A Disruptive Eight Years

For John, BLUF:  Columnist Kimberly Strassel lays out how the Democrats perverted our system of Government in order to keep President Trump out of office.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Left’s Mangled Guardrails

Here is the sub-headline:

They’ve spent eight years trying to kill democracy in the name of saving it.

From The Wall Street Journal, by Columnist Kimberley A. Strassel, 16 January 2025, 5:17 pm ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

The modern Democratic Party specializes in projection, and Joe Biden offered a model of the method in his Wednesday night farewell address.  His warnings that a “dangerous” “abuse of power” is coming can only be read as the left’s latest excuse and argument for its own misbehavior.

That model proved gold for Democrats during Donald Trump’s first term as president.  The constant refrain that the “tyrant” was unraveling democracy provided their justification for tearing through standards and norms.  In the name of saving the country from Trump excesses, we were told, holdover acting Attorney General Sally Yates had to defy presidential orders, the Federal Bureau of Investigation needed to lie to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a special counsel was required to dog a sitting president, the bureaucracy had a duty to “resist” Trump policy, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had to undergo a circus inquisition, and Congress had no choice but to hold Trump officials in contempt, issue unprecedented subpoenas and impeach the president.

None of this was good for norms, though it did serve Democratic partisan interests.  The proof is that these accusations didn’t end with Mr. Trump’s exit.  Mr. Biden was elected on a vow to respect norms, yet of all the many promises he has broken, his and the left’s continued ramming of guardrails may prove the most damaging in the long term.  They deserve a roll call, especially as Mr. Biden continues to bathe in the illusion that his party spent four years “respecting the institutions that govern a free society: the presidency, the Congress, the courts . . . the separation of powers, checks and balances.”

In the name of justice, Mr. Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, became the first in history to train his department on a former president—who also happened to be the biggest political threat to his boss.  This provoked any number of “unprecedented” moments in our country—the first-ever FBI raid on a former president, novel legal theories spun into new definitions of “conspiracy,” legal briefs filed to influence an election.

The left’s broader lawfare campaign—waged in the name of stopping a return of the “criminal” Trump—opened a Pandora’s box of complex cases, forcing courts to break new ground on issues that would have been better left unplumbed:  the contours of a post-Civil War insurrection law, the edges of executive privilege, the boundaries of presidential immunity.  Mr. Biden in his farewell lambasted yet again the high court’s immunity decision in Trump v. U.S. as dangerous.  But which side dragged us into this uncharted territory in the first place?

And on she goes, listing steps that were out of synch with our accepted political practices.  And as to President Biden whinging over the US Supreme Court's decision regarding Presiddential Immunity, I am not sure it should be any other way.  Without that Immunity the President would be handicapped in the execution of his office.

Ms Strassel is correct in her Column and the Democrats and the Biden Team Administration was out of order.

The good news is that it didn't work.

Hat tip to my Friend, Steve Broussard.

Regards  —  Cliff

Check the Data

For John, BLUF:  The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a difficult job and finds itself always having to update their data,  One would expect the Secretary of Labor to keep up on this.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden's commerce secretary ridiculed for saying she's not 'familiar' with damaging jobs report, blames Trump instead

Here is the sub-headline:

Many wondered why the commerce secretary was unaware of the newest jobs report.

From Blaze News, by an unkown reporter, 22 August 2024.

Here is the lede plus five:

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was mocked and ridiculed over her response to a blistering jobs report on Wednesday.

Raimondo was being interviewed on ABC News from the Democratic National Convention when she was questioned about a revision showing that the number of jobs in the U.S. had been overestimated by nearly a million over the last year. Instead, she accused former President Donald Trump of being a liar.

'We’re in the best of hands.'

“I don’t believe it because I’ve never heard Trump say anything truthful,” responded Raimondo.

"It is from the Bureau of Labor," replied the reporter.

"I'm not familiar with that," Raimondo said.

I have a friend who thinks the problem here is Fedeeral Bureaucrats who can't do the statistics well.  His solution is to fire people.

I expecct those bureaucrats are trying to do the job as best they can.  On the other hand, this response suggests that there might be an advantage to the Voters to fire the Cabinet Secretary.  How can she lead the Department of Labor if she doesn't know what is going on in the Department.  How can she emphathise with the workers if she doesn't understand the water within which they swim.

If the Cabinet Secretary doesn't understand the numbers, what is the chance the President, and the White House understands the numbers?

Regards  —  Cliff

MLK and Who?

For John, BLUF:  If we are going to move on we need to find what we hold in common.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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When Black Conservatives Fight

Here is the sub-headline:

Two dudes causing all the commotion

From Juliette's Newsletter, by Ms Juliette Ochieng, 26 August 2023.

Here is the lede plus one:

The Photoshop below is causing a lot of chatter in one of the conservative circles - most are black - I frequent.

Amusement. Outrage. Approval. Accusations of betrayal. The responses run the gamut.

 

That is the interesting thing about history.  It is open to all of us, for learning, illumination and minipulation.  Student beware.

I like Ms Ochieng's take on this.

Regards  —  Cliff

Trust the People

For John, BLUF:  "If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic and earlier disasters, we ought to be doing precisely the opposite by enacting new limits on government power during emergencies. Americans need what Swedes have enjoyed:  legal protection against autocrats posing as saviors."  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Lockdowns:  the Self-Inflicted Disaster

Here is the sub-headline:

Governments’ use of the pandemic to claim sweeping new emergency powers has had destructive effects.

From City Journal, by Author John Tierney, 6 July 2023.

Here is the lede plus two:

Long before Covid struck, economists detected a deadly pattern in the impact of natural disasters: if the executive branch of government used the emergency to claim sweeping new powers over the citizenry, more people died than would have if government powers had remained constrained. It’s now clear that the Covid pandemic is the deadliest confirmation yet of that pattern.

Governments around the world seized unprecedented powers during the pandemic. The result was an unprecedented disaster, as recently demonstrated by two exhaustive analyses of the lockdowns’ impact in the United States and Europe. Both reports conclude that the lockdowns made little or no difference in the Covid death toll. But the lockdowns did lead to deaths from other causes during the pandemic, particularly among young and middle-aged people, and those fatalities will continue to mount in the future.

“Most likely lockdowns represent the biggest policy mistake in modern times,” says Lars Jonung of Lund University in Sweden, a coauthor of one of the new reports. He and two fellow economists, Steve Hanke from Johns Hopkins University and Jonas Herby of the Center for Political Studies in Copenhagen, sifted through nearly 20,000 studies for their book, Did Lockdowns Work?, published in June by the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) in London. After combining results from the most rigorous studies analyzing fatality rates and the stringency of lockdowns in various states and nations, they estimate that the average lockdown in the United States and Europe during the spring of 2020 reduced Covid mortality by just 3.2 percent. That translates to some 4,000 avoided deaths in the United States—a negligible result compared with the toll from the ordinary flu, which annually kills nearly 40,000 Americans.

Our response to COVID-19 was based on the twin pillars of "trust the experts" and don't trust The People.  And throw in a pinch of don't trust President Trump.♠  This seems just the opposite of the basis for our Republic, which is based, in large part, on trusting the People.

In honor of all those people who died unnecessarily in nursing homes in New York, or Veterans Homes in Massachusetts, we should dedicate ourselves to not letting timid Elected Officials and officious bureaucrats take away our freedoms and from feeding us false information,♥ and along with media, censoring debate.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  As exemplified by Speaker Nancy Pelosi decrying President Trump saying COVID-19 (Wuhan Flu) came from China and we should stop flights from there.
♥  As exemplified by the Government statements that we didn't need masks, followed by a mask mandate.

Don't Ask Because We Won't Tell

For John, BLUF:  I find it disturbing that the local Nashville Police, probably guided by the FBI, is refusing to release the manefesto of the recent mass shooter.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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What Are They Hiding About the Nashville Shooter’s Manifesto? Glenn Greenwald (and Others) Want To Know

From PJ Media, by Reporter Lincoln Brown, 18 APRIL 2023, 7:37 PM.

Here is the lede plus two:

A short time back, our editor-in-chief said that there had been a school shooting in Nashville, and asked if anyone would cover it.  I wrote the first story about it for PJ Media.  It wasn’t the first time I had ever written about human tragedy or cruelty.  And I have hated doing it every time.  I always feel like Judas collecting his 30 pieces of silver from someone else’s suffering.

Be that as it may, the Nashville shooting mattered, and not just because it gave the Left more talking points about the evils of gun ownership.  After all, if we are being honest, the Left can come up with talking points about the evils of gun ownership over a skeeball game.  What the Nashville murders revealed was the level of disconnect affecting the transgender movement.  As did the fact that everyone from the White House on down seemed to be less concerned with the victims and their families than with the transgender community.  Also conspicuously absent from the debate has been the incendiary language that that community has used.

Pertinent information seems to be in the manifesto written by the woman who committed the crimes.  And that manifesto has been declared off-limits, so it would appear that no one is getting access to it.  That includes journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has even enlisted the aid of lawyers to get the manifesto from the Nashville Police Department.  But the firms have decided to back out of the effort.

At the beginning of this story I wasn't much interested in the "Manafesto" and other writings, but now that the press is being stonewalled, I have a high level of interest in what is going on with the shooter and his writings.

This hiding of information in a criminal case, especially a "mass shooting", should be disturbing to all citizens.  It is the Government trying to control the narrative on a story that might not be going their collective way.

We are at the point in this story that the question is, what is being hidden from us.  What is it that the Nanny State thinks we can't handle?  I think the actions in this case set a very poor example for governments at all levels in future cases.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

RMV Does Good

For John, BLUF:  Here is a case of the RMV performing well.  Should the reward for a job well done be lack of punishment?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I applied for a handicapped parking pass and it arrived while I was in Prescott Rehab, recoveringz from an operation.  I looked at it, put it back in its legal size envelope and handed it to my wife, who put it in her purse or a briefcase or something black.

Alas, it went adrift.  We have checked purses and brief-cases.  We have checked both cars.  Stacks of papers.  Nowhere too be found.

I then turned to the Internet, putting "Mass, Handicapped, pass and lost" into my search line.  The top item that popped up was the RMV and lost Handicapped Plackardss.  It opened and a quick scan revealed a button for a form to apply for a new Handicsapped Plackard.  It was a form and I was able to type in a few pieces of identification on the screen and then print it out.  I initialed in a few places, and signed and dated.  Doing the labels for the envelope took almost as much time.

My request for a replacement went into mail last evening.  The process was quick and easy.  Kudos to the RMV for providing a quick, smooth, process.

UPDATE:  And they turned it quickly.  I had my replacement Parking Pass in about ten days,

Housing the Poor

For John, BLUF:  Public Housing is a big deal in the United States and represent the efforts of progressive thinkers to provide better housing for the poor.  However there is a question of if the cure is worse than the disease.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Poor Side of Town: And Why We Need It
Author:  Howard A. Husock
Kindle Version:  Pages
Publisher:  Encounter Books
Language:  English
ASIN:  B08SKK7FGP
Publication Date:  21 September 2021

The theme of this book is that Public Housing, as understood in the united States from the 19th Century is not just a failure, but destructive of the individuals caught up in its web.  The author compares Public Housing with the City Slums it was supposed to clean up and concludes that more was lost than gained.

To be clear, those advocating Public Housing down over the decades had the best of intentions.  What they lacked was an understandihg of, and faith in, the working of small scale democracy and capitalism.  An Economist who undertands this is Peru's Hernando De Soto, who wrote about Peru (but could apply what he says to the Great Migration in the united States):

...“surprise revolution”—the movement of millions from the countryside to cities—has been choked in its potential for uplift, not because slum dwellers lack talent or energy but because the legal systems in their new locales don’t allow them to be secure in ownership and accumulate wealth.  New arrivals in slums, de Soto explains, face “an impenetrable wall” of rules that bar them from “legally established social and economic activities.”  Even when they begin to accumulate assets, those assets aren’t safe.  “Poor people save, but they hold these resources in defective forms:  houses built on land whose ownership rights are not adequately recorded and unincorporated businesses with undefined liability.  Without the formal legal institutions that allow one to accumulate wealth and borrow against it to build businesses, wealth cannot be put to full use, maintains de Soto.  It stays locked up, frozen.  It is 'dead capital.'”

Immigrants to the United States from Europe moved into slums and then worked their way into the middle class.  The slums, as inadequate as they were, provided commmunity and a place for small businesses and the chance to accumulate wealth.  This, in turn, allowed those immigrants to move into the Great American Middle Class.

The author mentions Levittown as an example of inexpensive housing providing a chance for people with jobs to move up to home ownership.  In 1955 my Parents moved to Levittown, PA, and it was exactly as the book states.  A mix of people, working to be neighbors and to improve themselves.  A year later, as an Eighth Grader I was angry that we were leaving for Southern California and a promotion for my Father.  But, that starter house, owned for about ten months, was the beginning of family wealth accumulation that, upon the passing of my Father, allowed me to use my one-third inheritance to pay off my own mortgage.

Where this did not work was for Black Americans who were part of the Great Migration.  The Great Migration was from 1910 to 1970.  People left the South, the Old South, and moved North.  But, they didn't get the chance to grow into home owners and independent business people.  Instead, the Do Gooders wished to enure runnning water and adequate toilet facilities, and adequate housing.  Thus the projects.

However, the Publilc Housing Projects did not allow for the accummulation of wealth.  In fact, in many cases rents were tied to inconme.  Further, the arrangements dicouraged co-habitation.  This worked against the building of family units, with its direct effect on child rearing.♠  It also worked against providing living space for family memembers or for renting out a room, which would allow the building of capital.

The author writes:

“Missing middle” housing—privately built and unsubsidized—should be seen as a substitute for the reform projects that have distorted housing markets, skewed the incentives of lower-income families, denied the poor the opportunity to accumulate assets, and leveled historic and vibrant poor sides of town, leaving sterility and despair behind.

One wonders if this analysis can be extended to the homeless problem.  Granted, homelessness is a cover term for a number of issues.  That said, is our approach to homelessness (not connected to mental health or domestic violence) not helping the homeless become productive members of society?

But, beyond Public Housing there is the issue of Zoning in helping or hurting the poor to achieve home ownership.  Zoning is not so much a Federal issue as it is a Local Government issue.  That level of government is thee and me and our influence on our local lawmakers and those they appoint to Boards and Commissions.  That means we need to be informed and we need to vote.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  There seems to be a certain bias against the baby father in these setups.  He was seen as not necessary by the reformers.

Ban AC in DC

For John, BLUF:  Yes, this is from almost six years ago, but the concept is still waiting to be tested.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Glenn Reynolds:  Ban AC for DC

Here is the sub-headline:

If our rulers think global warming is a crisis, let them be a good example for the rest of us.

From USA Today, by Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds, 11 July 2016, 3:43 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

Everyone talks about global warming, but nobody does anything about it.  At least, the people who talk about saving the planet the most seem to have the biggest carbon footprint.  But I have some ideas for fixing that.

In this, I’m inspired by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Tex., who noticed something peculiar recently.  It seems that EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who spends a lot of time telling Americans that they need to drive less, fly less, and in general reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, also flies home to see her family in Boston "almost every weekend"; the head of the Clean Air Division, Janet McCabe, does the same, but she heads to Indianapolis.  In air mileage alone, the Daily Caller News Foundation estimates that McCarthy surpasses the carbon footprint of an ordinary American.  Smith has introduced a bill that wouldn't target the EPA honchos’ personal travel, though:  It provides, simply, that “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay the cost of any officer or employee of the Environmental Protection Agency for official travel by airplane.”

The author lays out a four point plan to help fight climate change and the middle two focus on our Nation's Capitol:

Obama makes a great point about setting the thermostat at 72 degrees.  We should ban air conditioning in federal buildings.  We won two world wars without air conditioning our federal employees.  Nothing in their performance over the last 50 or 60 years suggests that A/C has improved things.  Besides, The Washington Post informs us that A/C is sexist, and that Europeans think it’s stupid.

In fact, we should probably ban air conditioning in the entire District of Columbia, to ensure that members of Congress, etc. won’t congregate in lobbyists’ air-conditioned offices.

I like the idea.  I think things might actually be better if Congress decamped for the Summer and the Bureaucracy spent less time in their offices.♠

Back before Air Conditioning Washington was an enviornmental swamp, with stinky Summer weather, especially around August.  People avoided it.  Today Organizations want to move to DC.  Raytheon is the lates example, wanting to move its Corporate Headquarters to Washington.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Thanks to the US Taxpayers I spent three and a half years in Naples, Italy, at a NATO Headquarters.  There was no air conditioning, except for the 24 Hour a Day Command Post and the SCIF (No windows to open to let air circulate).  So, for the Summer, instead of 8 to 5, we worked 7:30 AM to 1 PM.  I have stayed past 1 and almost put my eye out falling asleep at my desk, while trying to write (before computers).  And, I think we were more creative and productive than our Central European Colleagues..

George Soros takes a High Profile Hit

For John, BLUF:  We know how this story ends.  San Fran DA Chesa Boudin lost by double digits in yesterday's recall election.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Will Chesa Boudin's DA Dream Die in Chinatown Today?

From Newsweek, by Reporter Virginis van Zandt, 7 June 2022, 3:49 PM EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

The fate of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin will be determined Tuesday by people like Leanna Louie, one of the 60 Asian Americans who were assaulted in San Francisco in 2021 — up 567 percent from nine victims in 2020.

Boudin is a fresh-faced and charismatic public figure, having been in office for just over two years after serving as a public defender.  His self-described progressive approach to prosecution seemed a perfect fit for San Franciscans, and his childhood story drew sympathy.  (Boudin's parents were Weather Underground members who were sentenced to decades in prison for their roles in a 1981 armed robbery and murder when Boudin was an infant.)

Boudin was elected district attorney in 2019 on a "restorative justice" platform, which emphasizes meetings between the victim and the offender to discuss the crime and how it was harmful.  He vowed to prevent crime by addressing the root causes, including poverty, mental health issues and drug abuse.

Mr Boudin lost 40% to 60%.  That seems a fairly strong sttement by the voters.

No, California didn't just turn Republican, but we are seeing a small revolution against the Progressives.  As the late Speaker, Tip O'Neil, used to say, all politics is local.  Mess up with the locals and they will look elsewhere.

I am synpathetic to correcting "root causes, including poverty, mental health issues and drug abuse" but one needs a bridge to get there, a bridge that allows the lives of others to not be harmed.  Mr Boudin did not have that bridge, and perhaps didn't even have an idea that it was needed.  When Government makes changes, there are pertibations that ripple through the system, impacting those not targeted by the changes.  Those are unintended consequestions and they must be allowed for and compensated for.  Mr Boudin failed to do the needed planning.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Hot Time in Portland

For John, BLUF:  Yes, mostly peaceful demonstrations.  It is the not mostly part that worries me.  While the demonstrators may feel they are cowing the people, but it could backfire and turn really ugly.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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'They're Trying to Kill Me.'  A Portland Antifa Death Squad Goes Head Hunting for Andy Ngo and Somebody Gets a Beatdown

From PJ Media, by Ms Victoria Taft, 31 May 2021, 11:42 PM ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

Ronald Reagan said in his farewell address, “don’t be afraid to see what you see.”  That’s good advice for what we’re “seeing” on the streets of Portland.

The communist antifa and Black Lives Matter, Inc. mobs have now elevated their war footing against western civilization and have begun deploying head hunting death squads it appears.  What else can you call it?

On Friday, May 28, the usual black masked mobs slithered “like water” – their favorite phrase for staying hidden and moving from cops – to hold another planned riot and torching in “grief-stricken” homage to the anniversary of their George Floyd riots.

Antifa called it an “anniversary event” and Portland Police begged the mob to be nice.

Local weekly newspaper, Willamette Week, reported that Ngo was on the antifa hit list because of his “willingness to post the mug shots and other personal information of arrested protesters [that] caused many of the people in Portland’s leftist movement to see him as something like an existential threat.”

Remember when newspapers used to post mug shots?  Before the mob take over, antifa and BLM riots mug shots were de rigueur in the media.  Now, they’re an apparent invitation to beating any reporter including them in a story.  Reporters like Suzette Smith of Willamette Week and at least one reporter over at the alternative weekly The Mercury appear to be all-in with the mob.

Remember when "the Mob" used to mean the Mafia, the Costa Nostra?  That was the old days.  Now the mob is the collective of street thugs affiliated with ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter.  Neither of those groups seems to feel the current system of government is capable of dealing with America's problems and have elected to go outside the elective process and to go with intimidation.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Oops, There Goes Another Food Store

For John, BLUF:  Here is an example of Government meaning to do good, but actually doing harm, in several directions.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Kroger Closes 2 Stores in California City That Required ‘Hero Pay’

The Epoch Times, by Reporter Jack Phillips, 18 April 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

Grocery chain Kroger said it closed down two California stores Saturday after the Long Beach City Council approved a COVID-19-related “hero pay” ordinance that increased wages by $4 per hour.

The pay increase, mandated in January, was for workers who were employed at pharmacies and retail stores with 300 or more employees in the Southern California city.

The move was announced earlier this year, but the Ralph’s and Food 4 Less—both operated by Kroger—were shut down on April 17, employees told local media outlets.

“As a result of the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance mandating Extra Pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-struggling store locations in Long Beach,” said a spokesperson for Kroger several weeks ago. “This misguided action by the Long Beach City Council oversteps the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city.”

At least it wasn't Vons.  I have always liked Vons.

This is a signal that governments should be careful about sticking their oar in the waters of the free market.

Regards  —  Cliff

Reframing America

For John, BLUF:  Critical Race Theory appears to be an Anglo-American construct that sees the world centered on an all powerful Euro-American "race", while ignoring the racist (nationalism) in the rest of the world.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Asian Americans Emerging as a Strong Voice Against Critical Race Theory

From Newsweek, by Writer Helen Raleigh, 9 March 2021, 6:00 AM EST.

Here is the lede plus three:

Critical race theory (CRT) is a divisive, discriminatory ideology that judges people on the basis of their skin color.  It has penetrated our society—it's in federal agencies' and federal contractors' "bias training," in school curricula and many corporations' "diversity training."  Few are willing to speak out against it for fear of being labeled racists or white supremacists.  Asian Americans, however, have emerged as a powerful voice against this pernicious ideology.

The Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York (CACAGNY) delivered the most vigorous rejection of CRT yet, calling it "a hateful, divisive, manipulative fraud."  CACAGNY is one of the oldest chapters of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, which was founded in San Francisco in 1895 to respond to nationwide discrimination and violence against Chinese Americans.  For more than a century, this organization has helped Asian Americans, especially Chinese Americans, to "quicken the spirit of American patriotism" and to "insure the legal rights of its members."  CACAGNY speaks out against CRT now because Asian Americans have experienced its harm firsthand.

According to CRT's victimization ledger, all whites are oppressors, and all "people of color" are oppressed.  CRT argues that unequal economic outcomes among different races in our society result from white power and white privilege.  Asian Americans punch a big hole in that worldview.  As a group, their economic achievement has surpassed that of all other racial groups, including whites.  Last year's Department of Labor statistics even showed that the median weekly earnings of Asian women surpassed white men's earnings.

Values drive Asian Americans' economic success.  Many believe in education attainment, stable marriages, delayed gratification, hard work and meritocracy.  CRT attacks all these as "white" values, and the people who practice them as acting "white."

I was surprised to see this article in Newsweek, which I normally think of as part of the major media orbit.

I believe the approach of Critical Race Theory will influence Federal, State and Local Governments, until Hispanics decide that it is not working for them, at which time the tide will turn against this view of America and swing back to the themes of hard work and "land of opportunity".

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Communicating Clearly

For John, BLUF:  The inability of the Bureaucrats of the Federal Governmen to communicate well is a problem.  Either they don't wish to communcate or they did very poorly in school.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Hack

Here is the sub-headline:

How to write about attacking the United States:  The Cosmopolitan Globalists' Guide to Style

From the Claire Berlinski Substack, by the Cosmopolitan Globalists, 18 Decembewr 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

The Cosmopolitan Globalists, we have grandly announced, will not chase breaking news.  It breaks, we shrug.

But the Cosmopolitan Globalists have done nothing useful today because we can’t take our eyes off the breaking news.  It’s best we be honest about this.  And we don’t know what it means any more than you do.

Is Russia about to invade a NATO country?

We don’t know.

What does “a grave risk to government and private networks” entail?

We don’t know.

How secure is the American nuclear deterrent?

We don’t know.

Who now controls American nuclear weapons?

We don’t know.

But one thing we do know: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency can’t go in there without an editor.

Then begins the writing lesson.  An important one.  For example, while I like the expression "Supply Chain", it may not convey information to a lot of readers.  To me it is the line of actions from the clerk writing a requisition to the delivery of the item needed, and maybe on to the payment of the bill.  All needed to keep parts flowing so things get done.  But, what does it mean to Joe Bagadonuts?  I don't think we can be sure.

I recommend the book Plain Words.  One thing I remember is that a sentence shouldn't exceed 20 words.  It takes a very good writer to write an intelligible sentence over 20 words.  Good advice.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

"No good deed goes unpunished"

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes, in our compassion, we make matters worse, by giving too much help and taking away a person's dignity.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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When Government Programs Do More Harm Than Good

Here is the sub-headline:

Shame on the U.S. government for making unemployment pay better than work.

JOHN STOSSEL | 5.13.2020 12:30 AM.

Here is the meat of it:

I’m a stutterer. Stuttering is now among disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I wonder, had the ADA been law when I started in TV news, would I have struggled as hard to overcome my stutter?  Would I have had the career I’ve had? Probably not.

The TV station wouldn’t have hired me.  Once the ADA passed, my stutter makes me a member of a “protected class.”  The station, reasonably, would have viewed me as potential poison.

That’s because if they fired me because I didn’t work out, I might sue.  I could have accused them of failing to “accommodate the disabled,” as the law requires.  Even if I didn’t win, the lawsuit would be expensive.  It’s safer for employers to avoid members of “protected classes.”

Far-fetched? Look at the stats:

Before the ADA passed, 59 percent of disabled men had jobs.  After it passed, the number fell to 48 percent.  Today, fewer than 30 percent have jobs.

Once again, a law that was supposed to help people did the opposite of what politicians intended.

We, as a people, need to be compassionate.  But compassionate does not mean we don't expect people to work, and work hard.  It means giving them a hand up to do better.  We don't know, the next Jonas Salk may be the person next to you, with a disability.

And, we have to be careful to not create perverse incentives in the way we provide money to the unemployed.  They need help, a hand up, but we should not be encouraging them to stay home.

Thanks to my wife for forwarding this.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Those Checks

For John, BLUF:  On City Life Show today the Producer complained, bitterly, about the slowness of the Federal Government in delivering stimulus checks to the American People.  He didn't wish to know about how it was slow off the mark because of the House of Representatives, but wanted to know why the Department of the Treasury couldn't just hit a button and make it happen.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Memo:  Your Stimulus Check May Not Arrive Until August

From Forbes, by Senior Contributor Zack Friedman, 3 April 2020.

Here is the lede plus four, plus three bullet points:

Some Americans may not receive their stimulus check until August.

Here’s what you need to know - and what to do about it.

Stimulus Check

A new memo obtained by the Associated Press claims that although 60 million stimulus checks will be distributed in mid-April, other Americans who did not provide direct deposit on their tax return potentially may need to wait months before they receive their stimulus check.  The House Ways and Means Committee memo says that check distribution could work like this:

• Week of April 13, 2020: 60 million checks distributed through direct deposit
• Week of May 4, 2020: The IRS will start sending paper stimulus checks.
• Each week thereafter: Approximately 5 million paper checks will be issued each week.

Based on this tentative schedule, the memo says that some Americans may not receive their check until the week of August 17.  The House Ways and Means Committee notes that this schedule is subject to change, particularly as Congress and the Trump administration collaborate to get stimulus checks distributed as quickly as possible.  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin disputes that timeline and says checks will be distributed within “a matter of weeks, and not months.”  The Treasury Department told USA TODAY that 50 million to 70 million Americans would receive their stimulus checks via direct deposit by April 15. Within three weeks, the Treasury Department said the “overwhelming majority of eligible Americans” will receive their stimulus check.

Don't be helpless.  There are things you can do to speed your check, as mentioned in the article.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Right to Free Speech

For John, BLUF:  A lot of folks just aren't comfortable with free speech.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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C:101 — Censorship

From the Blog Stopping in Flyover Country, by Mr Patrick Richardson, 26 December 2019.

Here is the lede plus five:

A few years ago a Supreme Court Decision came down that said the whackjobs from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. actually did have the right to protest at the funerals of fallen soldiers holding signs saying “God Hates Fags.”

Darkside Dave told me that for once his liberal family seemed to make sense, saying Westboro had the right to do that, even if it was ugly speech.  It might, of course, be the one and only time a liberal ever agreed with anything the odious (late, and highly unlamented) Rev. Fred Phelps and his so-called church had to say.

Of course, they tend to label any speech they disagree with “hate speech,” and try to shut it down a’la Citizens United and “Hillary:  The Movie.”

People and politicians on both sides of the political divide tend to be a bit on the selective side about what they consider “protected speech,” under the First Amendment.  Generally, if they agree with it, then it’s protected, if they disagree then it’s not.

Granted the left tends to be a bit worse about this one, but not much.  The left tends to scream racism and hate speech (I’m frankly still a bit confused as to exactly what hate speech IS, but that’s just me) and the right has a tendency to try to ban books with which they don’t agree.

Both positions are monumentally stupid.

We need free speech if we are to grow as humanity.  Even with divinely revealed truth, it is wrong to impose it by force on others.  Free speech allows it to be transmitted.  And even so, within that truth there is much to learn.  To be learned through free and open discussion.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Federal Government Fiscal Health

For John, BLUF:  We haven't turned the corner on Federal Budget Deficits, and don't appear to have a plan, either Party.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Federal budget deficit tops $1 trillion: CBO

From Axios, by Ms Rebecca Falconer, 9 September 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

The federal deficit exceeded $1 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2019, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a report published Monday.

The big picture: The deficit is $168 billion more than for the same period in the previous fiscal year. The growing deficit has been driven by mandatory spending in areas including Social Security and Medicare, President Trump's tax cuts, and bipartisan agreements to increase spending in areas such as defense — which contributed toward overall federal government spending increasing 7%.

• The current deficit of $1.068 trillion is expected to be reduced when quarterly tax payments are paid in September.
• Trump's tariffs on imported goods from China contributed toward the federal government’s revenue increasing 3% in the first 11 months of the 2019 fiscal year, along with other sources such as individual income and payroll taxes and corporate taxes.

Hat tip to Memeorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff

Good News in the Commonwealth

For John, BLUF:  Notwithstanding losing the race for State Treasurer, Ms Keiko Orrall is a strong presence in the Mass GOP, and young.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Former state representative to lead tourism office

From The Boston Globe, by Reporter Matt Stout, 29 March 2019.

Here is the lede:

Keiko M. Orrall, a former lawmaker and leading Republican Party figure, has been tapped by Governor Charlie Baker’s administration to return to state government, this time to take over the state Office of Travel and Tourism.

Welcome back, Keiko!

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Amazon and Taxes

For John, BLUF:  In cases like this it is usually beneficial to dig a little deeper.  Tax policies are usually structured to drive certain behaviors, like corporate investment.  Put another way, taxes are not so much about raising money as they are about shaping human behavior.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why Does Amazon Pay $0 in Federal Income Taxes?

Here is the sub-headline:

There's a reason Amazon as a corporate entity usually escapes income taxes.

From FEE, by Prof Tyler Cowen, 20 February 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

The main reason Amazon as a corporate entity does not pay much in taxes is because the company so vigorously reinvests its profit.  The resulting expensing provisions lower their tax liabilities, in some cases down to zero or near-zero.

That is, in fact, the kind of incentive our tax system is supposed to create, and does so only imperfectly, noting that many economists have suggested moving to full expensing.

I am thinking reinvestment creates jobs, at least temporarily, as buildings are built and equipment purchased.  And later people are hired to work in those buildings, to operate that machinery.

A little bit later the article makes this point:

Amazon pays plenty in terms of payroll taxes and also state and local taxes.  Nor should you forget the taxes paid by Amazon’s employees on their wages.  Not only is that direct revenue to various levels of government, but the incidence of those taxes falls somewhat on Amazon, which now must pay higher wages to offset the tax burden faced by their employees.

I am glad there are people, like Mr Jeff Bazos, out there creating jobs.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Mr Comey Making Pronouncements

For John, BLUF:  Does anyone in Government understand truth?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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James Comey Lies About Shutdown Payroll, Gets Smacked Around On Twitter

From The Lid, by Mr Jeff Dunetz, 24 December 2018.

Here is the lede:

These days it seems that leftists don’t give a damn about the truth regarding anything.  A great example is Former FBI Director James Comey, who has shown he is expertly skilled at being deceitful.  James Comey took to Twitter with a completely false claim about payroll during the temporary government shutdown.  The brutal fact-check Comey received on Twitter after posting his lie that FBI agents would spend Christmas without a paycheck, was very well deserved:

I am not sure this is fair to poor Mr Comey.  I think he just got confused.  Mixed up the dates.  Misremembered.

But, it does raise questions about his memory with regard to other things, such as:

• How the FISA Court system is supposed to work
• The Steele Dossier
• Leaking material to the Press
• Russian collusion
• And that famous question, "What is truth"

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff