maybe so. But in my opinion, the book earned five stars. The movie, not so many. But don't take my word for it. Check out Rottentomatoes.com where it received a dismal 47/52.

Anyway, when I donate the book back to the library, I'll tie the movie vhs to the book with the hope that they resell them as a package. That seems logical, no?

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12:52 PM 8/26/2018

Contrast: Treatment of parents in U.S. and in countries South of border

This news story from Chicage is getting a lot of attention: Mom Investigated by Cops, Children's Services for Letting 8-Year-Old Walk Dog Alone.

Some observers call children like these, "free range kids," because their parents trust that whatever they learn from treks outdoors will far outweigh any risk to the child. But here's the thing I believe is noteworthy about this. While parents in the U.S. are expected to hoover like helicopters over their children at the risk of being hauled in as bad parents, parents South of the border release their kids to cartel members, smugglers, and coyotes to travel otherwise unaccompanied across the U.S. border.

The left is willing to ignore that particular bit of parental negligence and use the kids as pawns in an attack on those who want strong borders. And they are winning!

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1:53 PM 8/24/2018

Fox Friday 8-24-18

Shut yo mouth!

Is why they call you Scrawny Tail?

Hey, I was just kidding!

Grrrr!  I'm Godzilla!

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3:43 PM 8/23/2018

County Commissioners love playing Santa Clause with taxpayer money

Stewart Doreen is really doing a bang-up job of keeping readers of the Midland Reporter-Telegram informed about the Midland County Commissioners spending of taxpayer money. In the latest he tells us this Proposed budget includes 9 percent raise for commissioners.

The Midland Texas County government is awash with money from tax inflow. And who can forget how surprised they were that a booming economy would cause a big jump in sales tax revenue? If only taxpayers could be that lucky.

So the county has money burning a hole in its pocket even after giving away a whopping $12 million to other taxing entities. For a refresher about that, see County answers call for collaboration. And see previously at this blog: Taxpayers are ignored in Midland County wealth distribution scheme.

If we are lucky, the winner of the County Judge slot in November will do some belt tightening. Although, it's hard to be optimistic since he will have to battle an entrenched entitlement minded commissioners court.

In any event, kudos to Stewart Doreen for maintaining a newsman's tradition of being a government watchdog. There were times when it appeared as if he were serving as a lapdog for the city council, so it's nice to see him dig into the county commissioners.

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9:02 AM 8/22/2018

Remarkable three mile rifle shot strikes target

Taking advantage of cool weather, Bill Poor and his team did this back in January of this year at a ranch near Midland, TX, using a .408 CheyTac rifle ($10,000 to $14,000) and Cheytec ammo ($750.00 for 100 rounds). Ouch.

Dallasnews.com initially said in West Texas marksman reportedly breaks distance record with 3-mile shot that the Guinness World Records would likely decline to give him the record, but an update to the article said they relented and gave it to him.

See also Abilene Reporter-News article World record might be a longshot for Tuscola man which embeds a 51 second video.

What a remarkable shot.

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2:35 PM 8/21/2018

Our vehicles will soon be spying on us

It's bad enough that our phones and TVs are spying on us, it turns out that our vehicles have that capability, too. Or if they don't have it now, they soon will have.

Does that worry car owners? It should, but people seem to have gotten very complacent about all those devices watching and listening to us.

Anyway, for a rundown on what's in the pipeline, see What Your Car Knows About You. Alternate link. Excerpt:

Already, some car makers are gathering this data to provide feedback to help improve a car’s performance, refine features and alert them to any potential quality problems early on. They’re also using it to create new and more personalized services for drivers.

But many car makers have bigger plans, including using the data to craft targeted in-car advertisements or selling it to mapping firms looking to provide more accurate traffic information.

General Motors Co. , Ford Motor Co. and other major car makers are hoping these connected-car services will generate new revenue streams that can help them diversify beyond their core business of building and selling cars. While it is still early days, McKinsey & Co. estimates monetizing data from connected cars will be worth up to $750 billion by 2030 as more cars are shipped with pre-installed modems and other internet-connected devices. ...

Car companies stress that they get the owner’s consent first before gathering any data. In cases where it is collected and provided to third parties, the data is anonymized, meaning it is scrubbed of all personal information and batched together with data from other vehicles to provide a more generalized picture of a car’s operations or consumer driving habits.

You did click "Accept," didn't you?

Still, privacy experts say it is not always clear to consumers when they are giving consent. As with other electronic devices, the data disclosures are often buried in the terms and service agreement and described in ways that aren’t always easy for customers to understand.

“That’s not going to give consumers a full sense of how their data is being used and collected any more than it is online,” said Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington, who specializes in digital privacy.

This is all the more reason for drivers to hang on to those clunkers as long as possible.

The company rushing to get your data moving out of the vehicle is Otonomo of Israel.

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1:20 PM 8/19/2018

Peter Strzok rakes in cash thru gofundme

This is astonishing. Who contributes to the fund of a partisan cop who used his position to punish political opponents and protect his friends? One has to wonder whether these donors would contribute to a street cop who came under fire from some of the groups demonstrating against cops. Of course they wouldn't.

But the answer to the question is "people who agree with his politics and want to punish opponents and reward the political agenda with which they agree."

For some reason, all the money he's making off this made me think of a scene from the 1984 movie "Repo Men" in which a likable loser played by Emilio Estevez was on financial hard times and tried to hit up his parents for an advance from his college fund. Sorry, they explained. They donated it all to a TV preacher.

Strzok is the poster child for the deep state, the high profile anti-Trumper who misused his government position. This was far worse than anything Michael Flynn did. And there's a growing since of unfairness floating around the country among potential voters.

Related: Why Are People Giving Peter Strzok Their Money? by Kat Timpf.

Post script:  I started this blog post Thursday morning, and by Friday noon, Peter Strzok's gofundme account was at $430,917 -- having grown by about $15,000 the past 24 hours. Heck, maybe he'll reach or exceed his $500,000 goal.

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10:15 AM 8/16/2018

Fox Friday 8-17-18

This Fox Friday consists of a solitary photo of a fox with a big piece of meat in his mouth.

I've been putting the food out around 8:30pm. And it's usually gone by 9:30pm. Typically, up to three foxes visit the bait station, and obviously they know when it's feeding time.

That's Scrawny Tail on the left about to chow down on a chunk of chicken.

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1:58 PM 8/16/2018

Brennan's security clearance pulled -- it's about time

This was long overdue. Brennan was not just a critic. He was on the other side.

John Brennan orchestrated an operation against Trump while Brennan was with the government. Then once out, he continually rebuked the president. So why in the world was Brennan still holding the security clearance?

From Fox News: Trump revokes security clearance for former CIA director John Brennan:

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders read a statement on behalf of the president during the start of the press briefing, saying Brennan “has a history that calls his credibility into question.” The statement also said that Brennan had been "leveraging" the clearance to make "wild outbursts" and claims against the Trump administration.

It's a start. Under review: James Comey; Andrew McCabe; James Clapper; Susan Rice; Michael Hayden; Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

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2:46 PM 8/15/2018

political correctness cheat sheet

You need a program to know what's acceptable and what's not. But the important thing to remember is that the "who." Who said it is more important than what is said.

A delightful website by Bradley Campbell makes that point loud and clear. In fact, he published a convenient cheat sheet demonstrating that very thing in http://victimhoodculture.com/index.php/2018/08/09/victimhood-culture-and-hidden-meanings/ Victimhood Culture and Hidden Meanings. See below:

So there you have it.

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3:20 PM 8/14/2018

Ground agent could have learned to fly the Q400 in Microsoft game Flight Simulator

In many of the initial news reports about the ground agent taking off in a Bombardier Q400 at an airport near Seattle the reporters were astonished that someone without formal training could fly such a plane.

Anyone who has ever played with Microsoft's Flight Simulator computer game can tell you that there's a learning curve, but once the basics are learned, it's easy, especially if you don't bother to learn how to land. And yes, there's software for the Q400.

It will be interesting to learn what games he played on his computer once they finish a search of his living quarters.

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2:36 PM 8/13/2018

The difference between democratic socialism and old school socialism

So I was watching Andrew Puzder's talk on C-Span2 and came away very impressed with the guy. Too bad he didn't get to serve on Trump's cabinet.

One interesting thing he talked about was the difference between socialism and democratic socialism. He said that according to Bernie Sanders, under socialism the government owned businesses, whereas democratic socialism allowed the original owners to keep their businesses, but the government would runs them. Actually, that sounds more like the difference between communism and socialism.

Here's a distinction found at a website sympathetic to socialism -- either flavor. Difference between Socialism and Democratic Socialism. Socialism is defined as businesses owned by the "collective" -- code word for government. But the democratic socialism would be something the citizens had voted for rather than having been forced onto the citizens. The idea that it would have been forced onto business owners doesn't factor into that distinction.

In any event, to those of us who oppose Socialism by any definition, the distinction isn't particularly meaningful.

And finally, here's a dirty little secret worth worrying about. Malcolm Nance is firmly in the resist-Trump camp, but put that aside for a second. He makes a persuasive argument that Vladimir Putin's ultimate goal is to convince enough westerners to vote out their own democracy. Appears as though he's made some significant advances on that goal.

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9:12 AM 8/12/2018

Narrow Republican wins portend trouble ahead

There was a study conducted not long ago which produced results purporting to show that in the game of basketball a team that is one or two points behind at half time is more likely to ultimately win the game. Makes sense. If the teams or evenly matched the team with players more motivated have to be the favorite.

That theory is probably true in politics as well. The team that is slightly behind is more motivated. And in the current environment, Democrats are very motivated.

Among today's voters there are those who prioritize the economy and taxes. And there are those who are appalled by Trump's noisy personality and all the pettiness Trump produces. Although a zen diagram would show some overlap, in that last group is a sizable contingent more likely to vote Democrat or not vote in upcoming elections.

So while some conservative writers are trying to instill confidence, it might be helpful to remember that basketball study and realize with a narrow win, like Troy Balderson's in Ohio, there's a motivational component for the opposition that could follow a narrow loss.

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12:56 PM 8/11/2018

Congress members stock trading on insider info, OK. Telling family members, NOT OK.

One of the reasons congress members are so rich after retiring from government salary is because buying and selling stock with inside information of what might do to help or hurt the company is legal.

So it's always an oddity when one of them draws law enforcement scrutiny over stock trades.

Here are a couple of articles from the local morning paper -- Midland Reporter-Telegram.

 

The one about Representative Christopher Collins is labeled as an Associated Press article. And it tells the story of how he used inside information to unload shares of Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited in time to avoid a big loss. Allegedly, he shared his insider information with one or more relatives who sold too.

The other article is about Representative Mike Conaway and appears to be a press release. It tells us that while Mr. Conaway sold his stock in that same company. But no charges were brought against him because the way he did it was perfectly legal.  Presumably he didn't tell his relatives, so he got a pass.

That whole business of letting representatives use inside information in stock trades stinks to high heaven. But since they make the rules under which they operate, it's unlikely we'll see any reforms.

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2:54 PM 8/9/2018

Fox Friday 8-10-2018 - Momma and pup?

Welcome to Fox Friday. This series is a collection of photos of urban foxes in the city of Midland, Texas.

This being late summer, any offspring produced this year will be young but almost grown. So take a look at these:

 
Notice the bumps on the underside of the one on the left. Could this be a post pregnant female? The other one could be an offspring. But all this is speculation.

Anyway, it ain't National Geographic. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy the fox photos as much as I do.

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5:08 AM 8/10/2018

Suppose we won the war on poverty and nobody knew?

Some interesting new conclusions about poverty in the U.S. suggest it isn't as bad as some let on. With a booming economy and higher numbers rejoining the work force, it seems logical that generalizations about poverty will lag reality.

And here's something researchers have chewed on -- a better measure of poverty is consumption not income surveys. Bruce D. Meyer and James X. Sullivan tell us this: Hardly Anyone Wants to Admit America Is Beating Poverty. (Alternate link.) They make three main points about traditional poverty measure.

First, official income data ignore many of the government distribution schemes.

Second, official poverty measure relies on surveys. And we all know that many if not most people decline to participate in surveys.

Third, research has historically depended on the reported Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers which ignores new products that have become popular.

Instead, these researchers put more emphasis on consumption and the goods and services people can afford to purchase. And they note that the poor today are living as well as the middle class did a generation ago.

Their conclusion:

Fighting poverty requires knowing its extent and among whom it is most severe. Modern antipoverty efforts should promote self-sufficiency. This can be accomplished through work requirements, as well as by helping low-skilled individuals find jobs, offering public employment in targeted cases and helping low-income parents secure child care.

At the same time, the safety net should ensure that those who are unable to work have access to sufficient resources to meet their basic needs. Encouraging self-sufficiency used to be a bipartisan issue; it can be again.

Anecdotally, another admittedly unofficial measure might be the obesity we see among fellow shoppers. If nothing else, they are eating well.

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10:21 AM 8/8/2018

Scary forecasts of cyberattacks

Dave Lawler and Jonathan Swan of Axios.com provide a concise roundup of chilling cyberattack forecasts in Special report: America’s greatest threat is a hurricane-force cyberattack. Bullet points:

Gen. David Petraeus, former CIA director: “What worries me most is a cyber equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction falling into the hands of extremists who would, needless to say, be very difficult to deter, given their willingness to blow themselves up on the battlefield to take us with them.”

Former CIA Director Leon Panetta says the biggest threat is "a cyberattack that could paralyze the nation," while former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says "cyberattacks on critical infrastructure from state or state-sponsored actors are the biggest threat right now.”

“The steady drumbeat of breaches in the headlines — each more fantastic than the next — may have numbed people, but everyone should care about the cyber threat," explains Lisa Monaco, homeland security adviser to Barack Obama. "First, we are all vulnerable. Second, it won’t take a cyber 9/11 to make this very real.”

“There will be tremendous media coverage and assigning of blame after there is a catastrophic attack on U.S. critical infrastructure that results in the loss of American lives,” says Frances Townsend, homeland security adviser to George W. Bush, “but we need to spend more time now covering what is at stake and the magnitude of the growing risk.”

"Companies in the energy, financial, and other key economic sectors need to develop the capacity to share threat information in real time, and give the government the visibility and information to take action when necessary to defend us," says Matt Olsen, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

Frances Townsend's remark about media coverage of a catastrophic attack implies she thinks the media outlets will be spared. Interesting. Our enemies have known at least since the 1960s that the best way to defeat the U.S. is through media influence and manipulation. So she might be onto something.

In any event, it would serve the public well if those companies that rely on internet connects, and those that don't, toughen up their protections. And it goes without saying that the power grid operators should have done this already.

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10:41 AM 8/7/2018

Associated Press death row watcher, Michael Graczyk, goes independent

Late last month our local morning paper contained an Associate Press article telling us that Michael Graczyk was going to retire from AP and free lance doing what he did before.

Many professionals focus on something no one else wants to do. And they are successful if they do a good job.

Mr. Graczyk had an unlikely news business niche. He watched death row inmates get executed. Most of us might find that a little bit weird, but a reporter is supposed to look at subjects dispassionately. And Mr. Graczyk certainly made a claim to that narrow spot he filled.

Anyway, apparently he isn't going away, he's just going independent.

Here's a link to the AP article: AP reporter who observed 400+ executions in Texas retires.

Meanwhile, he was mentioned in 2010 at this blog in Henry Skinner's date with the executioner extended.

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2:20 PM 8/6/2018

Trump is on the wrong side of the ethanol-in-gasoline issue

Trump told Iowa farmers that ethanol will stay. And we've seen how important those campaign promises are to him. This is one he should break.

Jason Hopkins, of the Daily Caller News Foundation, has this article at the website thefederalistpapers.org titled EPA Releases Long Delayed Report on Ethanol and the Environment which should open some closed eyes. Here are a few excerpts:

An extensive report from the Environmental Protection Agency found that including ethanol into the U.S. gas supply is wreaking havoc on the atmosphere and soil.

In a study titled “Biofuels and the Environment: The Second Triennial Report to Congress,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that ethanol derived from corn and soybeans is causing serious harm to the environment. Water, soil and air quality were all found to be adversely affected by biofuel mandates. ... Essentially, the study found that biofuel mandates are boosting production of corn and soybeans.

Large-scale production of these crops is causing environmental degradation.

The EPA also found that — at least in some instances — using ethanol in lieu of gasoline resulted in worse air emissions.

So we've got laws on the books that do more harm that good. It's time for Trump to do a 180 on that promise and for Congress to change the law.

Meanwhile, what's the next environmental bombshell to drop? News that war is good for air quality?

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2:31 PM 8/5/2018

Taxpayers are ignored in Midland County wealth distribution scheme

Elected officials revel in favorable media coverage, and the Midland County Judge Mike Bradford must certainly be feeling good.

His term in office is about to end, and perhaps as a going away shot he has orchestrated a huge transfer of funds from the county to various other taxing entities and foundations. The county is awash with cash due to boom-time sales tax collections which they were shocked, shocked, to discover.

For background see two consecutive front pagers from the Midland Reporter-Telegram:
County answers call for collaboration, subhead: "Commissioners to divide $11.86 million from sales tax collection among 10 local entities," and
COLUMN: Commissioners add another chapter to Midland’s philanthropic story.

For those of us who are fiscally conservative the whole thing strikes us as unseemly. Taxpayers can decide best what to do with their money, not elected office holders. Unfortunately, there is almost never any serious mention of lowering local taxes, only of how much to raise them.

Drain the swamp.

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8:01 AM 8/5/2018

Moderate Dems, if there are any, not welcome at Netroots

The political sides are moving farther apart. Conservatives hold out hope that at least some Democrats will see the advantages of the things most conservatives and libertarians want in a government. But the far left seems to have a hard grip on progressives and run of the mill Democrats.

Look at Netroots for a sampling. See Anti-Trump fervor runs hot at liberal summit at Politico.com. Extract:

NEW ORLEANS — Centrist Democrats for months have nudged the party’s left flank to avoid the kind of strident partisanship and outright provocations that Donald Trump could seize on to whip up Republicans voters in the midterms.

The response from the progressive base this week? Shove off.

Arriving here Thursday for the annual progressive gathering Netroots Nation, several thousand activists and organizers teed up a program laced with presentations on Trump’s ties to Russia, “warmongering and bigotry” and “protecting the Mueller investigation.” They depicted Trump’s immigration policies as racist, cheered efforts to block his border wall and plotted next steps for “fighting the global right” — all while amplifying calls to impeach Trump.

“The winning strategy is not chasing after Trump voters or moderating our message,” said Aimee Allison, president of the progressive advocacy group Democracy in Color. “Democrats need to be holding Trump accountable. … They need to be up in arms every day talking about Trump, and they’re too timid. They’re too quiet. ...

And, invoking former first lady Michelle Obama’s 2016 campaign message, “when they go low, we go high,” Monica Roberts, a transgender rights advocate from Texas, told fellow progressives, “The Democratic Party needs to get some balls … There are some times in political life that you have to go World Wrestling Federation on people.”

Does anyone else want to say "WTF" when a transgender rights advocate talks about getting balls?

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1:52 PM 8/3/2018

Fox Friday 8-3-18 -- they came back

It's been quite a long spell since the foxes left for wherever they went. But lo and behold, they came back. I heard rumors of their return and started putting food out about a week ago. Soon it became obvious that foxes, not cats, were eating the food. (Foxes tend to grab it and skedaddle. Cats sit down and eat the food right where it is.)

So here we see one fox with his mouth open, calling up his friends, I guess. The other one shows three foxes allowing for a one-time head count.

Welcome back, foxes!

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1:44 PM 8/2/2018

Harassment in the workplace -- government edition

This came to us by way of Politico's Playbook the other day. And it's a jaw dropping peak into the workings of a government agency when no one is watching, except the ones afraid to speak out.

At WaPo, it's FEMA personnel chief harassed women, hired some as possible sexual partners for male employees, agency’s leader says. Excerpt:

In an interview, [FEMA Administrator William “Brock”] Long described a “toxic” environment in the human resources department under [Corey] Coleman at FEMA headquarters. Starting in 2015, investigators said, Coleman hired many men who were friends and college fraternity brothers and women he met at bars and on online dating sites. He then promoted some of them to roles throughout the agency without going through proper federal hiring channels.

Coleman then transferred some of the women in and out of departments, some to regional offices, so his friends could try to have sexual relationships with them, according to employees’ statements during interviews with investigators.

Astonishing. Mr. Coleman seemed quite comfortable with the system he set up. And that is reason to believe it wasn't an isolated situation. One has to wonder how widespread this sort of corruption is within government agencies.

Photo source.

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10:48 AM 8/1/2018

Democratic Socialism is an adopt a Democrat program

My Democrat acquaintances blanch when I say that the best time for Democrats to be in charge is when the country has no where to go but down. So with the economy on the upswing, they might have a shot.

And with current the mood among Democrats swaying toward this thing called Democratic Socialism, it might be worthwhile to call it like it is. Not long ago it was reported that roughly 47% of Americans don't pay any income tax. And it probably follows that those are among the fans of Democratic Socialism. And they are in full support of any program that requires taxpayers to pay up. Or, as they like to say, pay their fair share.

Basically Democratic Socialism is a renamed income redistribution scheme.

So how about a re-renaming -- call it an "adopt a Democrat" program.

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1:12 PM 7/31/2018