A New Way to Gerrymander

November 11, 2019

For the first time, you can respond to the U.S. Census online.

Because we need more proof that our systems are vulnerable to hacking…

They Reject Big Government—Until It’s Time to Clean Up the Mess

November 10, 2019

There’s an article in the paper about how the plucky people of Paradise, CA are rebuilding their town after the wildfire destroyed it in 2018.

First, several government agencies were called in to help with the cleanup. Who’s paying for the billions of dollars it costs? Not the plucky citizens of Paradise, that’s for sure.

But they are rebuilding. Unfortunately, they don’t want to adopt all the stringent restrictions that other fire-prone cities have adopted, so their chances of remaining unscathed by the next fire are slim.

So when the city council won’t ban combustible plants within 5 feet of homes, because they don’t want big government telling them what to do…

Big Government should say, “Then next time, clean up your own damned mess, Plucky Citizens of Paradise.”

Not-Smart Recruiting

November 10, 2019

A man who was at St. Louis headquarters to retrieve items taken from him in a police raid tried to recruit a female sergeant to work as a prostitute for him.

She declined.

What's It Worth to You?

October 28, 2019

How do you decide how much your pain and suffering is worth?

An Arizona couple is suing police for using excessive force in a shoplifting arrest.

An immigration agent in Connecticut threatened a Honduran woman with deportation if she didn’t have sex with him, then raped her for seven years, impregnating her three times.

A police officer in St. Louis was passed over for promotion 23 times after he came out as being gay.

The Arizona couple wants $10 million.

The Honduran woman wants $10 million.

The St. Louis office was awarded $19 million in actual and punitive damages.

Maybe I’m out of touch here, but I think that, in most cases, after you pay for missed wages, medical costs, legal costs, and counseling for the entire family,  a cool million in punitive damages should cover pain and suffering. Even today, a million isn’t chump change for the average citizen. In the case of the woman who was raped over the course of years, I’d go higher, but I’m not sure how I’d calculate how much higher. 

I think we need to stop throwing numbers around, seemingly at random, and should address the serious imbalance in choosing how much we think our pain and suffering is worth.

It’s Quiet Here in the Cave

November 3, 2019

I remember a Star Trek episode* that used a subsonic frequency to make people irritable in order to overcome the effects of an alien plant that was making everyone too mellow. If you’ve ever dealt with a continuously buzzing fluorescent light, you know that the idea is not so far-fetched.

And if you live within a few miles of a highway, you know that traffic sounds can carry pretty far, too. Ever tried listening to birdsong in the morning? Good luck.

Well, guess what? Now we may be able to add drones to the list of things that will interrupt your quiet meditation on the deck. The idea of drone delivery is becoming more prevalent, and I doubt that they will be completely silent. (Some people may even insist that drones not be silent, to make spying on households more difficult.) I’m getting worried that pretty soon there will be so much continuous sound that our entire society will be cranky, just like the people in the Star Trek episode.

Not looking forward to it.

*This Side of Paradise

They Could at Least Have Sent Him a Memo

November 3, 2019

If you want to have a good laugh, while simultaneously raising your blood pressure, check out Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s contention that he didn’t have a hand in settling a case that could have regained millions in tax credits for the state of Missouri.

Instead of recouping $2.6 million in one case, the state settled for $324,000; and it also waived future claims against the same developer, who had been granted $43 million in tax credits for properties it never developed.

Schmitt said that his office handles thousands of matters at any given time. The implication is that he can’t know everything that is going on in his office.

Perhaps they should have weekly meetings to keep him abreast.

Put Those “You Oughtas” to Good Use

October 30, 2019

Still hung up on this volunteering thing.

Remember how I talked about how annoying it is to hear, “You oughta…”?

Well, I might have a good use for those “You oughtas”.

We all like to give advice, right? So,

If you don’t really want to sit on a committee, but still want to Get Things Done…

Go to one meeting. Write down your suggestions about what YOU think they should be doing, or how to move meetings along more efficiently. In a day or two—NOT during the meeting—make your suggestions. Who knows—you may have some ideas that will actually make the committee members’ lives easier.

You may get interested enough to go back and help them follow through.

But even if you don’t—a helpful suggestion can—well—help.

So, you can get all that good advice that you’re dying to give somebody out of your system.

And you can count that as your Volunteer Specialty.