Helping the Disabled

For John, BLUF:  It seems the US Commission on Civil Rights is having trouble seeing the individual trees for seeing the forest.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Dissenting Statement and Rebuttal of Commissioner Gail L. Heriot in Report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Subminimum Wages:  Impact on the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities.

From San Diego Legal Studies (Paper No. 20-468) (7 Pages), by Professor Gail L. Heriot, 17 September 2020.

The Abstract:

On September 17, 2020, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report entitled Subminimum Wages:  Impact on the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities.  This Dissenting Statement and Rebuttal by Commissioner Gail L. Heriot was a part of that report.

The Commission concluded that Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act somehow violates the rights of individuals with Down Syndrome or similar intellectual or developmental disabilities, because it allows them to take certain specially regulated jobs at less than minimum wage.

Commissioner Heriot dissented from the Commission’s conclusion.  According to her dissent, Section 14(c) provides such individuals with jobs that they would not otherwise have; eliminating 14(c) programs will mean fewer jobs.  The parents of these individuals understand this.  That’s why the Commission was deluged by them with comments supporting 14(c) programs.  The Commission largely ignored those comments.

Keywords:  Minimum Wage, Subminimum Wage, Down syndrome, Fair Labor Standards Act, Commission On Civil Rights, Section 14(c).

As this is about a legal issue, I will just say Res ipsa loquitur.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Silence is Golden

For John, BLUF:  Misreading history may be a problem with the American News Media  Our history is one of the military staying out of politics, but with individual military officers stepping in, but the majority following the George C Marshall model.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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For top military officials, silence is the order of the day

From The Boston Globe, by Reporter Brian MacQuarrie, 16 September 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

When President Trump reportedly belittled American war dead as “losers” and “suckers,” they said nothing.  When he alleged that the Pentagon seeks perpetual war to benefit US defense contractors, they did not confront him.

Rarely in American history has the president been more critical of his military leadership, yet the nation’s active-duty commanders have refused to challenge him publicly, even as many Americans clamor for them to do so.  Instead, they have remained silent, adhering to an unwritten code to keep their policy and political opinions to themselves.

“Speaking out is a personal decision, and I prefer to keep my damn mouth shut.  That came from the guys I grew up under,” said Peter Aylward, a retired Army major general and Melrose native who served 35 years in the military.

“When you take the uniform off, you don’t want to put the folks coming up behind you in jeopardy at all, and make the civilian leadership feel those officers are being politicized,” Aylward said.  “I wouldn’t comment publicly on what’s going on right now.”

Yes, we recently saw a list of 235 General and Flag Officers, all retired, publically advocating for reelection of President Trump.  I recognized two as classmates from the Air Force Academy and one a classmade from Army War College.  I also say a couple of previous commanders.

The Globle Writer doesn't have the historic perspective, where we find it best if Generals (and Admirals) play the role of good public servant, remaining publically silent, and if they reach their limit, resign.  It does not help the Republic to do well for senior military officers to be offering up their own opinions on issues of national interest.

I wish the 235 had all held their counsel, but this is America and we are all citizens.

Regards  —  Cliff

Cancel "Cancel Culture"

For John, BLUF:  This is a month old, but still timely.  The Writer thinks "the phrase cancel culture is too vague — a distraction from a deeper examination of power in society.".  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why ‘Cancel Culture’ Is a Distraction

Here is the sub-headline:

A reporter’s last thoughts before putting the phrase to rest.

From The New York Times, by Reporter Jonah Engel Bromwich, 14 August 2020.

Here is the lede plus four:

I made a promise to myself. Having had the privilege of appearing on “The Daily,” and having used that privilege to discuss “cancel culture” over the course of not one, but two episodes, I would not write about the phrase ever again.

Then I got an email from a colleague who kindly asked me if I would write this newsletter.

If you listened to the episodes, you know that I started thinking about the phrase “cancel culture” in 2018. That year, the word “canceled,” which had originally circulated as a joke on Black Twitter, began to be used more widely to describe a dynamic frequently playing out on social media. A person would say or do something that was offensive to others, and those people would call out the offender.

Lisa Nakamura, a professor I talked to then, called it a “cultural boycott” — an agreement not to amplify, signal-boost or give money to the person who’s been canceled. In some cases, as the phenomenon developed, “cancellation” could turn punitive, even causing some offenders to be fired from their jobs.

People tend to see cancellation as either wholly good — there are new consequences for saying or doing racist, bigoted or otherwise untenable things — or wholly bad, in that people can lose their reputations and in some cases their jobs, all because a mob has taken undue offense to a clumsy or out-of-context remark. Personally, I think it’s best viewed not as either positive or negative, but as something else: a new development in the way that power works — a development brought about by social media.

I take the Writer's point.  For someone to be fired because of a tweet storm seems a little unfair.  And the actions suggest a "Zero Defects" approach to life.  Sadly, we are dealing with humans and there are always defects, mistakes.  Defects can be reducted by having people pay more attention to what they are doing.  We should work on that.  But, we need a little humanity and humility.

Pointing out mistakes, errors, slips, is fine.  However, it should not automatically trip the guillotine.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Government Spying on Citizens

For John, BLUF:  The deeper question is if there is some deep government that works to control our elected officials.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Judicial Watch: State Dept Records Show US Embassy in Ukraine Monitored Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, Journalists and other U.S. Citizens in Potential Violation of Federal Law

Here is the sub-headline:

From Judicial Watch, 1 September 2020.  A Press Release.

Here is the lede plus one:

Judicial Watch announced today that it received 372 pages of records from the U.S. Department of State that confirm prior Judicial Watch reporting that the Ukraine Embassy under then-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch monitored, in potential violation of law, Donald Trump, Jr. Rudy Giuliani, and major journalists on Twitter on their commentary on Ukraine, “Biden-Burisma 2020”, and George Soros.

The documents list the targeted persons as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Rudy Giuliani, Dan Bongino, Sebastian Gorka, John Solomon, Jack Posobiec, Ryan Saavedra, Sara A Carter, Donald Trump Jr., Michael McFaul, Lou Dobbs and Pamela Gellar. The search terms that were flagged to be monitored by State Department officials on social media included Yovanovitch, Ukraine Ambassador, Ukrainian Ambassador, Ukraine Soros, Clinton campaign, and Biden-Burisma.

This kind of thing can't help but cause some of us to be cynical about the operation of Government.  If we can't count on them to follow the rules, why should we trust them to make the rule?

The deeper issue is whether we can trust our legislators when they seem to ignore these violations of our civil rights.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Shifting Political Landscape

For John, BLUF:  Parties in Office tend to alienate Voters, and thus the Voters shift their loyalty, over time.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Is The Electoral Map Changing?

Here is the sub-headline:

We looked at how 16 battleground states have voted in the last five presidential elections to see how they might go in 2020

From Five Thirty Eight Blog, by Analysts Elena Mejia and Geoffrey Skelley, 26 August 2020.

Here is the lede:

From one presidential election to the next, the battleground states that make — or break — the election remain largely the same. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t gradual (and sometimes, not so gradual) shifts underway. We zoomed in on how 16 battleground states have voted relative to the country as a whole since 2000 — or how much more Republican or Democratic they are relative to the nation1 — and we found an electoral map undergoing a series of changes, some steady and others abrupt.

Charts follow.

It is interesting to find that American do change their minds.  That suggests that there are voters out there who are thinking, who are evaluating the political landscape.

That is good news.

Regards  —  Cliff

Shifting Political Landscape

For John, BLUF:  The political landscape seems to be shifting.  Areas of the nation that used to vote one way are not voting another.  It seems to be going in several directions.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The forgotten counties will make their voices heard

From the Washington Examiner, by Reporter Salena Zito, 13 September 2020.

Here is the lede plus four:

JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania — Ken Miller walked into one of the four storefronts on the right flank of the Richland Shopping Center, asked if this was where he could change his voter registration, sat down with a purpose, and began to fill out the form.

“It is time to go,” he said, flatly, as he checked his Pennsylvania driver’s license number to place on the form.

Miller did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016; he didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, either.  He said he is a retired insurance manager and does not like what he sees coming from the party he has been a part of his adult life. “I just get tired of the game-playing that the Democrats are doing.  Everything's just so disgusting today.  Something has to change.  Well, something's going to change,” he said.

“I'm afraid something's going to break out here, and I'm pretty sure it will," he said. He said he's concerned what happened to patrons having dinner at an outside cafe in Pittsburgh when protesters swarmed them will find its way here and other bucolic settings across the country. “I am tired of what I am seeing.”

Miller is not alone. For the first time that anyone could remember, Cambria County is no longer dominated by Democratic voter registrations.  They lost that dominance quietly on Labor Day weekend when Pennsylvania Department of State registration numbers showed Republicans having 37,951 registrations and Democrats holding 37,826.

I know, or knew, Johnstown, and Cambria County.  Yes, it was Democrat when I knew it.  Four years ago about this time we drove through the area and the county to the south, and there were a lot of Trump signs and pickup trucks.  And Reporter Salena Zito was reporting a vibe that the Mainsztream Media seemed to be missing.

These are the deplorbles of Mrs Clinton's campaign of 2016.  The sense is that they are not quite real Americans.  I wonder what that means in the event of a Joe Biden?  Does it mean that a Biden Administration will suppress these kinds of people, these American Citizens?.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Can You Unlocked Your Phone

For John, BLUF:  Government records are meant to be preserved.  Laws passed by Congress say so.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Johnson seeks IG probe of wiped Mueller team phones

Here is the sub-headline:

Records released by the Justice Department this week suggest top Mueller aides erased records from at least 15 phones.

From Politico, by Kyle Cheney, 11 September 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

Senate Homeland Security Chair Ron Johnson is asking a Justice Department watchdog to probe recently revealed documents that suggest members of special counsel Robert Mueller's team wiped records from their official phones.

Records released by the Justice Department this week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request suggest top Mueller aides erased the information from at least 15 phones, citing forgotten passwords, physical damage and missing hardware.

"These reports are troubling and raise concerns about record retention and transparency," Johnson wrote in a letter to DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz.  "Therefore, I respectfully request that your office open an investigation into this matter to determine what, why, and how information was wiped, whether any wrongdoing occurred, and who these devices belonged to."

Johnson is asking Horowitz to send answers by Sept. 18, as the senator winds down a related investigation of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation — the probe of the 2016 Trump campaign's contacts with Russians, which morphed into Mueller's probe in mid-2017.  He's also asking whether Horowitz may be able to retrieve messages from the phones.

It takes ten (10) bad passcode enries to wipe the phone.  Folks who have these kinds of problems should not be on panels doing investigations for the United States Government.  Surely you wouldn't wish for any of them to be your lawyer.

I don't wish to drag my Daughter, the Statistician, into this, but the likelihood this wasn't deliberate destruction of records is vanishingly small. Not as small as the possibility the Mainstream Media will go after the story, but small enough that no such equivalent event is likely in any other stretch of the universe. >.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff