Morning Update: 04/03/2024

Morning Update: 04/03/2024

May 3, 2024

An Empty Forest [original photo 2011 with AI background]

The pups weren’t of a mind to hang out in yesterday’s mid-80s temps. We’d go outside, I’d settle down in a chair, and they’d be ready to go back inside. They were out long enough to scare Lilly, the baby Jack Russel Terrier next door, out for her first walk on a leash. All it took was one big “woof” and she was telling her mom, “Nope, outside is too dangerous. Let’s go back in.” Hamilton was especially disappointed.

Thanks to Kat, we did get to have pizza for dinner. It’s been long enough since pizza was an option that the kids downed it gleefully for a change. They’ll be okay going another couple of months without it. I’m the one with the problem. Visions of a truly deep dish Chicago-style pizza wander through my brain, longing in my … stomach I guess, because my heart certainly doesn’t need that much cholesterol.

Otherwise, yesterday was rather boring. Oh, I did re-apply for Medicaid after finding out Kat and the kids were approved. The challenge is likely to be that we share an address and resources. We don’t go through the fridge labeling who gets to eat which food. We don’t have separate meters for utilities. We’ll have to see what happens. Having Medicaid back would open more housing choices.

Still, I don’t have any exciting news to share. I’m sorry. There weren’t even any interesting dreams last night. Headlines? Same stuff we’ve been reading about for over a month. No one’s changing their mind, Congress won’t get off their ass, rich people are getting richer and caring less about the rest of us, and stock values are up enough that Apple announced a huge buy-back for this quarter. Crude oil prices are taking a dump, but they’ll be back up when Israel inevitably turns Rafah into dust, just because they can and Netanyahu is a war criminal. An Oregon couple just let their two-day-old infant die because of their insane religious beliefs. An NYPD officer fired into the ceiling as he was breaking up a protest at Columbia University. No one was hurt so he’ll get a reprimand and be back doing the same thing this morning.

If you’re a fan of Rue21, liquidation sales are happening as the brand clears all remaining stock as part of its bankruptcy deal. The IRS announced yesterday that it plans to triple the audit rates on large corporations with assets of more than $250 million, large partnerships with assets of more than $10 million, and wealthy individuals with a total positive income of more than $10 million. It’s not as effective as eating the rich, but it could give a few a place on the menu.

This is that time of year when we waste time speculating on what’s going to happen next when we have no real clue as to what’s going to actually happen next. Isn’t life fun?

Hit me up and let’s get coffee. That’s probably the best way we can spend our time.

Art / Current Issues / News & Comment / Politics

A Different Summary of the News

April 19, 2024

My phone keeps waking me from my naps as news updates keep coming in at the end of the week. To be honest, not everything I’m being sent strikes me as news. And some of the news I’m getting has me rolling my eyes at the levels of stupidity being displayed.

For example, take the self-immolation of a man outside the courtroom where the former president is being tried for a hush-money scheme. The initial reaction was that it had to be a response to the trial. Nope, the poor man is critically ill and consumed with conspiracy theories he’d gotten off the Internet because, ya’ know, it’s all a conspiracy. The man is currently in stable but critical condition. Is there any real hope for his mind, though? Probably not.

Israel apparently sent ONE missile to Iran. Just one. And now, on the backside, neither Israel nor the US are admitting that anything was sent in Iran’s direction and Iran isn’t admitting that they were attacked. The rest of the world is waiting to see who flinches next. Crude prices have stabilized for the moment, but no one is thinking that the conflict between the two countries is over. If this seems like a strange way to run a war, you are correct.

Democrats saved the funding bill for the Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan after three Republicans on the committee attempted to sabotage the bill by voting against it. Normally, a bill with the Speaker’s blessing would move forward on a party-line vote, but Reps. Massie (KY), Norman (SC), and Roy (TX) voted against advancing the bill. This signals that the pro-Putin minority in the house, traitors everyone, is likely to find that Democrats don’t give them the victory of unseating a second Speaker, either. More Republicans are voicing their concern that the pro-Putin clan is possibly violating the law, which may not go well in an election year like this one.

Oh, and there’s a new issue of the Wonder Woman comic, #8, where the villain uses a “Rope of Lies,” the opposite of her Lasso of Truth, to trick the superhero’s mind into thinking that she’s a beleaguered housewife under the rule of a cruel husband who keeps throwing malicious Bible verses at her to keep her under control. At the end, her mother helps her escape and she yells to her captor: “Your Christian god means nothing to me!” Of course, there’s a lot of right-wing clap back and one DC artist has refused to work on the issue. That doesn’t surprise anyone as it’s been their response to any challenge for the past 20 years. They don’t have any facts on their side and everyone knows it.

So, after having my nap interrupted so many times, I’m going to go take another one, short as it may be.

Current Issues / News & Comment

Who Is Neil Gorsuch?

February 1, 2017

The Supreme Court nominee could backfire on the president

The Short Version

The 45th president announced his Supreme Court nomination last night, 10 circuit appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch is a conservative who says he tries to emulate the late Antonin Scalia, whose seat he takes on the court. However, if Gorsuch’s writings forecast how he might vote, the president could be surprised with the outcome.

What We Know Now

The White House tried to hype the announcement of the president’s Supreme Court nominee as though it were a game show finale. Media was led to believe that two finalists were being flown in and that the “winner” would be announced live on primetime television. That wasn’t what happened.

Instead, the announcement was quite routine, to the point of almost being boring. Gorsuch had been the front runner all through the vetting process. He was the only person standing with the president when the announcement was made. Gorsuch made the obligatory speech where he recognized the solemn duty of the high court and promised to uphold the Constitution. We would have been deeply disturbed had he said anything else.

What happens now, though, is something most of us couldn’t survive. Senator’s interns and legal assistants started immediately last night digging through everything that Gorsuch has ever written and every decision in which he has had a part. They are looking for anything that might indicate he could spell trouble for the court. If Republicans find that he might not hold to their values, they can kill the nomination before it reaches the full Senate.

They’re not likely to find anything that will immediately unseat Gorsuch’s nomination, however. Gorsuch clerked under two Supreme Court justices, including justice Stephen Kennedy who still sits on the high bench. In addition to his Harvard Law degree, Gorsuch holds a doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University. His writings are carefully thought out, not hot-headed and incendiary like those of the late justice Scalia. One isn’t likely to find any serious gaffes or extreme reasoning.

For Republicans, there’s the fact that Gorsuch ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby in a case that allows privately-owned for-profit businesses to base policy on the owner’s religious beliefs. There’s little question that Gorsuch holds religious liberty high through several of his writings and rulings. However, Gorsuch has not been vocal on matters related to abortion or LGBTQ rights, two issues on which he might one day have to rule. In fact, he’s been completely silent on both matters.

Democrats are likely to take a strong look at Gorsuch’s opinions related to government agencies interpreting the Constitution. He has written that such rulings, “permit executive bureaucracies to swallow huge amounts of core judicial and legislative power and concentrate federal power in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution of the framers’ design.” He’s not alone in this opinion. Justice Clarence Thomas holds similar views. The end result could well be that the two could convince the other judges to limit the authority of the president and federal agencies.

A couple of other things worth noting: Gorsuch would be the only protestant on a court dominated by Catholics. Gorsuch is Episcopalian, which tends to tilt to the left in religious teachings. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Reagan, which could have some lasting influence in his opinions related to environmental concerns.

There is little question that a fight is brewing. Democrats are still pissed that Senate leadership wouldn’t even consider President Obama’s nominee last year. They’ve already said they don’t view Gorsuch as being “mainstream” enough to fill the position and are likely to block his nomination through any means possible.

At the same time, a conservative group is planning to spend roughly $2 million on ads in Indiana, Missouri, Montana and North Dakota, four states that Trump won and in which Democrats will be defending their Senate seats in 2018.

To some degree, whether Mr. Gorsuch is qualified to sit on the high court is irrelevant. This is political. It’s not the way the framers of the Constitution intended, but it is the reality of this Congress and this administration. Politics are what matters now and that will be what determines whether Gorsuch is confirmed for the bench.

Strap yourselves in. The fun is just starting.

Current Issues / News & Comment / science

Extreme Escape

January 20, 2017

Some people will do anything to avoid the new administration

The Short Version

Six people entered a dome on top of the most active volcano in Hawaii and won’t come out for eight months as part of a NASA-sponsored study of the effects of living in an environment similar to that found on the planet Mars. Scientists are hoping that the results of this study will help them to prepare for eventually putting people on the red planet sometime in the 2030s. One of the “perks” to being in the dome is complete isolation from news media.

A Few More Details

While many of us might like to escape today’s inauguration of the new president, six people found a very extreme way of doing so by volunteering for an eight-month study that places them in a dome that sits on top of the most active volcano in Hawaii. That sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Actually, this isn’t a political statement but rather a scientific study. That the study started yesterday is purely coincidental. This was planned long before the election. No one really looked at the calendar.

The study, which is sponsored largely by NASA, is designed to take a look at what might happen, physically and psychologically, to people confined in an atmosphere similar to what would be found on the planet Mars. Of course, there’s a lot of difference between Earth and Mars, especially in regards to gravity. Being on top of an active volcano is about as close as scientists could come to replicating the martian environment. Anyone who has ever been on top of a volcano understands just how unfriendly and unforgiving the terrain can be.

The six people who entered the dome, four men and two women, won’t have a lot of space and won’t have much in the way of food choice. Their diets will consist mostly of dried food with the occasional treat of —wait for it—Spam. Sounds thrilling, doesn’t it? I’m anticipating some dramatic weight loss on the part of the participants. Yet, it is still likely better than the environment in Washington, D.C. at the moment.

The University of Hawaii operates the dome, called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS, and NASA has dedicated more than $2 million to this stage of the project. There are other martian simulations being operated in different places in the world, but this one is special because the terrain so closely resembles what Mars would actually offer. This allows scientists to study not only how the crew interacts inside the dome, but how well they perform simple activities such as using a robot to fetch packages left for them.

Now, don’t go getting the idea that this is all fun and games. The dome has a small kitchen, a lab, and very small sleeping accommodations, such as what might be found in a martian space station. The dome is not airtight, but when members of the crew go outside, they have to wear space suits to simulate the limited movement. They will have no physical contact with the outside world. Even their limited digital communication with the support crew has a 20-minute delay, the amount of time it would take an email message from Mars to reach Earth. On a good day.

And what happens if the volcano decides to get nasty while they’re there? There are extraction plans in place, NASA says. However, there’s no word as to whether those plans include Matt Damon.

Haven’t We Done Domes Before?

Yes, we’ve stuck people in numerous domes before. There have been two previous studies for Mars deployment, one lasting a year and the other eight months. And there will likely be more studies after this as researchers attempt to improve the experience based on what they’ve learned from previous studies.

What they’re hoping to avoid is the complete meltdown that occurred back in the 90s with Biodome 2, an experiment in Arizona that went totally out of control. That dome was air tight and attempted to replicate multiple environments. Carbon dioxide levels were out of control, plants and animals were dying, and the participants were at the point of not even speaking with each other by the time they left the dome.

Of course, even that failure taught us a lot of lessons that factor into this current study. Everyone is hopeful that the test will go well and that participants won’t have too much culture shock when they emerge in eight months.

Had we known the election was going to end like this, a lot more people would have likely volunteered, don’t you think?

Current Issues / News & Comment

Pardon Me

January 18, 2017

Or at least commute my sentence

The Short Version

President Obama pardoned 64 and commuted the sentences of over 200 people yesterday in one of the largest groups of commutations by any president. Included in this list was Chelsea Manning, the transgender former Army analyst convicted of leaking top secret material to WikiLeaks in 2009 and former Marine general James E. Cartwright who plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI. Many people are upset by Ms. Manning’s sentence commutation while others are wondering if this may open the door for prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Matters Of Distinction

Right off the bat, we need to make a couple of points clear. A presidential pardon largely removes one’s crime and its effects. All rights are restored and the legal record of the conviction is expunged. Commuting a sentence, however, does not remove the conviction nor many of the penalties related to that conviction. All commuting a sentence does is let a person out of jail sooner. They are still subject to reporting laws, may not regain the right to vote, and cannot be considered for any form of federal employment. All pardons and commutations are permanent and cannot be undone.

A Little More Detail

President Obama had already surpassed the record for the number of people he has pardoned or for whom he has commuted sentences. Mr. Obama has long considered the imprisonment of non-violent drug offenders to be a matter of injustice and the majority of his pardons and commutations have been focused toward releasing non-violent drug offenders from jail. Not a lot has been written or said about any of these actions, though they’ve been ongoing for quite a while.

What got everyone’s attention yesterday was the commutation of the 45-year sentence given to Chelsea Manning. Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan called the act “just outrageous,” saying that ” “Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets.” Ms. Manning, who was known as Bradley at the time of arrest, has presented some interesting problems for the federal prison system, however. Being held in the men’s facility at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary subjected Ms. Manning to severe abuse and mistreatment from other prisoners. At the same time, the system was unable to provide the transitional medical care Ms. Manning needed. She had attempted suicide twice in the past year.

Chase Strangio, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing Ms. Manning, said that Obama’s action could “quite literally save Chelsea’s life.”

In addition to Ms. Manning and General Cartwright, President Obama pardoned San Francisco Giants Hall of Famer Willie McCovey and hotelier Ian Schrager, both of whom were convicted of tax evasion, as well as commuting the sentence of Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera, an ultranationalist who, at age 74, is no longer considered a threat and would have otherwise likely died in prison.

The White House also announced that several more pardons and commutations would be announced on Thursday, the last day of President Obama’s administration. However, most of those will, again, be centered around drug offenders and no “big names” are expected.

Not For Everyone

What’s worth noting is who is not on any of the lists for pardons or sentence commutation. Edward Snowden, who, like Manning, leaked top-secret information to WikiLeaks, is not on the list. The White House has said that Snowden has not applied for clemency.

Also missing from the list is Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for first-degree murder in the shooting of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents during a 1975 conflict on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, has widely been considered to have been convicted unjustly. Yesterday, James Reynolds, the federal prosecutor responsible for Peltier’s conviction, published a letter in the Chicago Tribune urging Peltier’s release saying “The government has gotten almost 41 years, and 41 pounds of flesh; Peltier is old and sick, and in my opinion, any more time served would be vindictive.” However, the White House has not responded on the matter.

There is also some speculation as to whether Ms. Manning’s clemency opens the door for some action against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. However, again, there is no official word from the Justice Department regarding those rumors. Given the timing and transition about to take place, it is unlikely that the Justice Department would initiate any new activity that would require completion by the new administration.

Current Issues / News & Comment

Don’t Get Sick

January 18, 2017

Healthcare confusion is a good excuse to take care of yourself

The Short Version

After a party-line vote during a late-night session of Congress allowed for the complete dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, joined by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation, released a statement yesterday saying that repealing the healthcare law without a replacement would result in 18 million more uninsured Americans. However, that assessment was made on previous legislation. No new legislation has been submitted yet and the president-elect has promised “universal coverage.” With all the confusion, the best advice, for now, is to take care of yourself and not expect anything from Congress.

A Little More Detail

Congress scared a lot of people last week when it passed a bill changing the rules for repealing the Affordable Care Act. The vote was largely along party lines, 51-48, and came in the wee hours of Thursday morning while most Americans were sound asleep. At first, because a protective clause regarding pre-existing conditions and other coverage was removed from the nonbinding resolution, many people were under the impression that coverage for pre-existing conditions had been removed. It hadn’t. All the resolution did was make it easier for Congress to repeal existing healthcare legislation by allowing the Senate to pass such a bill with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes currently required.

Still, mention healthcare and one suddenly has the attention of millions of Americans who would not have any insurance coverage without the Affordable Care Act. So, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation took a look at the last bill in which Congress attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and calculated the cost. Their determination was that should Congress follow a similar pattern and repeal the law without any replacement, insurance costs would soar and 18 million people who currently have coverage would lose it within the first year. Were no replacement offered, the number of uninsured Americans would swell to 56 million by 2026. One has to admit those are pretty scary numbers.

However, there is currently no serious bill before Congress that would gut the Affordable Care Act. At this point, the House of Representatives is still arguing over smaller, more petty details and the Senate is fully consumed in hearings for Cabinet appointees. Any omnibus bill that would completely repeal the Affordable Care Act with any hope of receiving the president’s signature is still several months away.

Add to that the promise of GOP leaders to retain the pre-existing condition coverage and the president-elect’s promise for universal coverage and the waters get even more muddy. If the incoming president is going to hold out for a replacement plan that covers everyone, then Congress has to dramatically alter its approach away from anything they proposed last year. This could potentially set the stage for disagreement between the president and congressional leaders, further delaying any kind of repeal and replace legislation.

At this point, there is absolutely no certainty of any kind as to how Congress might actually handle changes to the healthcare laws. The confusion is frustrating and leaves millions of Americans in limbo regarding long-term healthcare.

Time To Self-Medicate

Given all the confusion and uncertainty regarding the healthcare laws, doctors are taking a more cautious approach and advising patients to maintain current medication and to take more responsibility for their personal health where it is reasonable to do so. Here are some of the recommendations being offered:

See your physician for a regular checkup, making sure prescriptions and treatment plans are up-to-date.
Make sure all scheduled vaccinations are up-to-date.
Maintain a healthy diet that is appropriate to both your age and physical needs. Not everyone should eat the same things.
Stay active with an appropriate exercise plan that does not present a high level of risk.
Avoid high-risk activities where possible. Now is not the time to undertake something that might leave one in need of long-term healthcare.
Stay away from unproven forms of “alternative” medicines that could complicate healthcare.
Those in high-risk categories, such as the very young and very old, should avoid contact with highly infectious environments and limit some public activities during high-risk seasons.

In short: don’t get sick. There is no promise that anyone will be covered for any form of healthcare in the future, regardless of what Congress and the president-elect might say. Taking responsibility for your own healthcare and that of your children is something we all should be doing anyway. It probably doesn’t hurt to start a savings account to use in the event of a medical catastrophe, such as a car accident or a rabid squirrel attack if you can afford to do so.

We’ve not lost everything yet, but to the degree we can prepare for the worst we are better off.

Current Issues / News & Comment

Making Enemies Of Friends

January 17, 2017

No one likes a bully

The short version

The president-elect is not making himself popular among our European allies. He has criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel, called NATO outdated, and threatened the German auto industry with a 35% tariff. Europe is not responding positively to such aggression and is making it well known that they have every intention of standing up and not taking any bullying from the president-elect once he’s in office. The rhetoric is getting tense.

The actual offense

This whole mess started over the weekend when the Great Orange president-elect criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her country’s acceptance of a large number of refugees from Syria and other countries. His remarks were part of an interview with the Times of London that appeared in Sunday’s edition. In that interview, the president-elect said, the European Union had become “a vehicle for Germany” and predicted other countries would leave the EU. He also criticized Ms. Merkel specifically, saying, “I think she made one very catastrophic mistake, and that was taking all of these illegals … And nobody even knows where they come from. So I think she made a catastrophic mistake, very bad mistake.”

That one would be bad enough. Germany is a critical ally in Europe, both economically and in terms of defense. Unfortunately, the president-elect wasn’t done.

The Great Orange told German newspaper BILD that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is obsolete. He said, “It’s obsolete, first because it was designed many, many years ago. Secondly, countries aren’t paying what they should.” He also said NATO didn’t deal with terrorism.

Finally, there was this gem, again published in BILD: “If you want to build cars in the world, then I wish you all the best. You can build cars for the United States, but for every car that comes to the USA, you will pay 35 percent tax,” the president-elect said. “I would tell BMW that if you are building a factory in Mexico and plan to sell cars to the USA, without a 35 percent tax, then you can forget that.”

The fallout

Understandably, no one in Europe is taking the president-elect’s words too kindly, especially the Germans. I’ve heard a lot of German over the past 34 years and I heard some words yesterday I’ve not heard before. If the president wanted to make enemies of our closest allies, he’s doing a very good job. Europe understands what happens when bullies are allowed to have their way. They fought that war long before we got into it. They’re not keen on letting it happen again.

Francoise Holland, President of France, plans to hold the Great Orange accountable. He told CNN: “[Europe] has no need for outside advice to tell it what it has to do. I thought, frankly, it was inappropriate for a president-elect of the United States to be stepping into the politics of other countries in a quite direct manner. He’ll have to speak for that. As of Friday, he’s responsible for that relationship.”

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s Foreign Minister spoke to the anxiety among NATO members: “I’ve spoken today not only with EU foreign ministers but NATO foreign ministers as well and can report that the signals are that there’s been no easing of tensions.”

As to the whole auto tariff thing, Matthias Wissmann, the president of Germany’s VDA automotive association, said, “In the long term, the United States would be shooting itself in the foot by imposing tariffs or other trade barriers.” He noted that German carmakers have quadrupled light vehicle production in the United States over the past seven years to 850,000 units, more than half of which are exported outside the US.

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that rather than trying to penalize German carmakers, the United States should instead respond by building better and more desirable cars.

Evercore ISI analysts said: “It is surprising that Trump singles out the carmaker that exports more vehicles from the United States than any other manufacturer.”

What happens next?

Of course, no one can predict the future, but the president-elect’s words are extremely inflammatory and sound dramatically protectionist. If he continues this level of rhetoric as president, a couple of things are likely to happen.

First, he’s going to find other world leaders resistant to anything he proposes, no matter what it is. He now has a reputation as a bully and no one trusts a bully to be true to their word. As president, he and his Secretary of State will have to work hard to win back that trust if they want any cooperation from our allies at any level.

Second, equally crippling tariffs could come from the EU and other countries, such as Mexico. The US imports more than it exports, which is already an economic problem. World leaders have historically gone tit for tat any time the US threatens or imposes tariffs. Don’t expect this round to be any different. Unfortunately, higher tariffs hurt Americans as they force prices higher on many every-day goods.

The alliances formed during and after World War II are strong and no one is likely to completely walk out on the US just yet. However, our allies will not allow themselves to be bullied.

Current Issues / News & Comment / video

5 Things You Should Know: 01.12.2017

January 12, 2017

charles i. letbetter - 5 Things You Should Know

04:31:02 01/12/2017

Sponsoring 5 Things You Should Know won’t make bad news go away, but it can help us be more accurate. Contact us today!

Some days you need a compass

Wow! Here it is Thursday and the wind is back as it blows us toward a weekend of freezing temperatures and possibly icy conditions across the Midwest. The Northwest is still getting pummeled by rain and snow in record-setting amounts. In fact, they’ve had so much snow that officials closed Crater Lake National Park due to avalanche concerns.

Trying to look at the world through media reports is confusing as hell. When there’s no actual news, we get a lot of news-looking articles that don’t really tell us anything of value. Sometimes you have to piece the information together to get the full picture. That’s what we’ve done this morning. We’ve sifted through the actual facts and have 5 Things You Should Know.

Making corporate crime personal

Americans are known for having notoriously short-term memories so don’t feel too bad if you thought the whole mess over the Volkswagon emission-cheating scandal was over. Nope, far from it. These things take time to wind their way through the court and it gets all the more complicated when multiple countries are involved. The US can’t just reach across the Atlantic ocean and demand that someone from another country follow our laws. So, the fact that we’re just now seeing a resolution to the scandal really isn’t that surprising.

What we’ve seen in the past two days is that VW has pled guilty to criminal charges after installing software in diesel engines on nearly 600,000 VW, Porsche and Audi vehicles in the U.S. that activated pollution controls during government tests and switched them off in real-world driving¹. The software allowed the cars to spew harmful nitrogen oxide at up to 40 times above the legal limit. As a result, the US has fine the company $4.3 billion, the largest fine against an automaker ever, and yes, VW is going to pay the fine.

What you should know, though, is that the Department of Justice also indicted six high-level VW executives yesterday, which is seen as a major step in holding individuals responsible for corporate crimes, something that has been extremely difficult in the past. Now, since all six are German citizens, actually arresting them is difficult. Germany doesn’t extradite their own citizens outside the EU. However, it effectively prevents those executives from traveling outside Germany. This is a huge win for consumers and the Justice Department.

They China Syndrome

While everyone has been distracted by possible spying and interference from Russia, another larger and potentially far greater danger has been growing in the South China Sea as China has made some very strong and deliberate moves that the US should find more than a little worrisome. Earlier this week, Taiwan was intimidated into launching fighters and naval vessels as China’s only aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Taiwan in a very obvious display of power². This is just the latest in a series of military events where China essentially shakes its fist at the small country.

Then, yesterday, Secretary of State nominee and former head of Exxon Mobile, Rex Tillerson, told the Senate Confirmation Committee that China should be denied access to the islands it built and then militarized in the South China Sea³. Tillerson didn’t state what legal justification the US might use in interfering in matters in the South China Sea, but it puts further stress on the relationship between China and the incoming administration.

What you should know now is that earlier this morning China launched a new electronic intelligence ship⁴. Care to guess where they put it? That’s right, the South China Sea. The activity we’ve seen in that region over the past few months is some of the strongest China has made in the past 50 years. We need to remember, though, that China is also deeply embedded in the US economy. Any action we might take against them would likely be met with a response from Beijing that could send the US economy into a tailspin. The ramifications are extremely troubling.

Redefining the press

If it seems as though every media outlet on the Internet is talking about the president-elect’s news conference yesterday⁵, the reason may be because not since the Nixon administration has the relationship between the press and the White House been so strained. While I strongly agree that the exchange between the Great Orange and CNN’s Jake Tapert was one of the most childish displays of narcissistic bullying we’ve seen to date, the fact remains that he is the new reality and media needs to adjust to deal with him more effectively.

One of the ways that is happening is that Facebook has decided to take on a larger role in journalism⁶. What makes this something you should know is that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was very adamant in defending the social media powerhouse against charges that fake news posted on the site may have contributed to the outcome of the presidential election. What we now know is that roughly 40% of American adults get their news from Facebook⁷. What we see on Facebook we generally consider to be true, whether we admit it or not.

The Facebook Journalism Project, which was announced on the website yesterday, works in three ways:

The collaborative development of news products
Training & tools for journalist to enable better use of Facebook
Training & tools for the general public, including efforts to curb hoaxes

Exactly how legacy media outlets will respond to the project is still uncertain, but at least Facebook is stepping up and recognizing its role in the dissemination of news. This won’t make presidential press conferences any less vile, but hopefully, it will prevent the kind of unsubstantiated news stories at the center of that exchange from becoming a problem.

Up, up and away

So, with all the stress and anxiety going on across the US at the moment, perhaps you’re thinking it might be nice to get away for a while, maybe enjoy a Spring Break somewhere different, even if you’ve not been a college student for 30 years or more. The problem is, you’re an adult. You have too many responsibilities and too little expendable cash. How can you afford to go anywhere? The Icelandic airline WOW would like to solve that problem for you by offering tickets from the US to Europe for as little as $70⁸.

Oh yeah, there are some catches to that price. What you should know is that not every seat on the plane qualifies for the severely discounted rates. You’ll pay to check your bags and if you want anything to eat or drink during the long trip you’ll need to bring those yourself. WOW is only offering the service from LAX and SFA to Stockholm, Sweden; Bristol, England; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Edinburgh, Scotland. Oh, and there’s no Wi-Fi on the planes, either.

Still, this low-cost discounted rate for international travel may be the wave of the future. WOW’s CEO Skuli Mogensen thinks that eventually you might not pay for a ticket at all and that airlines will make their profit through ancillary costs and fees. Norwegian Air plans to make similarly discounted flights available later this year when it adds new planes⁹. This particular sale only last through April 5, though, so if you’re going you might want to make that reservation sooner rather than later.

And finally …

I’m beginning to think that there’s not anything that Taco Bell won’t try to stuff into or wrap around a taco. The fast food favorite of munchie-ridden stoners and college students everywhere has announced, and I swear I am not making this up, that it plans to go nationwide later this month with a taco shell made entirely of—are you ready?—fried chicken⁹. You may now take a moment and pick your jaw up off the floor. This is really coming to a Taco Bell near you.

This new culinary curiosity is being called the Naked Chicken Chalupa and, according to the chain, the entire shell is made of all-white seasoned chicken. They then fill that thing with lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and avocado ranch sauce. Apparently, this mess has tested well for two years in Bakersfield and Kansas City, though I don’t know that I would necessarily consider either of those places culinary capitals by any stretch of the imagination.

There’s no word yet as to how much this new source of indigestion might cost you. Remember that you’ll want to eat the thing immediately and not let it sit on your dashboard or coffee table overnight. Being chicken, it should be consumed hot to avoid any chance of contracting salmonella. Of course, if you’re eating at Taco Bell you’re probably not too worried about food poisoning in the first place, are you?

That’s all the time and space we’re willing to commit to this morning. If you’re in the Midwest, watch out for possible Thunderstorms midday. Wherever you are, please stay safe. We like you. Both of you. Until tomorrow, good day!

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5 Things You Should Know: 01.06.2017

January 6, 2017

04:43:54 01/06/2017

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‘Tis a cold wind that blows

Brrrrr! If you feel a draft this morning, you might be in the central Midwest where temps are in the single digits and wind blowing across the snow puts wind chills well below zero. At these temperatures, frostbite is a serious possibility, especially if you have children standing outside waiting on a school bus. Be sure to dress everyone in multiple layers of loose clothing to prevent any danger there. Meanwhile, the South is gearing up for a major winter storm barreling down at them from the Rockies. This could be a rough weekend.

I could have ten things you should know this morning and still not cover everything that is newsworthy. Vice President Joe Biden told the president-elect to grow up yesterday¹. It would be funny to watch to old men fight if they weren’t supposed to be leading the freakin’ country. Trump now says American taxpayers will fund that wall with Mexico². And Hustler is suing the city of Indianapolis³, but we don’t have time for any of that. What we have are five other things we think you should know.

A severe lack of intelligence

President-elect Donald Trump is supposed to receive his national security briefing this morning, one that President Obama saw several days ago. We can only guess how the president-elect might receive the news, but it isn’t going to be pretty as national intelligence director James Clapper and other national security advisors double-down on the evidence that Russia not only was involved in hacking during the election, but engaged in other activities aimed at altering the outcome⁴.

Don’t expect that news to set too well with the president-elect, who has chosen to listen to Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange rather than the people with actual evidence of the hacking and other activities conducted under the authority of the Russian government. During a hearing yesterday before the Senate Armed Services committee, support for the US intelligence community was strongly bipartisan, setting up a rift between Congress and the president-elect that could affect a number of decisions in the immediate future.

At the same time, former CIA director James Woosely has resigned⁵ from the president-elect’s transition team and former Indiana Senator Dan Coates, whom the New York Times describes as “the Mister Rogers Senator,” has been named as the person likely to replace Director Clapper later this month⁶. Put everything together and what we have is a picture of an incoming administration that is long on talk and short on actual intelligence. Definitely not a good way to start.

A most deplorable hate crime

If you were paying attention yesterday at the start of our article, we mentioned the arrest of four people in Chicago who live streamed a brutal kidnapping. At the point we were writing things yesterday, details were still sketchy. What we now know is that four people used Facebook Live to stream their torture and abuse of a mentally challenged man, who was tied up, hit, and cut with a knife by several assailants in what is being described as one of the most brutal scenes ever broadcast⁷.

All four people have been arrested and charged with committing a hate crime, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, burglary, robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters that, “There was never a question whether or not this incident qualified to be investigated as a hate crime … The actions in that video are reprehensible.”

One of the challenges this crime presents is exactly what, if anything, Facebook could have done to prevent the live stream from being broadcast. While the crime itself was bad enough, having the unmitigated gall to stream such an act is beyond deplorable. Fears are that the ease of streaming events is such that other ego-driven criminals might commit even worse acts for everyone to see. Unless Facebook and other streaming providers can get a lock on this issue, they could be facing civil suits for providing the platform.

A continued assault on women and gender

As if women’s and transgender rights hadn’t come under enough fire in 2016, 2017 is shaping up to be an even larger battle. There’s more here than I have time to discuss so please click the numbered links to check our references. For starters, a federal district judge ruled the doctors may turn away women who have had abortions and transgender patients based on the doctor’s religious freedom rights⁸. How is this even possible? Thank that idiotic Burwell v. Hobby Lobby ruling in 2014 that sets such a precedent.

At the same time Texas Republicans, apparently unable to learn from the experience of North Carolina, have introduced a bill that requires people to use the restroom and locker room defined by the gender on their birth certificate and bans cities from passing ordinances contrary to that law⁹. Now, sports is a really big money maker in the Lone Star state and we don’t want to even get started on all the music festivals and events such as SXSW that occur in Austin. Threats of boycotts are already being voiced. North Carolina has lost millions in revenue. Are Texans any smarter?

Then, to top it all off, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan once again has vowed to strip Planned Parenthood of all federal funding as the new Republican-dominated Congress attempts to re-write healthcare laws¹⁰. This is not a new fight and Republicans tried repeatedly last year to do the same thing. The challenge facing them this year is that any attempt to defund the non-profit that provides healthcare for millions of women might result in the entire re-write of the Affordable Care Act being scuttled. Speaker Ryan best watch his step.

Significant change for the military

It is no secret that thousands of Sikh and Muslim recruits have been turned away from serving in the US military because of the strict rules regarding uniform appearance. That, however, is changing. Army Secretary Eric Fanning signed a memorandum that would allow Sikh and Muslim recruits to dress and groom themselves in a manner appropriate to their religious beliefs¹¹. The new rules not only affect men serving in the Army, but also allow for women to wear hijabs provided they are free of any religious markings or decorations.

To be able to take advantage of the new ruling, those currently serving in the Army would need to apply for a religious accommodation. Once approved, the accommodation would follow them throughout their career and would not be allowed to influence job duties or duty locations except in specific highly-sensitive circumstances. The women’s hair code was also modified in the memorandum to allow for braids, cornrows, twists or locks.

What effect this might have on the Army rank and file remains to be seen. One of the issues drilled into recruits during basic training is that they are no longer an individual but part of a group and that they must put the needs and safety of the group ahead of their own. Having different grooming and appearance rules for some that do not apply to others would seem to be a visual violation of that general rule. Still, religious liberty advocates are excited about the change and the opportunity it provides.

And finally …

New parents have been warned for the past 30 years that they need to be careful when introducing their child to potential allergens such as peanuts. Conventional wisdom has been to wait until a child is at least two years old before introducing them to peanuts. All that changed yesterday, however, when the National Institutes of Health issued a new ruling stating that introducing those foods as early as six months could help prevent those very allergies¹².

Ground-breaking research has found that early exposure to such foods is much more likely to help infants rather than hurt them as has been previously thought. This is an extremely serious matter as peanut allergies specifically is a growing problem affecting roughly two percent of children born in the United States. Pediatricians are now advising that if a family member has an existing peanut allergy then that is all the more reason to start feeding them to the infant early.

No, this does not mean you can just toss a bag of peanuts at your little one for a snack. Common sense is appropriate here. Smooth peanut butter is likely to be the best form of introduction, and that should be mixed with things such as oatmeal. The guidelines also recommend that the child have experience with other solid foods before introducing those with peanuts. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, consult your family pediatrician.

Once again, we are out of time for today. Since we’ve started writing this morning, breaking news says that Russia is pulling its military out of Syria, so we’ll be watching that along with a number of other things. The latest wage report is due today as well, so we’ll be looking at that. In the mean time, bundle up, stay safe, and join us tomorrow. It’s Friday. Enjoy.

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5 Things You Should Know: 01.05.2017

January 5, 2017

charles i. letebtter - 5 Things You Should 01-05-17Know

04:49:47 01/05/2017

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Going back to bed is still an option

Wow, here it is Thursday already and this morning is not getting off to a good start. There’s snow on the roads here in central Indiana and already that snow appears to have claimed its first life in a vehicle accident quite literally just up the road from us. There’s more coming in, so be aware that there are slick spots all over, especially at intersections this morning. The chance of snow continues throughout the day so please be careful if you must be out.

The world is not looking to be an especially friendly place this morning as over 100 prisoners escaped from a Phillipinne jail, the impeachment trial for South Korea’s president is underway, and Chicago police have arrested four people who live streamed a kidnapping. Rather makes you wonder if the entire world has lost its freakin’ mind, doesn’t it? We have 5 things you need to know, but hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

The train stops here

The Long Island Railway is the busiest commuter railway in the United States, carrying over 300,000 passengers daily. If you are one of those who uses this train to get back and forth to work in New York and Brooklyn, you know how crowded it can be during rush hours. People pack as tightly as possible into the cars, hoping to not get stuck next to someone wearing too much perfume. Those packed conditions likely contributed to over 100 people being injured when the train crashed into a bumper block and partially derailed as it pulled into Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal yesterday morning¹.

Fortunately, none of the injuries were considered life-threatening and most of the hysteria seems to have come from the fear of not being able to escape overcrowded cars. The train had already slowed for its approach to the station, but the partial derailing was still serious enough that a rail punctured the bottom of one of the cars. Somewhere between 600-700 people were on the train when it came to an abrupt stop. The most serious injury recorded so far is a broken leg.

What’s not so clear still this morning is exactly what caused the accident. The Metropolitan Transit Authority is initially looking at the train’s driver, who says that it was the driver’s responsibility to stop the train, but no one knows yet why that didn’t happen. Trains are an integral part of the New York transit system, so expect a full investigation here. If the fault were individual or mechanical, it will no doubt be corrected as quickly as possible to prevent a repeat of yesterday’s chaos.

Hey Doc, I’m feeling a pain in the ass

If anyone had the displeasure of walking around the United States Capitol yesterday, they likely saw some rather disturbing protest signs that read, “Make America Sick Again.” The people carrying the signs were, of course, protesting Republican legislation that would largely dismantle the Affordable Care Act created under President Obama’s administration. The lines were drawn yesterday as both President Obama and Vice President-elect Mike Pence lobbied lawmakers regarding the set of health care laws².

We knew this fight was coming and we don’t expect it to be over anytime soon. While repealing the Affordable Care Act was one of the things that brought Republicans to power in this Congress, the challenge before them is how to actually live up to that promise without leaving millions of Americans stranded without insurance and healthcare providers looking for payments that may not be coming. For his part, President Obama has been urging Democratic legislators to vehemently oppose any changes to the law, using whatever parliamentary procedures necessary to prevent a vote. After six years of complete obstruction, Republicans may be about to feel what it’s like to be on the other end of partisan politics.

Among the items that were proposed yesterday are repealing the individual mandate, which has been immensely unpopular, capping funding for Medicare, basing tax credits on age rather than income, which would shift more credits to older people who currently have none but could leave younger people with less income stranded, and allowing insurers to sell across state lines³. None of these are likely to become law without a significant fight in both houses of Congress. I’m sure this is just the first time we’ll talk about the issue. It’s not going away.

When free speech disrupts the economy

Just as the US Congress is getting back to work this week, so too are state lawmakers who often have a habit of introducing legislation that, while limited to their own state, is important because of how it could potentially spread if not found unconstitutional. One of those laws was introduced this week in the Washington State legislature where Sen. Doug Ericksen introduced legislation that would increase penalties for economic disruption from a misdemeanor to a felony with up to five years’ imprisonment⁴.

Exactly what is Ericksen upset about? Well, remember all those protests that occurred after the election last November? One of the nation’s largest was in Seattle, where thousands of people took to the streets to protest the electoral outcome. One of the consequences to those protests was that stores were not able to open or conduct business as usual. The Senator, and those who think like him, see this as economic disruption and their intent is to hold someone responsible for events such as this.

This is kind of scary because it very blatantly flies in the face of that little line in the US Constitution that prohibits “abridging … the right of people to peaceably assemble.” What Ericksen is going to argue is that such protests are not “peaceable.” Windows are sometimes broken. Looting sometimes occurs. What he’s looking to do, however, is shut down vocal opposition by threatening event leaders with imprisonment and a felony record. I cannot emphasize how every dangerous it is that such a law was even introduced. Watch this one closely, and don’t be afraid to protest.

A bit of good news

If there is an apparent bit of good news, it is that Americans are buying a lot of new vehicles. For the second year in a row, US car and truck sales have set a record, this time some 18.4 million of them, an increase of 0.4 percent over 2015⁵. This would seem to be proof that America’s economy is genuinely stronger than has been perceived. The average price for a new vehicle is somewhere in the neighborhood of $35,000. That means a lot of people are spending considerably more than that. When one factors in the interest on a standard five-year loan, what we’re actually spending on those new cars is north of $100,000.

Of course, for the economy, this appears to be very good news. Stock prices for GM, Ford, and Toyota, the new “big 3” in American auto sales, were all up yesterday, as were a number of other car manufacturers. The best-selling vehicle continues to be the Ford F-150 pickup, and pickups, in general, are still the best-selling class. While December sales involved some very heavy discounts, on average around $4,000, GM says that per-vehicle sales, even with discounts, were still up some $740 from the month before.

Major sales such as automobiles are key economic indicators that not only show that we’re willing to spend money, but that we have enough confidence in the economy to make a long-term commitment. While some economists had expected a slowdown toward the end of last year, that doesn’t appear to be happening. The good news wasn’t so good for Fiat Chrysler, however, as sales there slid ten percent. Not everyone gets to be a winner.

And then the bad news

While we’re busy buying a lot of trucks, what we’re not buying are clothes and pots and pans from major retailers. Two retail giants, both Macys⁶ and Sears⁷ announced significant store closings yesterday in the face of continued declines and an absolutely horrible sales drop in the month of December. Macys is closing 68 stores by the end of the year and Sears will be shuttering some 108 Kmart stores and 42 Sears stores by April. This is on top of additional closings both stores had announced last year.

Additionally, Kohl’s says its sales were down dramatically as well, but they have yet to announce any store closings. The general retail sector as a whole took a huge hit in the last quarter of the year, with Black Friday and other holiday sales failing to generate the level of revenue generally expected during the final month of the year. Online sales and sales at niche boutiques are getting a lot of the blame for the woes at traditional retailers, with even discounters such as Wal-Mart showing slower sales than the same period last year.

This probably says something about American’s priorities that we’re buying big-ticket items like trucks and SUVs but not so much clothes and household items. We’re much more willing to hold on to the clothes and things we already have while the improved safety and fuel conservation of newer vehicles seems to be a particular draw. Where we’re spending, we are still being very careful to justify our purchases.

And that’s all we have time and space for today. We’re keeping a close eye on everything going on, including Congress and the weather. As always, no matter where you are, if you have to be out, please be safe. We’ll do the same and be back here with more stuff you should know tomorrow.

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5 Things You Should Know: 01.04.2017

January 4, 2017

charles i. letbetter - 5 Things You Should Know: 01-04-17

04:49:17 01/04/2017

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A lot of noise but little substance

Hey there, welcome to Wednesday, January 4. Winter seems to have returned to those parts of the US that enjoyed a few warmer days. If you’re in central Indiana this morning, wind chills are down near zero. What you should know, however, is that while today is cold and sunny, there’s a decent chance of snow moving in tomorrow with a couple of inches accumulation. And, wouldn’t you know it, the timing on that is probably going to hit both morning and evening rush hours. You’ll want to plan accordingly.

What we’re watching around the world is a crumbling of Syrian peace talks, an unexpected bump in the road for the UK’s Brexit plans, and a murderer who may finally be about to die. Some are referring to the incoming presidential administration as the “Twitter presidency,” and a bit of bullying keeps car manufacturing domestic for now. All that and we’ve not even started in on our 5 Things You Should Know. There’s a lot of noise, so let’s get to it.

One step forward, two steps …

We’re just going to assume that by now you are aware of the fact that Congress did a backstep yesterday and dropped the planned gutting of the ethics commission. As we stated yesterday, even Republican leaders didn’t like the move and between a tremendous outcry from the public and opposition from the president-elect, lawmakers somehow found the good sense to drop the measure, at least for now. However, don’t go letting those varmints off the hook just yet. Congress approved the rules for the upcoming session with a vote predictably along party lines yesterday¹. These are the rules members have to abide by and some of them carry an odor.

Take, for instance, a new rule that calling for members of Congress to be fined if they take pictures or video from the House floor. This measure was included specifically in an attempt to prevent the type of sit-in that occurred in the last session in protest of the body’s refusal to consider gun control legislation. The live-streaming that took place during that event was instrumental in creating a tremendous amount of public support for the effort, much to the chagrin of Speaker Paul Ryan. Republicans don’t want it happening again.

The American Medical Association also formally presented a letter to Congress demanding that they show “in reasonable detail what will replace current policies” before attempting to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. While undoing the multifaceted legislation known as Obamacare was a key platform for Republicans in the last election, no viable alternative has been presented, which would not only affect the 20 million Americans currently covered by the act, but would also affect payments to doctors and other health care providers. The takeaway here is that this Congress is being watched carefully from all sides. They’re not likely to make a move without a lot of people noticing.

A matter of justice

Six members of the NAACP were arrested yesterday afternoon for conducting a sit-in at the Mobile, Alabama office of Senator Jeff Sessions, the incoming administration’s pick for Attorney General². Cornell Brooks, president and CEO of the NAACP, and Stephen Green, national director of the youth division of the NAACP were among those arrested and charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass. The group had occupied the office early Tuesday afternoon demanding that Sen. Sessions step away from the nomination on concerns about his record regarding voter suppression and what is generally seen as the unjust prosecution of civil rights leaders in Alabama.

Now, on one hand, this might seem like a minor protest that can easily be ignored. Don’t be stupid. While there may have only been six people in the Mobile office yesterday, opposition to Session’s appointment as Attorney General is much broader than that. The Washington Post reported yesterday that more than 1,100 law professors have signed a letter encouraging the Senate to reject Session’s nomination³. The letter states, “We are convinced that Jeff Sessions will not fairly enforce our nation’s laws and promote justice and equality in the United States.”

This opposition, which comes from every state except North Dakota and Alaska, which don’t have law schools, is still just part of the mounting objections. Sen. Session’s record against civil rights is extremely well known. He’s been rejected by the Senate for this same reason before and pressure is mounting to reject him again. The Attorney General of the United States is not just responsible for enforcing federal law, but also directs the actions of the US Marshalls and the FBI. The last thing we need in that position is a racist bigot such as Jeff Sessions.

A visible opposition

Another protest is shaping up that could be even larger, this time around the very inauguration itself. What started as a very small statement of disgust by a retired woman in Hawaii has grown into a full-scale march on Washington, D.C. to express opposition to the new president. Teresa Shook started the Women’s March on Washington thinking it would be just her and a few friends. Protests like that are common with the inauguration of every new president. However, the concept of such a march went viral and there are currently more than 100,000 women who have voiced their intent to participate.

Such a large march is unprecedented. D.C police have issued a permit to march on January 21, not the 20th, citing the size of the march and the security challenges it would create. The day’s adjustment has not made any difference in the size of the march, however, and numbers could easily be as high as 200,000 by the time the event actually occurs. Both Gloria Steinham and Planned Parenthood CEO Cecil Richards have announced their intent to participate, which is attracting other highly visible activists to the cause including Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee and Jessica Chastain.

The biggest challenge for this march as it grows is the cost of security. D.C. law requires that such large events pay for the additional security required to keep everyone safe. As the numbers for the Women’s March grows toward the 200,000 mark, planners need to raise something in the neighborhood of $2 million to cover the security and other event costs. With the march attracting women from across a number of causes, though, I have little doubt the money will be raised and the impact on Washington will be significant.

Educating the masses

The incredible cost of higher education was a huge issue in the past election, but there weren’t too many politicians who dared to latch on to Senator Bernie Sanders concept of cost-free or low-cost education for everyone. The general assumption was that the federal government couldn’t afford to pay for college any more than students can. However, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is testing a plan that would cover college tuition for students in that state whose families earn less than $125,000⁵.

Under the plan the governor announced yesterday, any New Yorker who is accepted to a state community college or university is potentially eligible. The program is set to be phased in with those making less than $100,000 eligible for funding in the fall of this year. The amount would increase incrementally over the two subsequent years. Cuomo’s program is a last-dollar initiative, which means that all other grants and scholarships would be applied first with the state making up the difference.

The cost of college education is a major issue across the country with 85 different proposals facing state legislators this year. However, New York’s program would be the largest and could become a model for any attempt at federalizing a funding program. What you should know, however, is that the program only covers tuition. Books, housing, and food are not covered and are still significant costs for most students. This is a good start, but we’ve a long way to go before college is truly affordable.

And finally …

After an election cycle that put her in the spotlight and at odds with her employer, news anchor Megyn Kelly announced yesterday that she is leaving the Fox Network and taking up residence over at NBC where she’ll have two shows on the schedule. A daily talk show and a weekend news magazine will be added to the NBC lineup with Kelly at the helm of both. While no start date has been given for either program, Andrew Lack, chairman of the NBC Universal News Group, praised Kelly as, “an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career. She’s demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we’re lucky to have her⁶.”

Megyn Kelly has long been considered the dominant news anchor at the Fox network, but found herself challenged in the past year by both direct confrontations with Donald Trump and allegations surrounding former Fox chairman Roger Ailes regarding his sexually suggestive comments. That uncomfortable environment along with a desire to spend more time with her three children gave Kelly more than sufficient reason to make the jump.

There is plenty of speculation as to who might take Kelly’s enviable 9:00 PM timeslot, though Fox has yet to infer that it is even looking for a new anchor. There is also some question as to whether Kelly might be groomed to eventually take over the Nightly News chair on NBC. What’s certain is that Megyn Kelly has turned a challenging situation into a positive career move not unlike that of Barbara Walters. We wish her well.

That’s all we have time for this morning. We’re keeping a close watch on a couple of developing stories and will be sure to cut through the clutter and be back with what really matters tomorrow. Here’s to a good day.

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5 Things You Should Know: 01.03.17

January 3, 2017

04:28:30 01/03/2017

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The challenge to remain free begins today

Hey there! It’s Tuesday, January 3, and I wish I could say that we had five uplifting pieces of information for you this morning. We don’t. That’s why we’re putting pretty pictures, or at least entertaining ones, with today’s 5 Things You Should Know. You need a bit of beauty and laughter if you’re going to get through this day. Already, 4 have died in tornadoes in Alabama overnight¹. Much of the South and Midwest is looking at more rain today and Northern Plains states are getting snow.

We don’t have enough room for everything worthy of conversation this morning. We’re skipping over the bombings in Baghdad that claimed several lives² and the prison riots in Brazil that have killed approximately 60 people there³. As important as those matters are, events overnight force us to take a look at domestic situations instead. We expect this to become normal, unfortunately. As Congress and the incoming President try to sneak things past us, our 5 Things You Should Know becomes that much more critical.

Republicans abandon ethics

I think we all can agree that ethics are kind of a big thing in the world of politics. Corruption is a problem and simple things such as not revealing a financial interest in a new law can have serious consequences. Even as I’m writing this, Israeli police are asking some serious questions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about accepting gifts from business people with interests in how he governs⁴. We take these matters seriously. That’s why, when House Republicans wait until the middle of the night to completely gut the Office of Congressional Ethics⁵, it’s kind of a big fucking deal.

The new rules, which are scheduled to be voted on by the full House this afternoon, change the name to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, a body under the misnamed and mismanaged House Ethics Committee, which has proven to have absolutely no teeth and little motivation to actually hold the members of the House accountable for their actions. The Office of Congressional Ethics was non-partisan. The House Ethics Committee is not. Therefore, the opportunity to “punish” the minority party while ignoring complaints regarding the majority was just swung wide open.

Even House leadership, including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) were against the change and the vote shows just how little control they have over their members. What Republicans are telling us with this first move of the new Congress is that they can’t be trusted. There is no intention to play fairly or follow the rules of good governance. They don’t want ethical oversight because they, like unruly children, don’t want any form of discipline for their misdeeds. This is how a country begins to fall.

Bishops told of zero tolerance policy

Speaking of discipline, the Vatican released a letter yesterday that was sent to Catholic bishops around the world last week, telling them that there would be zero tolerance for any instance of sexual abuse among the clergy⁶. This comes as critics of the church and victims advocacy groups complain about the slow pace of change within the Vatican and the lack of official policy changes that would hold bishops accountable for the priests under them.

In the letter, Pope Francis tells the bishops, “I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst. Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated.” The letter is the Pope’s most comprehensive statement on the issue yet, but still falls short of enacting any real policy change.

The public release of the letter comes as the Diocese of Springfield revealed yesterday that the first bishop indicted in the US for a sexual-abuse claim has died⁷. Former Bishop Thomas Dupre died Friday at an undisclosed location. Dupre was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006 after being indicted on sexual abuse charges in 2004. That case was dropped because prosecutors determined the statute of limitations had expired, but the former Bishop was later indicted on other charges as well. The ongoing issue of abuse within the church remains one of its most public problems.

Puerto Rico to file for statehood

Let’s shift our attention now to Puerto Rico, the United States’ most overlooked territory. At the ceremony swearing in its new Governor, 37-year-old Ricardo Rossello, the push was made once again for the struggling island to be made a full state⁸. Puerto Rico became a Territory following the Spanish-American War in 1898, and its residents became US citizens in 1917. It has been a US Commonwealth since 1952. However, its persistent requests to become a full state with full representation in Congress has been repeatedly denied.

Gov. Rossello said in his address yesterday, “The United States cannot pretend to be a model of democracy for the world while it discriminates against 3.5 million of its citizens in Puerto Rico, depriving them of their right to political, social and economic equality under the U.S. flag. There is no way to overcome Puerto Rico’s crisis given its colonial condition.”

What stands in the way between Puerto Rico and statehood, though, is its $70 billion in debt which the US would assume should Puerto Rico become a state. The severe financial crisis of the country has already caused some 200,000 Puerto Ricans to leave the country and move to the mainland, according to the Governor. Still, Rossello plans to have the country elect two Senators and five Representatives in their push for statehood. Unfortunately, no one expects him to receive a warm welcome from the Republican-controlled Congress or the incoming administration.

Judging the American dream

There have been numerous times in our country’s history where it seemed impossible for women to get ahead. Even more challenging has been the advancement of women from many different religious and ethnic groups. Starting today, though, at least one person can claim a victory for women as Rachel Freier becomes the first Hassidic Jew to become a publicly elected judge⁹. The married mother of six won a three-way Democratic primary and the general election in a swath of Brooklyn that includes the heavily Hasidic Borough Park neighborhood.

At her swearing-in last month, Freier said, “My commitment to the public and my commitment to my religion and my community — the two can go hand in hand. This is a dream. This is the American Dream.” Hasids represent an extremely small portion of the total Jewish population in America, something slightly less than six percent. They are known for being ultra-Orthodox in their belief system, often separating women from men in public. Mrs. Freier’s ascent to the bench is seen as a victory not just for women, but particularly for Hasidic women who struggle to find a public identity within their religion.

Mrs. Freier already has a bit of a reputation for bucking the system. When she attempted to join an all-male volunteer ambulance corps, aiming to aid fellow women during childbirth or gynecological emergencies, she was turned away. Her response? She helped women launch their own volunteer service and joined it herself. In fact, she was taking her turn on call this past weekend. We wish her well and hope her example encourages others.

And finally …

We’ve all known people who just can’t seem to resist dressing up their pets, especially during the winter. Personally, I’m not one of them. In fact, I’m pretty sure our brood would not respond positively to any attempt at putting clothes on them. However, three members of a Florida family had to be hospitalized after attempting to dress their dog, a pit bull mix named Scarface¹⁰.

First off, we need to be very clear that the dog’s reaction has nothing to do with its breed. The manner in which the dog was approached and its fear of being confined were what prompted its violent reaction. From that point forward, the dog was simply trying to defend itself, especially after one of the sons in the family tried stabbing the dog in the neck. This dog absolutely, positively did not want to be wearing clothes for any reason.

Naturally, animal control was called in an attempt to subdue the now-agitated dog. A tranquilizer dart had absolutely no effect and officers used a bean bag gun and eventually a stun gun to gain control of the dog. There is no word as to the current condition of the dog or its owners. However, this should probably be a lesson to everyone who thinks that dressing their dog, especially a large breed, is cute. It’s not. They don’t like it. Don’t do it.

That’s all we have space and time for at the moment. Be sure that we’re staying on top of changing developments and will do our best to sort through all the mess to find the things you should know. We would love it if you would consider sponsoring our efforts here, subscribe so that you don’t miss anything, and share so that we can grow. As always, be careful out there and we’ll all be back tomorrow.

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5 Things You Should Know: 12.31.2016

December 31, 2016

charles i. letbetter - 5 things you should know: 12.31.16

04:33:14 12/31/2016

https://youtu.be/KkIJvxmtSo0

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This Year Of Misery Ends Today

It’s Saturday morning, children. More importantly, it’s the last day of 2016. We’re finally getting this year out of our way and praying that next year isn’t actually worse, as some are predicting. Temps are on the warm side this morning in Indianapolis, but it’s incredibly windy so it still feels cold. You’ll definitely want to bundle up if you are among those daring to go out this evening.

We’re walking right past the continuing talk about Russia and hacking, even though it now appears they hacked a Vermont utility. We’re also watching but not commenting on a North Carolina judge blocking the state legislature’s attempt to strip power from the incoming Governor. We’ll save those for next year. Instead, we have 5 things you really should know.

China Is Shutting Down Its Ivory Trade

Ivory comes from one primary source: the tusks of bull elephants. As the elephants have been hunted into near extinction, most Western countries, including all of Europe and both American continents, have banned the trade of ivory. While that ban has been in place for several years, one lone holdout has created an incredibly large black market: China. Now, that is all changing as China announced yesterday that they are banning the trade of ivory by the end if 2017¹.

You should know that China had previously announced plans to shut down its commercial market this year, but what makes yesterday’s announcement so important is that they will now stop processing ivory so that it can even be used in the commercial market. All processing of ivory in the country ends in March of this coming year. This is a huge deal for the safety and longevity of African elephants who have continued to be poached despite bans on hunting them across the African continent.

Of course, there’s always a dark side to changes like this. The ban will almost certainly fuel an even stronger black market for existing ivory pieces. Laws for trading existing ivory are much more spotty and differ dramatically from country to country. There are also some exceptions to China’s ban. Still, this is ultimately a good move toward a more sustainable planet.

A Different Kind Of Police Shooting

We have been watching this story with some curiosity as it has grown over the week. On Monday, the Greek Ambassador to Brazil, Kyriakos Amiridis, went missing. On Wednesday, his wife finally reported him as missing. On Thursday, the ambassador’s body was found in a burned-out car. Then yesterday, a police officer admitted to killing the ambassador and by the end of the day it was discovered that the police officer was having an affair with the ambassador’s wife. Both the wife and the police officer are now in custody².

I know, it really sounds like the plot of a best-selling mystery book, doesn’t it? I’m sure the tale will get even more interesting as the entire story unravels. What you should know is that the ambassador’s wife is a native Brazilian, so she likely won’t be able to hide under diplomatic immunity laws in the country. A cousin of the police officer is also being held on charges that he helped move the ambassador’s body. Police say that blood stains on the sofa indicate that the ambassador was stabbed several times before being moved to the car in an attempt to cover the crime.

Officially, the Greek government has not commented on the event at all, which seems a bit strange. Brazil’s Prime Minister apologized, which is standard protocol for incidents such as this. It doesn’t seem likely that anyone with direct government ties was involved, though. This does give Rio another black eye, however, and is likely to further hurt an already struggling tourist business.

When Your Birth Certificate Is Wrong

Mistakes happen just about everywhere, but when they happen on a birth certificate getting them fixed can be challenging, and that’s when the error is something simple. On Tuesday, however, 55-year-old Sara Kelly Keenan finally got her corrected birth certificate in the mail and it’s one for the record books. In the “gender” field, instead of saying male or female, Keenan’s gender is listed as “intersex,” the first time that designation has been made on a birth certificate in the United States³.

Understand, this isn’t a matter of Keenan preferring to identify one way or another. She was born with male genes, female genitalia, and mixed internal reproductive organs. Intersex. Keenan uses female pronouns when referring to herself, but even that comes after no small amount of confusion. When she was born, her parents and doctors agreed to keep her intersex status a secret. Back in the 1960s, intersex people were referred to as “hermaphrodites,” a term that carries a lot of social bias. For three weeks, she was listed as a boy, and then issued a new birth certificate that said she was female.

When did everything change? Her father finally confessed in 2012 that they had hidden the information from her. This comes after years of hormone replacement therapy and confusion. The new birth certificate is important not only for Keenan, however, but for thousands of intersex people for whom neither the male or female gender fits. Given the importance of birth certificates for things such as which bathroom one uses in North Carolina, this is a tremendous step forward that will affect a lot of people from here on out.

Recognizing The Right To Learn

Speaking of gender, A huge step forward in transgender rights came in India this week where a school exclusively for transgender students opened, admitting 10 students who had previously dropped out of school⁴. India has a transgender population of over two million people. In 2014, transgender people there were given equal rights under the law, including the right to marry and inherit land. That doesn’t mean that they are quickly welcomed into society, however, and still face a tremendous amount of bias and sometimes violence. Transgender people are often thrown out of their homes and can have tremendous difficulty finding jobs.

The school in the city of Kochi aims to help reduce some of the problems by helping transgender adults sit for exams necessary to graduate high school. The program is very similar to the GED in the United States. The school has admitted six students so far, with more waiting to be admitted. The students all have a sponsor covering the cost of the education as well as food and housing. The centre also pays for gender reassignment surgery at government hospitals.

Opening the school hasn’t been easy. The school’s founder, who is also transgender, says she approached over 700 property owners before finding a suitable location. Most, she said, didn’t understand what she was trying to do, thinking that she wanted the space for prostitution. While the school is starting small, organizers hope to create a model that can be used across all of India. Approximately 56% of transgender people in India dropped out of high school, so this could be a dramatic turning point for all of them.

And Finally …

Normally, when you think of older people collecting things, one thinks of memorabilia such as pottery or antique furniture and the like. No one ever expects them to be hoarding a fortune in artwork, especially not in their garage. Yet, that is exactly what an elderly French couple was convicted of doing yesterday⁵. The court found Pierre Le Guennec and his wife Danielle guilty of illegally procuring the artwork of Pablo Picasso from the Picasso home and handed down a two-year suspended sentence.

This has not been an easy case to decide, however. The couple didn’t exactly sneak into the Picasso home and steal the art in the dead of night. Pierre was an electrician who was working in the Picasso home at the time of the artist’s death in 1973. The argument has been that the couple was given the artworks by Jacqueline Picasso, who may or may not have had a right to give the artwork away. A feud as to who holds the rights to Picasso’s work lasted until Jacqueline’s death in 1986. Claude Picasso is now generally considered to be the rightful heir of the Picasso estate.

What you should know is that no one knew the couple had the more than 180 paintings and a book with more than 91 sketches until Pierre took them to have them appraised about seven years ago. The artwork is supposedly in good condition despite having been in the garage the past 40 years. The current appraisal stands at about $105 million but could likely go quite a bit higher.

And that’s it. We are done for the year. We are taking a break tomorrow so that we can consider possibly trying to stay awake to see in the New Year. We’ll hopefully be back bright and early Monday morning. Until then, we hope you have a good day. Happy New Year!

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5 Things You Should Know: 12.28.2016

December 28, 2016

https://youtu.be/yARx2XOyYbE

This year is not over yet

Good morning, we’re back after some holiday complications, ready to tackle what’s left of this tremendously upsetting year. There certainly will be plenty of reasons to celebrate its passing Saturday night. My concern at this point is that the year might try for a big finish. So please, wherever you go, whatever you do, exercise caution and common sense.

As we’re looking at developing news this morning, there were a couple of shallow earthquakes waking up everyone in the Lake Tahoe region this morning. Zsa Zsa Gabor’s adopted son died just a few days after his mother’s passing. And the president, the one who knows what he’s doing, signed a bill yesterday allowing the FBI and DOJ to re-open civil rights cases more than 20 years old. But that’s not what we’re talking about this morning, is it? Here are the five things you need to know.

Our favorite princess has died

Everyone from a devastated Mark Hamill to Daisy Ridley is remembering actress and author Carrie Fisher this morning. Ms. Fisher passed away yesterday after suffering a heart attack while on a flight from London to Los Angeles¹. The actress was on a tour promoting her new book, The Princess Diarist, and had been on multiple talk shows across the US and Europe. The last interview I saw was with Stephen Colbert just a few weeks ago. She seemed spirited and lively.

Fisher’s ability as an author was perhaps greater than that as an actor. Her 1987 book Postcards From The Edge became an international best seller. When no one else wanted to take on the project, she produced the movie version of the book as well. She was open about the challenges she faced and honest about the demons that still dogged her.

Yet, it will always be her role as Star Wars’ enigmatic Princess Leia that we will always remember first. For an entire generation of young people, she was their first Hollywood crush. She played a character that didn’t need to be sexy to be meaningful, but still managed to be sexy anyway. She was tough enough to fight off the boys and take on an empire. She became a part of our lives, our youth, that we will never forget. Rest in peace, Ms. Fisher. You will not be forgotten.

No more mall rats

By now, you’ve likely heard of the numerous incidents that occurred at malls in several cities Monday night. So far, police have not found any evidence linking the different events², but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one and that parents shouldn’t be taking notice for multiple reasons.

First, it has been years since hanging out at the mall was actually cool. I have three boys, the youngest of which is 18. The only way you would get any of them in a mall at any age was if the closest Game Stop was in that mall. Even then, it was go in, buy the game, and get out. The mall was not a place they wanted their friends to see them. This is a large part of why retail malls are in decline. So, if your child is hanging out at the mall, you might consider the possibility they have social issues.

Second, the possibility of a social media connection has yet to be fully explored. Police say they are still investigating that possibility. More than that, though, this is a wake-up call for parents who think they can drop their children off anywhere and not have to worry. Over the past five years, we’ve seen violence break out at everything from graduation parties to church outings. Locally, malls are at least temporarily requiring that any child under the age of 18 must have a parent with them. Parents, time to step up and take some responsibility because your children don’t know what that is.

Behave yourself on that flight

Malls aren’t the only place where one needs to watch their behavior. Incidents of people being removed from flights for various outbursts and bad behavior has increased this past year. In one such incident earlier this month, 80s pop singer Richard Marx and his wife, former MTV VJ Daisy Fuentes, had to step in and help subdue an “unruly” passenger aboard a Korean Airlines flight they were on⁵. Both Marx and Fuentes were highly critical of the airline after the incident, saying that flight attendants did not know how to properly use tasers and ropes that were aboard the plane.

That has now changed. Korean Air told Reuters yesterday, “We have decided to improve our conditions and procedure on using Taser guns to cope with violent acts and disturbances on board in a fast and efficient manner.⁶” What this means is that flight attendants no longer have to wait to assess the level of danger a passenger might pose to others on the plane. Previously, flight attendants were instructed to only use the tasers if the lives of the passengers and crew were in danger or the safety of the flight was threatened.

Exactly how this new policy plays out in the air remains to be seen. Korean Air did not set a time for implementation of the new policy. Still, if I were on a Korean Air flight, I’d think twice before demanding that full can of soda.

Does Versace have a race issue?

Around the world, the Versace fashion brand is known for the look that Donatella Versace herself exhibits: platinum blond hair and a sexy silhouette. We wouldn’t expect to see anything less from her runway shows or her retail stores. However, a charge of blatant racism has been leveled against the brand, complete with a special code used in retail stores to alert employees when a black person enters the store³.

The charge is part of a lawsuit filed by a former Versace outlet employee who says he was fired for being of mixed race. According to the lawsuit, the manager instructed the employee “to say ‘D410’ in a casual manner when a black person entered the store.” When the employee told the manager he was part black, he claims the manager treated him differently and subsequently fired him without cause.

Racial bias is not a new charge for anyone in the fashion industry. Runways are notoriously white, something that has drawn no small amount of attention in recent years. I went back and checked, of the 52 looks shown in Versace’s most recent Ready-to-Wear show, only five were presented on models of color⁴. Yet, that is above the norm and viewed as progressive for the fashion industry. Whether the lawsuit has merit remains to be seen, but fashion as a whole, not just Versace, needs to realize that racism doesn’t work for them anymore.

And finally …

We’ve been told for how long now that print media is dying? I have one word for you: LIES! This may not please the incoming president-elect all that much, but the nation’s largest newspapers are doing quite well, thank you. Several outlets, including NPR⁷, announced yesterday that the Washington Post is expanding their newsroom by adding 60 new journalists. The Post is one of the newspapers the president-elect criticized for their coverage of his campaign. That coverage seems to have paid off, though, as the newspaper reports Post‘s online traffic had increased by nearly 50 percent in the past year, and new subscriptions have grown by 75 percent, more than doubling digital subscription revenue.

At the same time, the New York Times, LA Times, and Wall Street Journal have also reported significant jumps in their subscription rates and profitability. Speculation is that more people are relying on large newspapers and their extensive reporting capabilities to help keep the new White House in check. Throughout the presidential campaign, the newspapers took the lead in fact-checking both candidates and took the lead in presenting any possible scandals or conflicts of interests. Americans who don’t trust the incoming president are hopeful that newspapers continue to force a level of transparency in government despite objections from the West Wing.

Whether this growth trend extends on down to local and regional newspapers remains to be seen, but I certainly wouldn’t count them out so long as newspapers step up to the role of keeping all levels of government responsible to those who elected them.

That’s all we have time to discuss this morning. We’re watching for potential news coming out of the UN this morning as well as a severe weather system forming over Alaska that could affect the Northern US later this week. This year doesn’t need any more causalties so please, whatever you do, be safe out there. We’ll see you again tomorrow.

Current Issues / News & Comment

5 Things You Should Know: 12.26.2016

December 26, 2016

charles i. letbetter - 5 Things You Should Know 122616

The year just keeps getting worse

If you’re reading or watching this, then congratulations, you survived the holidays, which is more than a lot of people can say. We deliberately skipped over all the bad news on Saturday in an attempt to give the weekend a positive spin. It didn’t work, though, did it? The universe just couldn’t go two days without inviting some disaster into our lives.

So here we go, the last week of 2016. We have snow in the Northernmost states, rain across the South and Midwest, with a chance of tornadoes just strong enough to make sure the steps down to your fraidy hole are clear. Bubble wrap your favorite living musician, I have a feeling that fate might try to finish the year strong. From all the disasters, we chose 5 things you should know.

We’ve lost our Faith

Both the US and the UK is in mourning at news of the death of singer George Michael yesterday. The 53-year-old singer is said to have died quietly at his home in London of heart failure. Michael first came to prominence as half the pop duo Wham! but it was as a solo artist that his career really took off and captured the hearts of millions of people around the world. Tributes started pouring in the moment the word hit the news yesterday afternoon.

There are a number of songs for which George Michael is remembered. Faith, Freedom ’90, I’m never gonna dance again, and the holiday favorite of the broken-hearted, Last Christmas. These are the kind of songs that are likely to dominate many of the memorials we’ll inevitably see popping up all over the Internet today. However, the song that might be most responsible for catapulting him to stardom isn’t on most George Michael playlists: I want your Sex.

Released in 1986, the salacious song was wildly popular but left radio stations and the still=new MTV channel with a conundrum as to whether to play the song. Conservatives were outraged that the word sex had gotten onto an album without any warning. Most stations refused to play the song at all. Those who did, limited it to late-night hours. The singer also courted controversy with the song Outside after an LA police officer outed the singer as gay.

Rest In Peace, George Michael, and thank you for letting us know it’s okay to think about sex. Here’s the video:

Russia Loses A Choir

Unfortunately, George Michael wasn’t the only loss to the music world yesterday. There was at first a sense of suspicion when news hit the wire yesterday that a Russian plane in route to Syria had gone down in the Black Sea. The suspicion turned to sorrow, though, when it was announced that the group known widely as The Red Army Choir was on that flight, heading to entertain troops at a military base².

Formally known as the Alexandrov Ensemble, the all-male group was known for their loud if not stirring recordings of Soviet and Russian anthems. However, they group had their lighter side as well and was especially popular for their cover of Daft Punk’s, Lucky during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Sixty-four members of the ensemble, including director Valery Khalilov, were aboard the plane yesterday. Russian officials this morning are saying that mechanical malfunctions were responsible for the plane going down, dismissing any idea that terrorism might have played a role.

While the full group has 186 members, most of the singers were on the flight. While the group will almost certainly rebuild, the loss for the people of Russia is significant. Here is a video of the group doing its cover of Lucky:

https://youtu.be/BYbtAZjB8QM

Carrie Fisher Is Hanging On

Fortunately, not all the news was bad yesterday. Star Wars fans around the world took a deep breath and held it when word was released late Saturday that actress Carrie Fisher had suffered a “cardiac episode” while on a flight from London to Los Angeles. We finally release that breath yesterday when Ms. Fisher’s mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, announced that her daughter was in stable condition and resting comfortably³.

While Ms. Fisher is both an accomplished actor and writer, it is her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise that made her’s a household name. In fact, the actress had been in London promoting her latest book, The Princess Diarist, a memoir depicting her time filming her iconic turn as Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series³. In recent years, Ms. Fisher has not been shy talking about the amount of sex and drug use on the film sets of the 1970s and 80s.

Here’s video of her latest interview just a few weeks ago with The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert:

Fake News Creates An International Incident

Fake news has reared its ugly head again and proven that even those in power can sometimes be fooled by an article that appears to know what it’s talking about. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif found an article on the site AWD News claiming that Israel’s former defense minister threatened to attack Pakistan if they sent troops to Syria. Naturally, that’s the kind of news that doesn’t set well with a defense minister. Asif did as other world leaders are increasingly doing and took to Twitter to register his objection. He reminded Israel that “Pakistan is also a nuclear power.⁴”

Focus on the key word, “also.” You see, Israel has never actually admitted that they have nuclear capability. Doing so would put any such program under United Nations observation, thus rendering it very much not a secret. Historically, the US has helped keep this not-so-secret secret by blocking attempts within the UN Security Council to demand inspections of the nuclear sites Israel won’t admit that it has.

With that same UN Security Council denouncing Israeli settlements in the West Bank last week, tensions between Israel and much of the world are very high at the moment⁵. The thinly veiled threat was considered very serious. Israel’s defense ministry tweeted back that the alleged news story was fake, but Pakistan has yet to reply to that tweet.

Is Your Makeup Too Heavy?

And finally, here’s something you might not think of too terribly often: the amount of lead in the makeup you use. The Food and Drug Administration released new guidelines last week on the amount of lead to be used in cosmetics made in the US⁶. The non-binding set of guidelines addresses the amount of lead in things such as lipstick, shampoo, eye shadows and body lotions. Generally speaking, most products have a lead content of less than 10 parts per million (ppm). However, there remain a few brands across every category that still have higher lead content.

The renewed concern about lead in products comes as an increasing number of cities are finding high levels of lead in their drinking water due to corroding pipes. Where lead levels in the body may already be higher than normal, lead in other products becomes a more serious issue as the lead builds up within the body and can reach dangerous levels. For people living in places such as Flint, Michigan or St. Joseph, Louisiana, this can be a very serious issue.

Complicating the matter is the fact that not all products list the amount of lead on their label. I talked briefly with Kat about the subject and she confirmed that most makeup artists don’t look at lead content as a point of concern and typically don’t check their products. Again, this new paper is not binding. However, it may indicate a much more carefully managed position by the FDA in the future.

That’s all we have time for this morning. We have some personal obligations today that require us to be on the road early, so we don’t have time to put this in video format before we need to leave. We’ll try and do that again tomorrow. Until then, please stay safe. Hear’s hoping this Monday is a good one.

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5 Things You Should Know: 12/22/2016

December 22, 2016

charles i. letbetter - 20% of activities will involve at least one of the seven digital giants. That list consists of Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent.

04:58:13 12/22/2016

https://youtu.be/eJKvb6KDcp0

A brief moment of clarity between confusion and chaos

Hey there! Welcome to Thursday, the one day this week that doesn’t have some form of holiday attached to it. This is your last chance to catch your breath before all the candles and tinsel and eggnog take over and send the next four days into a complete tizzy. Don’t ask me what a tizzy is. My mother used that word often around the holidays, though, and it is a rather fun way to describe the chaos of the season.

We have seriously bad weather shaping up for this weekend. What it comes down to is if you’re not getting snow you’re probably getting thunderstorms with the possibility of tornadoes across the central states. At least you won’t have to share road space with driverless Uber cars as they’ve had their registration suspended, and the last remaining civilians are leaving Aleppo, Syria today. I look at the news feeds from Reuters and the Associated Press and see a lot of chaos. Let’s see if we can provide a bit of clarity.

North Carolina lawmakers are still jackasses

The whole purpose of the North Carolina state legislature meeting in special session yesterday was so they could repeal the controversial HB2 bill that prohibited transgender people from using the restroom with which they identify. That didn’t happen¹.

Please note that the city of Charlotte kept their end of the bargain. They met Wednesday morning and repealed the anti-discrimination bill that started this whole mess. Heaven forbid transgender people have any legal protections in the state of North Carolina. What was supposed to happen next was a complete repeal of HB2. However, Republican legislators added language to the repeal that would have called for a “cooling off” period of indeterminate length wherein no city or county could enact their own anti-discrimination law, effectively making the repeal moot. Obviously, that didn’t set well with state Democrats who backed off the bill. Meanwhile, hardline Republicans were upset that any repeal was considered at all.

I don’t know what they’re putting in the water in North Carolina but this is one of the most ridiculous displays of improper governance I’ve ever seen. The Charlotte city council has not yet said how they will respond to this breach of trust. It seems almost certain that this could lead to a new round of boycotts and job losses for the state on top of the millions already lost. I think Santa can just skip the entire state of North Carolina this year.

Security concerns across the US

After the attack in Berlin that left 12 dead, and especially given the fact that authorities across Europe are still looking for the Tunisian man accused of the attack, security is on high alert this holiday weekend anywhere large numbers of people are planned to gather². If you are traveling, expect to see more police and TSA officers roaming the concourse and one is likely to see especially high security with international travel to and from Europe.

Here in the US, heavily-armed counterterrorism officers are standing guard at places such as New York’s pop-up Christmas markets in Union Square, Bryant Park, and Columbus Circle. In Chicago, the police presence is especially high at Daley Plaza with police vehicles parked so as to prevent a truck or any other vehicle from getting through. In Los Angeles, where there are several large events planned for the weekend and preparations are under way for the Rose parade, police have placed large equipment at the entrance to large events to prevent an attack such as what happened in Berlin.

While police presence in the largest cities are the most visible, smaller cities across the country have taken their share of precautions as well. Truck rental companies everywhere have been asked to contact local police should they encounter someone renting a truck who cannot give an adequate answer to what their plans for the vehicle might be. Police assigned to large events such as holiday football games and parades are more heavily armed and making good use of canine patrols. If ever there were a time for the phrase, “if you see something, say something,” this would be it.

Telephone patent wars

While many companies are winding down operations for the year and trying to end on a nice, tidy note, Nokia decided this would be a good time to file suit against Apple for patent infringement³. Nokia filed the suits in both Germany and the US, claiming that patents for displays, user interfaces, software, antennas, chipsets and video coding were being used by Apple outside their 2011 licensing agreement.

However, Apple says that Nokia is asking too much for the license to the disputed technologies. To that end, Apple has filed suit against Acacia Research Corp (ACTG.O) and Conversant Intellectual Property Management Inc [GEGGIM.UL], accusing them of colluding with Nokia to extract and extort exorbitant prices for the technology. Where this really gets confusing is when you realize that the Apple suit was filed just one day after Conversant named a former Apple executive as its new CEO.

What this ultimately means for consumers is that new editions of the famous Apple iPhone could be delayed and already high prices could go even higher. While Nokia phones hold an insignificant share of the market, the patents they hold are licensed by a number of phone makers around the world making this an issue that could affect almost everyone’s pocket book over the next couple of years.

The high cost of advertising

Yet another price fixing scandal is in the news this week and this time it involves the four largest holding companies in the advertising industry. Omnicom, Publicis, WPP, and IPG have all confirmed that they have received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division⁴. The subpoenas are part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of bid fixing for video and post-production services within the industry.

Without talking too much shop, what the Justice Department is claiming is that subsidiaries of the holding group, with the knowledge and implied consent of the partners in each group, are colluding with video and post-production companies to rig bids on large projects in exchange for promising the production companies additional business down the road. Those within the ad industry know this is not an uncommon practice in an effort to win a large, competitive account. Officially, however, the agencies all state that such practices are forbidden.

Where this all shakes out is that the smaller sub-contracted production companies often end up taking a loss while the big holding groups reap the profits. Small companies are hesitant to turn down the request, especially if it means getting to work on a high-profile account such as Ford or Coca-Cola. The downside is that even if the Justice Department is able to prove the big four are guilty of bid rigging, there is not a lot of teeth to their bite. Fines are the only punishment likely to be imposed and the companies would simply compensate by raising prices for their services.

And finally …

We had to do some digging to find much in the way of good news this morning, but we found it out in Arizona where a Virginia couple announced yesterday they had given birth to a set of quintuplets earlier this month⁵. Margaret and Michael Baudinet are the proud parents of four girls and a boy after a very careful and quiet pregnancy. The family temporarily moved to Phoenix moved to be closer to Dr. John Elliott, a specialist in multiple-birth pregnancies.

Anyone who has experienced multiple births knows how fraught with anxiety they can be. Even having twins presents a series of complications not seen in a single childbirth. However, doctors at the Arizona hospital say the delivery of the quints went extremely well. The babies all weighed a little more than three pounds at birth and were delivered within 17 minutes of each other thanks to a team of 24 medical professionals.

While the babies are still in neonatal ICU, they are all breathing on their own and are being bottle fed. The Baudinets plan to return to Virginia with their new family sometime next month.

That’s all we’re telling on this Thursday. Please do be careful as you are out and about with all those last-minute activities. We really do hope you’ll do us the favor of subscribing. That’s all we want for Christmas. Stay warm and we will see you again tomorrow.

Advertising / Fashion / News & Comment

12/13/2016: 5 Things You Need To Know

December 13, 2016

charles i. letbetter - 12/13/16 5 Things You Need To Know

Ready Or Not, Here Comes Winter

https://youtu.be/eGn8i6W1AYI

Hey there! I hope you’re ready for some white stuff falling from the sky today. The jet stream has dipped and not only are we going to see snow across most the Northern states, the temperatures over the next few days are going to get dangerously low. Those of you who have pets will want to be especially careful to limit the amount of time they spend outside. Be sure to check paws and get them nice and dry when they come in.

This is one of those days where we’re waiting to see how things develop before getting too involved in stories such as who might possibly be the next Secretary of State and just how serious the Russian hacking scandal is. We don’t want to get involved in speculation and end up delivering wrong information. We do have 5 things we’re sure about, though, so let’s take a look at those.

1. One Step Closer

This painfully long election cycle came one step closer to being over yesterday as the whole vote recount situation came to an end in all three states.¹ While the numbers in Wisconsin shifted ever so slightly, the outcome remains unchanged. Efforts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were effectively blocked by federal court judges, clearing the way now for the final step of the electoral college vote next week.

Yes, there have been some rumors of rogue electors possibly changing their vote, but don’t expect much from that hullabaloo, either. First of all, it is illegal in most states for electors to change their vote. Secondly, it would require a massive defection of more than 70 electors to align the electoral college vote with the popular vote. That’s never happened in our country’s history and I’m not seeing anyone with any authority suggesting it can happen now.

The bottom line is we’re tired of this whole election process and whether we like the outcome or not we all want it to be over. The electoral college votes on Monday and that should end this election for good.

2. Death Comes Quickly

Republican members of Congress campaigned long and hard that they would overturn and replace the Affordable Care Act as quickly as they could under the new administration. That issue alone has had a number of low-income families worried about the status of their health care going into the new year. I tried making an appointment with my own doctor yesterday and was told they’re full until mid-March except for emergencies. Everyone is trying to get care in before they lose whatever coverage they may have.

Initially, Republican leadership said they would replace the ACA as they dismantle it. However, comments yesterday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicate that the replacement might not come as quickly as initially promised². Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, is expressing some concern that the system could collapse if a replacement doesn’t accompany any repeal. He told NPR: “I don’t think the Republicans have come to grips yet that it’s going to be their responsibility to keep the wheels on Obamacare.”

America’s Health Insurance Plans — the trade group that represents health insurance companies— seems to agree. Last week they circulated a statement saying, “Making sudden, significant changes now, or mid-year, will jeopardize the coverage [those insured] depend on.”

Any move Congress makes could potentially leave upwards of 20 million Americans uninsured. Let’s hope they use the upcoming winter break to think through this matter a bit more.

3. Bickering In The Fashion World

We typically don’t get a lot of serious fashion news this time of year because everyone is focused on getting the most out of holiday sales as possible and ending the year on a high note. However, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) reported yesterday that there seems to be a kerfluffle between Italian powerhouse Dolce & Gabbana and German designer Philipp Plein³. Plein posted a copy of a letter he received from Dolce & Gabbana’s attornies to his Instagram account on Sunday. In the letter, D&G accuses Plein of trying to “steal” at least ten Dolce & Gabbana sales associates from the label’s flagship store in Milan.

Timing is part of the issue here. Phillip Plein is opening his own new store in Milan before the end of the year. Understandably, he would want sales associates who are well connected with luxury buyers in the city. Plein already has two former D&G employees working for him and the accusation is that they have approached their former colleagues about jumping ship.

Plein said on his Instagram post: “This is a free country and everybody can choose by themselves who they want to work for!!” To a large extent, we expect he’s correct. Unless Plein’s employees are trying to solicit Dolce & Gabbana employees inside the D&G store, there’s not a lot D&G can do to stop the employees from leaving unless there is already a non-compete claus in their employment contracts.

Nothing like a little drama to end the year.

4. Golden Globe Nominations Are Out

Nominees for the diverse Golden Globe awards were announced in Beverly Hills yesterday⁴ and, unsurprisingly, Hollywood is all abuzz with talk about who’s in and who’s out. Best actor in a drama nods went to Casey Affleck, Joel Edgerton, Andrew Garfield, Viggo Mortensen, and Denzel Washington. Meanwhile, Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga, and Natalie Portman took the nominations on the women’s side.

Of course, with every list of nominations comes the talk about who didn’t make it⁵. This time, it’s Hollywood legends Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Warren Beatty who get to sit this one out. There was, apparently, expectations that all three would get nominations for their directing efforts this year, but they didn’t and that makes all their fans very sad.

What we need to remember is that the Golden Globes are “feel good” awards. Many of their categories are divided between drama and musical/comedy so that the two disparate forms don’t have to compete with each other. The list of awards and nominees is long and while some pundits like to claim these awards might be an indicator of who gets the Oscar nods early next year, there’s no real evidence to support that theory. The Oscars have their own idiosyncracies that no one actually understands.

Still, the nominations remind us that there were some really fantastic films released this year and I didn’t see most of them. Let’s hope they make it to Netflix quickly.

5. And Finally …

Speaking of largely useless lists, AdWeek has released their list of the top 10 ads for 2016⁶. Again, this has been a good year for some very creative ad work. I’ve been very impressed with the social messages that many companies have put into their ads. Not only are the ads encouraging us to buy a product, but they’re also forcing us, in many cases, to stop and think about what we’re buying and why.

While there is plenty of reason to comment on all the ads in the list, it’s Under Amour’s ad featuring Michael Phelps that takes the top honors. The quality of the filmography plays a lot into the decision and it’s difficult to argue against such a powerful 90 seconds. The ad ran frequently throughout the Olympics and well represents the struggle, the pain, and the training athletes go through to be the best. Here’s a look at the winning ad [Note: due to player limitations, the video may not play well on some mobile devices]:

You can take a look at all ten of the winning ads on AdWeek’s website.

That’s all we’ve got for today. If you must go out, please bundle up and be extremely cautious. Don’t forget to subscribe to our posts and the videos on YouTube. Take care. We hope the rest of your day is enjoyable.

News & Comment / Photography

12/12/16: 5 Things You Need To Know

December 12, 2016

Brace yourself for one wild week

https://youtu.be/-uKr8dRmTXY

Good morning! Now that you’ve survived the weekend we all get to deal with the fact that not only does the weather for much of the United States absolutely SUCK this week, we’re also less than two weeks from Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanza. Those of you who still have shopping to do might want to consider doing it online because the weather outside is going to be beyond frightful in many places.

It’s still early as we’re looking at the news this morning so all the Monday horribleness has yet to hit. However, we have five things you need to know.

1. Prepare To Pay More At The Pump

We’re going to see some higher gas prices this morning because of an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to reduce oil output over the next several months¹. Saudi Arabia, which has long been a hold out on reducing production, agreed over the weekend that they would pull their levels down below 10 billion barrels per day². The reduction is not as much nor as long as some OPEC members would have liked, but it’s enough to create a significant jump in prices.

Goldman is saying that this cut is primarily to balance out excess inventory and doesn’t see the production lasting too long. February futures rose to just above $56 a barrel this morning which is a bit scary for those of us on a budget, but that doesn’t mean a return to $3- and $4-dollar a gallon prices. With the rising prices, US oil production could increase quickly, which would send prices back down.

No one is saying yet what effect the higher prices might have on holiday travel. Most people have already made their plans and we all know how upset grandma would be if we didn’t show up. Still, this could be a difficult budget hit for those who don’t have much wiggle room for extra spending.

^{1. Reuters: “Oil surges after output cuts, strong dollar weighs” By By Saikat Chatterjee Dec 12, 2016, 3:18am EST

2. Reuters: “}^{Goldman says non-OPEC output cut deal aimed at inventory glut“ Dec 12, 2016, 3:15am EST}

2. The Grinch Came To Venezuela Early

Actually, the Venezuelan government says it’s playing Santa Clause after seizing nearly four million toys from a warehouse near Caracas¹. The government is accusing toymaker Kreisel of hoarding the toys in an effort to create scarcity, driving prices up. Stores throughout Venezuela have complained that the company hasn’t been fulfilling orders and when they did the prices were several times higher than normal.

The government’s official statement says that the toys will be sold at steep discounts. However, William Contreras, Venezuela’s national superintendent for the defense of socioeconomic rights, has promised that “every child will get a toy” for Christmas, so we’ll see exactly how that works out. No word yet from the toy company. All this story needs is a big dog and a bunch of meddling kids and we have a blockbuster movie for the holidays.

^{1. National Public Radio: “Venezuela Seizes Nearly 4 Million Toys, Saying They’re Overpriced” By Bill Chappell December 11, 20164:23 PM ET}

3. Cars Without Drivers Are Coming

If you find yourself driving through Michigan, particularly the Detroit area, don’t be surprised if you look over in the lane next to you and find that no one is driving the car next to you. That reality just became possible last week as the Michigan legislature passed a group of bills allowing autonomous cars to drive on public roads¹. The purpose, of course, is to allow Detroit automakers to compete with companies such as Google who have been testing driverless cars in California for some time now.

In fact, this new set of bills, which Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says he’ll sign, give Detroit automakers more freedom and less oversight with their testing than any other state with the possible exception of Florida. California, which has been the leader in autonomous car testing, still requires a human driver as backup, just in case something goes wrong. The Michigan bills don’t require any humans in the car at all. While this is exactly the type of laws automakers have been wanting, the safety issue is probably going to be a sticky one.

Michigan Transportation Director Kirk Steudle says they’re leaving it up to automakers to decide when a car is safe for the road. Uhm, he is aware that GM just recalled another 50,000 vehicles last week², right? I’m not sure trusting automakers to determine when a car is safe is necessarily the smartest move in the book. This could make driving in Michigan very interesting.

^{1. Associated Press: “MICHIGAN LETS AUTONOMOUS CARS ON ROADS WITHOUT HUMAN DRIVER” By TOM KRISHER Dec 9, 11:10 AM EST

2. Associated Press: “GENERAL MOTORS TO RECALL NEARLY 50,000 POLICE SUVS” Dec 10, 11:52 AM EST}

4. You’re Not Still Using That Samsung Phone, Are You?

We all know Samsung has had some problems with their Note 7 phones doing bad things like blowing up and catching fire. The company issued a recall of all the phones last month and one might think that would put the problem behind them. Apparently not. It would seem there are still a significant number of people who, for whatever reason, did not turn in their phones. That means there are still Note 7 phones out there ready to go boom when one least expects it.

So, Samsung has announced that it is disabling all Note 7 phones in the US with a software update.¹ Samsung issued a statement last Friday saying that the mid-December software update will render the phones completely useless. They won’t even charge properly. Danger averted, right?

Not necessarily. Those who bought their phones through Verizon won’t be getting the update. Verizon claims that it doesn’t want to strand customers who don’t have a backup phone. Therefore, it will not be pushing the software update out to its customers.

^{1. Reuters: “}^{Samsung to disable Note 7 phones in the U.S. via software update” Dec 9, 2016, 1:12pm EST}

5. And Finally …

Here’s one for all my photography friends and colleagues out there. Flickr, the photo hosting service owned by Yahoo, has released data for the year showing that camera phones dominated its service once again. Are we surprised? No, not at all. Flickr is a pedestrian service, not one limited to professionals. Therefore, it makes sense that pedestrian cameras would dominate. What we do find surprising, however, is that only two DSLRs, both Canon EOS 5D models, made the top ten and mirrorless cameras account for only three percent of the photos on the site.

I’ll be honest, while the data is certainly interesting, it doesn’t concern me a great deal as a photographer. I don’t use Flickr and haven’t since it sold to Yahoo several years ago. The site was designed for and is dominated by amateurs. That’s not a bad thing, but there is a definite difference between the tools used by Mom and Pop on vacation versus the professional taking your family portrait.

If anything, the report shows how dramatic the divide is between equipment used by professional versus amateur photographers. As the price for professional equipment goes up and the quality of cell phone cameras increases, we’re going to see that divide become more noticeable. This especially applies when discussing mirrorless cameras which are almost totally a tool used by the pros.

^{1. Flickr blog: “}^{Smartphones Dominate Flickr Uploads in 2016, Apple Leads Device Makers”}^{December 6, 2016}

That’s the five things we think you should know for this Monday. We’ll be keeping an eye on things as they develop today and be back with more news first thing in the morning. Now, get out there and make this Monday beg for mercy.

News & Comment

5 Things You Need To Know: 12/10/16

December 10, 2016

It’s cold out, so watch where you put your tongue.

https://youtu.be/d7_qSdp3jss

charles i. letbetter - news 121016

Good frosty morning to ya’. It is 4:30 AM EST as we start looking at the news this morning. We have a wind chill of 15° as we let the dog out. I was careful to warn him to not stick his tongue against the fence post, which raises the question whether dogs, or any animal for that matter, have the same danger when they stick their tongue against metal as humans do. I’ve never seen a dog’s tongue stuck to a flagpole.

Either way, this is our first attempt at gathering news and comment in the morning. I’ll admit that my model here is the late Paul Harvey, whose morning news and comment on the radio was a staple of our mornings when I was a child. I hated having to watch television news with Poppa, but I enjoyed Paul Harvey. Not that we’ll actually emulate the master. I’m not that witty, nor that friendly, actually. What we want to do is make sure you have the facts with just a touch of opinion. We’ll include our sources and you can take it from there.

First up, the CIA has confirmed Russia interfered in the election to help Trump win

charles i. letbetter - news 121016

We’ve been reading since October about allegations the Russians were behind hacks into the DNC servers resulting in sometimes damaging information being published on Wikileaks. What we’re finding out now, according to a story in the Washington Post ¹ is that the CIA believes Russians also hacked the RNC but held on to the information in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election. Outside influence of a national election is kind of a big deal, so it’s getting a lot of attention.

However, this isn’t the first time that the issue has come up. In announcing an investigation of foreign hacking of US elections, President Obama said they would be looking at the 2014 elections as well² because of allegations that China was behind hacks to both the major parties during the off-year elections. Lisa Monaco, White House homeland security advisor, said on Friday:

“It is incumbent upon us to take stock of that, to review, to conduct some after action, to understand what this means, what has happened and to impart those lessons learned, and that’s what we’re going to go about doing.”

There’s no question that this is new ground and it is highly possible that laws concerning this sort of spying and influence are insufficient to actually support any real retaliation should the incoming administration and/or Congress actually have the guts to do anything about it.

However, the signs are that neither the president-elect nor Republican leadership in Congress is quite ready to blame Russia for anything. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell questioned the accuracy of the CIA report³ as did the Trump transition team who tweeted the statement: “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction”. Granted, the CIA still has egg on its face from that massive foul-up. But that was 15 years ago. Methods of investigation have improved and this is a very different field of operation.

Nothing any investigation finds changes the outcome of the election. Influenced or not, you are still responsible for casting your own vote and we all have to live with the outcome.

^{1. Washington Post: “Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House” By Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller December 9 at 10:45 PM

2. National Public Radio: “}^{Obama Orders Sweeping Review Of International Hacking Tied To U.S. Elections“ By Tamara Keith December 9, 2016

3. Business Insider: “The top Senate Republican had a defiant response to intelligence on Russia’s alleged involvement in the election” By}^{Bryan Logan December 10}

Meanwhile, killing people peacefully apparently isn’t easy

charles i. letbetter - news 121016

Robert Bert Smith, Jr. was convicted of brutally murdering an Alabama store clerk in 1994. There’s no question about that and no one is challenging that conviction. Smith was sentenced to death and after all the necessary appeals that sentence was carried out this past Thursday at 11:00 PM. However, things didn’t go as smoothly as everyone would have liked. According to a report from the Associated Press¹, 13 minutes into the process Smith coughed and heaved his chest. His arms then appeared to move twice after two tests.

This is a problem and there’s going to be a lot of arguing about it. The eighth amendment of the Constitution specifically states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” That is why the method of execution has changed so often over the years. Our definition of “cruel and unusual punishment” has changed along with our understanding of how people die. We want people, even those convicted of horrendous crimes, to die quickly and painlessly. In Mr. Smith’s case, that does not seem to be what happened.

At the center of the controversy is a drug called midazolam which has been called into question in other states. Part of a three-drug cocktail, midazolam is supposed to render a person unconscious so that they don’t feel anything through the rest of the process. However, multiple incidents like this one question the drug’s effectiveness.

Where we ultimately end up, though, yet again, is questioning whether the death penalty is a valid punishment for capital crimes. There are plenty of arguments on both sides of the question^{2, 3} and the topic quickly becomes very emotional when the families of victims are questioned on the matter. The frequency with which these incidents are happening, though, demand that we take a hard look at a subject that forces us to assess our entire philosophy of crime and punishment.

^{1. Associated Press: “CRITICS: ALABAMA EXECUTION HELPS CASE AGAINST SEDATIVE“ By Kim Chandler Dec 9, 5:41 PM EST

2. Internet Journal of Criminology: Reasons for Supporting and Opposing Capital Punishment in the USA: A Preliminary Study By ERIC G. LAMBERT, ALAN CLARKE & JANET LAMBERT, 2004

3. “The Impact of Incentives on Human Behavior: Can We Make It Disappear? The Case of the Death Penalty,” The Economics of Crime: Lessons For and From Latin America, 2010” By H. Naci Mocan, Professor and Chair of Economics at Louisiana State University}

What are you drinking this morning?

charles i. letbetter - news 121016

Whether you’re drinking coffee, tea, juice, or bottled water, chances run pretty high that the Coca-Cola company had something to do with it. They are the most diverse beverage company in the world with holdings and products in every conceivable form of beverage that can possibly be marketed. So, when Coke CEO Muhtar Kent says he’s resigning¹, it’s a rather big deal. Not only could this affect your morning beverage, but everything else you drink throughout the day.

Taking Kent’s place is chief operating officer James Quincey. Quincey has been an executive with Coke for a very long time so there’s little question he knows the business. What’s important is that Quincey is a strong advocate for cutting the company’s dependence on sugary drinks. He was the power behind the recent plan to reduce in the amount of sugar in soft drinks. More importantly, it is his strategy to put more emphasis behind “still” drinks, which is anything not carbonated, that is seen as the company’s best move forward.

Why is Coke moving away from soda? Because it’s not profitable. Soda sales are flat, at best, and have been declining over recent years. Meanwhile, last quarter Coca-Cola’s still beverages rose 3% mainly on higher bottled water and sports drinks volumes². If this is where the profit is, be sure that Coke is going to emphasize those products more.

This doesn’t mean we’ll stop seeing soda on store shelves anytime soon, but with cities imposing taxes on sugary drinks and doctors warning of health implications, there’s little question we need to consider better alternatives.

^{1. Reuters: “}^{Coke CEO Muhtar Kent hands reins to Quincey in widely expected move”}^{By Siddharth Cavale and Sruthi Ramakrishnan Dec 9,2016, 1:58pm EST

2. Market Realist: “}^{Coca-Cola’s Growth Strategy for Soda and Still Beverages” By Sharon Bailey | Oct 31, 2016, 3:35 pm EST}

Have you tried getting tickets to a concert lately?

charles i. letbetter - news 121016

There’s no question that concert tickets, even for relatively minor and unknown acts, are expensive. As long as Live Nation and Ticketmaster hold the ticketing rights to the vast majority of concert venues across the United States, that little detail is only going to get worse. Ticketmaster has already had to pay out a $400 million settlement two years ago and there’s absolutely no sign that they’ve learned their lesson. This is what a monopoly does to prices, folks. We need more players in the game.

At the same time, though, it’s difficult to get tickets to some concerts at all when they sell out within minutes, or even seconds, of those tickets becoming available. How the hell does that happen?

Bots. Unscrupulous scalpers use special software to get around ticket limits and buy up as many tickets as they possibly can. Then, they sell those tickets to you at even higher prices than Live Nation or Ticketmaster was offering them. If you want to go to the show, you have to buy your ticket through a scalper.

However, that practice is now illegal. Congress passed what is known as the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 this week¹ and it seems certain the president will sign the bill. The new law makes it illegal to try and get around set limits on ticket sales or to sell tickets obtained by such means. While no one expects the use of bots to stop overnight, this gives law enforcement new clout in going after resellers who don’t play by the rules.

While this still doesn’t change the monopoly on venue rights, it should make a difference in how much one actually pays for concerts. Unfortunately, even at list price, most concerts are still priced out of reach for the average person.

^{1. National Public Radio: “}^{Bots-B-Gone? Congress Bans Ticket-Scalpers’ Tool Blamed For Quick Sell-Outs” By Bill Chappell December 8, 2016, 1:27 PM ET}

Finally, A Bit Of Good News

charles i. letbetter - news 121016

H.W. Good Elementary School in Herminie, Pennsylvania had a visit from a Secret Santa this week. An anonymous donor decided to pay all the outstanding meal charges for all the students with overdue accounts¹. There is no mention as to exactly how much the generous donor paid to settle the accounts, nor how many of the school’s students were affected. I’m sure, however, that this gift put smiles on the faces of a lot of parents who struggle to keep their children fed.

School meal programs are especially critical in a number of towns and cities across the United States. Indianapolis is fortunate in that the school system here has resolved the problem by providing free meals, both breakfast and lunch, to all its students². However, there is always some jackass who just doesn’t get it and wants to end or reduce the program³. They don’t seem to understand that the quality of our educational system is directly linked to student nutrition. Moreover, theses same elected jackasses are so out of touch they don’t realize that for many of these students their school meals are the only food they get all day.⁴

So, when someone steps up and gives to students like this, it is a gift of unparalleled reward. We can only wish that every school had a secret Santa like this.

^{1. Associated Press: “‘SECRET SANTA’ PAYS OFF MEAL ACCOUNTS AT PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL“ Dec 9, 9:06 AM EST}^{2. WFYI: “}^{IPS Offering Free Meals” By}^{SAM KLEMET}^{MAY 28, 2014

3. Indianapolis Star: “}^{Rep. Todd Rokita wants to restrict free school lunches” Maureen Groppe and Chelsea Schneider, IndyStar Washington Bureau6:26 p.m. EDT May 18, 2016

4. The Washington Post: “Majority of U.S. public school students are in poverty” By Lyndsey Layton January 16, 2015}

That’s all we’ve got for this morning. Please do us a favor and subscribe to all our posts. This undertaking is a huge effort involving several hours of research and writing. Knowing that we have your support helps keep my coffee warm. You’ll see the place to add your email just below this article if you’re on a mobile device, or at the top of the right hand column if you’re old like me and still use a desktop computer.

Here’s hoping your day is a good one.

Editorial / PotD / publishing

Looking For A Better Source Of News

October 26, 2016

charles i. letbetter - looking for a different source for news

To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea. —Henry David Thoreau

charles i. letbetter - looking for a different news source

As the face of information gathering changes, we wonder if there is any news source left that we can trust

Well, fuck.

That just describes my morning, which started at 4:00 AM. Rain started falling while I was walking the dog. I accidentally punted a cat in the dark when we returned. I forgot to block the hallway and the damp dog decided to get in bed with Kat. I spilled my coffee. Then, immediately after clicking the link to a story that sounded interesting, a box pops up telling me this is the last of my free articles for the month. I’ve had better mornings.

The last item, the one about using my last free click for the month is happening more often. As an increasing number of newspapers have had to turn to paywalls to pay the bills, the number of reliable news sources accessible at any given time begins to shrink. A prime example is Business of Fashion, a UK-based fashion magazine that exists primarily online. Having been free since their inception, I’ve come to rely on its up-to-date information of everything going on in the fashion industry. Their news is not only timely but largely reliable. Starting this week, however, they’ve put everything behind a rather expensive paywall. Sure, it comes out to less than the price of a cup of coffee per day if I pay for the whole year in advance, but that would be quite a dent in our cash flow. So, I’ll have to deal with the five articles a month to which I am now limited.

Am I just cheap or is there a problem here?

Social News Junkies

I’ve always had an addiction of sorts to news. At one point, back when print was the only option, I subscribed to three different daily papers, four weekly magazines, and six monthlies. Our recycling bin was always overflowing and there was never any shortage of newsprint for craft projects. Mind you, at that particular point in time, I wasn’t writing a damn thing. All I did was take pictures all day. No one was interested in my opinion and I was much more careful about when and where I expressed such.

A lot has changed over the past 30 years, though. Print subscription rates have gone up, dramatically in some cases. Every major news and information source, from the New York Times to National Public Radio to your local television station has an online presence and, in most cases, when they first came online they were free. The number of news and information sources became so numerous that they gave rise to aggregators such as Huffington Post. The upside of aggregators is that they assembled all the really important stuff from a myriad of different sources. The downside was that they did so with a very marked and obvious political bias. Next came social media, which aggregated the aggregators, and as the volume of viewers grew into the millions the number of sources with blatant political motivations grew as well.

Now, we are faced with two problems. First, the original model of relying on display ads to pay the bills hasn’t worked. Over the past three years, the number of newspapers putting the majority of their content behind a paywall has tripled. They’ve had no choice. They still need to pay the bills. At the same time, however, the reliability of all news/information sources combined has declined, dramatically.

Freedom Of Information

Once upon a time, there was a reliable source of global information that was available to everyone: the public library. Any time I came across a reference to a source to which I wasn’t already subscribed, I could make my way to the library’s periodical section and most usually find the source I needed. Libraries are still there, of course, but as demand for space and revenue has shifted, resources have been removed from periodical subscriptions in favor of Internet needs. Walk into the beautiful downtown branch of the Indianapolis Public Library and the periodicals section is not only significantly smaller, it’s also hidden, relegated to a corner of the second floor.

While the shift away from print subscriptions seems to make sense on the surface, it hasn’t resulted in more online subscriptions. While libraries have invested thousands of dollars in computers with Internet access, those services don’t necessarily include online periodical subscriptions. Why? The majority of public computer use is not for reading periodicals. Job searches and educational programming dominate, right after checking one’s Facebook status. So, if the library doesn’t subscribe to the print edition of a periodical, access is still just as limited as it would be if one had just stayed home.

At the same time, as biased and unreliable sources of information increases, many sources we’ve long considered reliable are either downsizing or going away altogether. Titles that were once mainstays, such as Newsweek and US News And World Report are barely recognizable in their online forms. Reliable, honest information is quickly going the way of the Dodo bird.

Not As Informed As We Think

An informed electorate is necessary for a democracy to work. The entire system dissolves when the people doing the voting are no longer getting reliable, trustworthy information from which they can make intelligent decisions.

Look at us. Look at this election cycle. Consider the absolute nonsense one hears being spouted at political rallies. This is not an informed electorate. In fact, I would be willing to go out on a limb and guess that, at the very least, 70 percent of those who are voting in the upcoming election are making their decision based in part on incorrect and unfounded information. Whether it has come from Fox News or CNN or MSNBC is irrelevant. None of them are reliable. None of them can be trusted. Yet, those are the sources from which an overwhelming number of Americans get their news.

We need new sources of news. We need to know that the articles we’re reading have been vetted, that sources have been confirmed, and that the people and organizations doing the reporting are being held responsible for what they report. Americans, and citizens around the world, need to once again be able to trust the news and information they receive.

At the same time, I am of the opinion that there needs to be a greater distinction between actual news, that information that directly impacts our lives, and more casual forms of information. I may go to the newspaper for the box score of last night’s Cubs/Indians game, but if I want to know the ridiculous pre-game superstitions of the starting lineup I should have to find a different source. Our propensity for finding everything in one place is severely diminishing the value of everything we consume and news is at the very top of that list.

We’re Tired Of This Shit

A new research report from the Pew Research Center states that “More than one-third of social media users are worn out by the amount of political content they encounter.” I have to wonder if any part of that fatigue comes from the fact that, not only has this election cycle gone on far too long, we know all too well that the information being distributed through social media is either horribly slanted or an outright lie. We’re exhausted from trying to parse out what is true (very little) with what isn’t (far too much).

Something in my gut tells me that if the good folks at the Pew Center were to ask, they’d find that a large number of people are equally exhausted with all the social media content they encounter, with the possible exception of kitten videos. In an effort to make themselves more attractive to the masses, news sources have too often become little more than slightly modified versions of what People magazine once was, while sources such as People have become more like The National Enquirer. When we sit down to read what we presume to be a legitimate news article, we shouldn’t have to wonder whether the content and its sources are legitimate!

I understand the need for publications to resort to paywalls. The ad model just doesn’t work for them in an online environment. However, the more distance we put between the American populace and legitimate news sources, the few that remain, the more our democracy continues to erode. Uninformed people make stupid decisions in the voting booth. As bad as this election cycle has been, it can, and will, get worse. We need news sources that are reliable, honest, and accessible. Short of that, there is no hope for democracy to return to our country.

Current Issues / pop culture / PotD

Excessive Media Erodes Our Trust

September 27, 2016

There’s a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don’t have to think, you just have to get more information – gets very dangerous. —Edward de Bono

If you don’t trust media it might be because you’re using too much of it.

CAUTION: YOU ARE CONSUMING MEDIA. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

We changed brands of dog food this morning. We felt the dog wasn’t getting enough from his previous brand, so we did a little bit of research and switched. This morning, I didn’t feel we’d done enough research. The dog normally comes in from our morning walk, eats a little, then falls fast asleep because 4:00 AM is early even for a dog. Except this morning, after inhaling the new food, he didn’t go to sleep. He’s been bouncing around all over the place, terrifying the cats, and getting himself into trouble. So, I hit the brand’s website to double-check the ingredients. I needed specific information and found it on the brand’s website. That makes the dog food company a media provider.

A number of my friends in journalism were sharing this article from the Washington Post decrying how that there really is no such thing as “the media” and, if there is, WaPo certainly isn’t part of it. The argument author Paul Farhi attempts to make is that the term “the media” is too broad to be defining. If one defines “the media” according to the constraints given by The Oxford Dictionary, then practically everything around you is, technically “the media.” Here’s the definition:

(the media)

the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet), regarded collectively

See the problem? If “the media” is the vehicle for all communication, all communication is “the media.”

Not Your Grandfather’s Newspaper

When I first woke up this morning, I knew that the headlines would be dominated by spin on last night’s presidential debate. Among the myriad of headlines was this one: The Media Calls Debate For Clinton. I’d link you to the article, but it has since been removed (apparently an editor woke up). My point is that the article was a case of one information source blamed another information source for communicating information. Seems rather silly, doesn’t it?

When one puts something on the Internet, whether it’s a Facebook status or a tweet or your grandmother’s cookie recipe, there is one underlying purpose: to communicate. When one puts something on the Internet, one is engaging in the digital form of publishing. That makes you part of “the media” and a consumer of media at the same time. Therefore, taking this circular logic all the way around, when one criticizes “the media” online, they are ultimately criticizing themselves.

Yeah, stop and let that sink in for a moment. Hurts the brain a little, doesn’t it?

Believe it or not, all these media sources are less than 100 years old. Only newspapers and printed leaflets existed in 1916. Even the first talking movie, The Jazz Singer, was over a decade away. With so few choices for information, trust in those sources ran high. Chances are, in most areas, your grandparents or great-grandparents knew who published the local newspaper. They probably went to the same church, were members of the same civic groups. Few people would have thought of publishing their own paper or printing their own leaflets. Information needed to be important if it was going to be distributed.

Contrast that to current standards where “if you think it then you must tweet it,” or something like that.

What We Say

Gallup released a poll earlier this month with the headline: American’s Trust In Mass Media Sinks To New Low. Here’s the actual question and how the long-term graph looks:

Notice that Gallup attempts some nebulous framing of the question by adding the qualifier “mass” to “media,” so as to restrict opinions to what might once have been regarded as “legitimate” news sources—the ones your grandparents would have trusted. Given the overwhelming number of “news” sites, especially when one includes aggregators such as Huffington Post and Breitbart, Gallup’s question is still too broad to have any real, definitive meaning. If the survey tells us anything, and that point would certainly be arguable, it is that we only trust a limited number of the information sources we access.

Similarly, Hart Research, acting on behalf of NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, asked half the respondents of a 1,000-person survey to “rate your feelings” toward “several public figures, groups, and organizations.” In the total list, “the news media” ranked toward the bottom with only a 19% positive response, between Donald Trump (28% positive response) and Vladimir Putin (6% positive response). However, once again, the lack of a narrow definition calls the results into question. Some people might consider satire sights such as The Onion part of the news media. Others might consider aggregators part of the news media. Neither is there any delineation between sources that provide a majority of reporter-based editorial content and those that are merely an omnibus of collected opinion.

What We Mean

What is generally considered “news” in this Internet-driven age is a far cry from the traditional expectations of journalism. There are millions of websites that distribute information related to current topics. For many people, that makes those sources “news.” Never mind the fact that they’re opinions we’ve written ourselves, largely to amuse ourselves. By the broad contemporary definition, this website might, at least on some days, considered a news source. That scares me because, despite the sometimes excessive amount of research we put into an article, it is never our intent to provide anything more than an opinion.

Perhaps even more frightening is how frequently people refer to social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, as part of the news media. Neither site has reporters or editors controlling what you see or don’t see. All the information flowing through those sites is curated by one person: you. You decide what is “news” and what is “information” and what is “entertainment.” What’s telling is that a very large number of people make absolutely no distinction between those categories. They simply toss everything under the general heading of “the media.”

And they don’t trust it. Which, again, using that circular logic, means we don’t trust ourselves. We probably shouldn’t. We don’t know what we’re doing. We’ve proven that we’re not terribly judicious in the media we consume. If we were, debunking sites like Snopes wouldn’t get nearly as much traffic. On any given day, we publish more false information through our own social media accounts than all the newspapers and news networks combined. We distrust “the media” because we know, secretly, that we are complicit in spreading rumor more than fact.

A Difficult Diet

Like a person whose health deteriorates from eating only fast food, the solution to our media loathing starts with a very harsh reality: we need to cut back. Continuing the fast food metaphor, we need to pay more attention to the source of what we’re consuming. Sure, there are days when ordering pizza makes sense for our schedule, but that doesn’t happen every day. Most days we’re more conscientious about what we consume. The same is true of media. Some days I need the smile I get from a video on Funny Or Die. Making that my source for breaking news and information, though, is just silly. I’m going to check my local paper, then local television news, then national news sources if applicable. I’m damn sure not going to rely on Facebook or Twitter.

We have a preponderance of choice. Media surrounds us already and as the Internet of Things grows the amount of media being thrown at us is going to get worse. We need to start making those tough choices now. Back off the Buzzfeeds and TMZs, limiting them to inconsequential topics that we probably shouldn’t care about in the first place. Pay more attention to the source of our information. Hint: anytime you see an article tagged as “sponsored,” know that it was written by someone, or on behalf of someone, who has a vested financial interest in the topic. Therefore, it’s not news. Recognise opinion for what it is: someone else’s viewpoint, not news.

If we don’t trust media it’s because both the media we create and our choice of media to consume are not trustworthy. The problem is us. We’ve gotten fat on easily available, always accessible media. Saying we distrust “the media” is like saying we don’t like mac & cheese while a fresh bowl sits in front of us. We need to put ourselves on a media diet and see just how much our opinions change.

Current Issues / Hashtag Philosophy / PotD / Social Commentary

The News In 140 Characters

July 30, 2016

It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper. —Jerry Seinfeld

Does anyone read the news anymore or do they just look at the tweets and the headlines?

I saw an interesting editorial cartoon yesterday, which, of course, I didn’t have the foresight to actually save so that I could accurately reference this morning. The cartoon lamented the fact that when historians look back at the exchanges of this presidential election, it will be candidates 140-character tweets they’ll examine rather than anything like the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

The comparison is stark. How news and information is delivered has changed not only in terms of media, but the brevity with which news is delivered. Sure, there will be debates during this campaign cycle, but even those will ultimately be reduced to sound bites of 140 characters or less.The Twitter limit applies not only to the application, but to the reduced size of our attention spans.

Once upon a time, the details of the news and the excellence of reporting and writing were honored. Winning a Pulitzer prize was an exception because of talent and skill. Now, winning a Pulitzer is an exception because someone actually put in more than 300 words worth of effort. Long-form reporting still happens at places such as the New York Times and Washington Post, but then the media departments of both newspapers instantly find ways to reduce thousands of words to a 140-character tease.

Even here, I create a 140-character excerpt that appears in social media links to the article. Hundreds of people view that excerpt, but only a fraction of those read the article. We frequently use nude imagery not because it has anything to do with the article, but because it is a quick way to get attention.

Tweeting The News

Almost every newspaper of any size now has a media department. That staff is responsible for not only creating 140 character descriptions of articles, but managing and measuring the responses they get to those descriptions. Read through the comments on almost any provocatively written tweet or Facebook post and it becomes evident that many of the most volatile remarks are made by people who never actually read the article; they’re just responding to their interpretation of what the article might say based on the structure of that tweet.

Great tweet writing is a skill and in today’s media it is just as important as headline writing and copy editing. A well-constructed tweet can bring thousands of eyes to a topic, or can leave one totally ignored. Knowing which hashtag to include, the precise verbiage that is easily understood, is not something that was traditionally taught in journalism schools. Rarely does anyone notice when a tweet is done well. Let a newspaper or politician miscommunicate online, though, usually through a poor choice of words, and watch the shit hit the fan.

To illustrate my point, let me share some of the most recent news tweets across a variety of topics. There’s more information behind each tweet, but how many people will actually bother to click through and read the articles? I’m betting not many. Fewer than 10 percent of readers ever click a link, here or anyplace else on the Internet. Let’s see how you do.

Politics

A federal appeals court has struck down North Carolina’s voter ID law https://t.co/kmgKFZgXen pic.twitter.com/pHe3L19znH

— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) July 29, 2016

Flint officials now face criminal charges for doctoring water reports and concealing lead test results. https://t.co/jzpyXpVPw1

— New Republic (@NewRepublic) July 29, 2016

EXCLUSIVE: Clinton campaign was also hacked in cyber attack on Democratic groups – sources. https://t.co/Q8HhKcBwYZ pic.twitter.com/GJGCqlIOag

— Reuters U.S. News (@ReutersUS) July 29, 2016

Information

One of the largest ever #dinosaur footprints has been found in #Bolivia – thought to be from an #Abelisaurus https://t.co/HHyxzqYYUb

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) July 29, 2016

Pope Francis entering the former German Nazi Auschwitz I camp through ‘Arbeit macht frei’ gate. pic.twitter.com/dMvBzNPG7J

— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 29, 2016

#TeamUSA will sport the first-ever illuminated Olympic Flag Bearer jacket by @RalphLauren at #Rio2016! 😍 pic.twitter.com/fHram8xceG

— U.S. Olympic Team (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2016

Society

Taco Bell is testing out a “Cheetos Burrito” https://t.co/Z7Vgk5zGX4 pic.twitter.com/TxpAFVkh02

— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 29, 2016

Minnesota judge denies claims of 29 would-be heirs to Prince estate https://t.co/uL9A4vslTl pic.twitter.com/CABORiB6m4

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 29, 2016

Let these swimming babies soothe your soul https://t.co/gM33icfnb5 pic.twitter.com/oVw664XBE1

— Jezebel (@Jezebel) July 29, 2016

Putting Things In Perspective

How many of those articles did you click through to investigate? Any? Consider that a few short years ago those nine stories would have been enough to fill a 30-minute television newscast (sports and weather aside). In print, they would have dominated the A section of any newspaper. Yet, here you have it all in 140 characters and some well edited GIFs.

I’m old, so it is difficult for me to see this shift as anything other than a loss of information and understanding. Reading through a flurry of tweets, we might come away feeling more intelligent and informed, but we don’t actually know enough about any of those stories to speak knowledgeably and authoritatively. Not that such a lack of information ever stops us. We’re quite willing to go ahead and open our mouths anyway, facts be damned.

What probably bothers me most about this change in how we receive information is that without all the details we are more likely to react harshly, sarcastically, and with suspicion. We don’t trust the tweet because we don’t allow ourselves to gain enough information to understand the full story. We lack compassion. We lose the opportunity to learn. We fail to consider different perspectives. We wander around so ignorant that we don’t recognize ignorance.

If you’ve made it this far into today’s article, you likely already understand. Of the few people who started the article, less than five percent finish. Again,that’s not just true here, but for most any online reading.

Perhaps one day the pendulum will swing back the other direction and we’ll appreciate well-written and ardently-reported stories again. This 140-character world doesn’t work for me. We need more information, not less. I suppose that’s every individual’s choice, though, isn’t it?

Sigh. At least there’s a nude picture at the top.

Current Issues / PotD

Annoyed With Life

July 16, 2016

Anyone who has declared someone else to be an idiot, a bad apple, is annoyed when it turns out in the end that he isn’t. —Friedrich Nietzsche

Every day seems to bring another demonstration of how fucked up the world is. Annoyed with it all? Here’s how to cope

Annoyed may be too mild a word for what many people are feeling today. Pissed off is more appropriate. We are angry, some to the point of full-on rage. Yet, annoyed is more encompassing, I think, so that’s the term I’ll use. I’m annoyed with life, with humanity, with governments, with systems that don’t work, and with people who don’t seem capable of an ounce of compassion.

This morning, everywhere I look I’m seeing news of the botched coup attempt in Turkey. The day before that was the tragedy in Nice. I’m almost afraid to look at my newsfeed or Twitter because I’m fairly certain that there will be another act of senseless stupidity coming today, or at the very least, by Monday. The world seems incapable of going more than three days without making an ass of itself. I’m annoyed with the whole mess.

Given that level of annoyance, I was intrigued when I found an article by CNN’s David G. Allen on “How To Stop Being Annoyed By Life.” Mr. Allen apparently has, or had, a tendency to be a bit of a hot head. I relate to that far too well. In the article, he offers ten tips for dealing with everyday annoyances. What he offers are good, sound, researched solutions. However, they’re directed toward personal matters. He doesn’t touch global events.

So, I want to play off that same research and consider how one might better deal with the major issues confronting us now.

Is It Really Important?

Some matters that leave me annoyed are those manufactured for political purposes. Hillary’s email. The President’s birth certificate. The tweets of a Supreme Court justice. There are far too many times when stories that deserve nothing more than to be page six filler end up becoming front page headlines. I get annoyed when someone, usually a Congressperson, keeps harping on an issue over and over and over when there’s no real substance to the very thing they’re debating.

But if an issue isn’t really important, then why do I bother getting all worked up and annoyed over it? Chill. We don’t have time to sweat the small stuff. We have better things to do both with our time and our thoughts. Wasting energy on matters of insignificance is futile. There is no resolution to the alleged problem. The people talking about it will never be satisfied. Focus on what is important and try to not be distracted by all the noise.

Should It Be Ignored?

I use this anytime someone is behaving like a child on a national or global stage. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un falls into this category. Every once in a while, he feels like the world isn’t paying any attention to him. So, he fires a missile into the South China Sea. It sounds threatening on the surface, but after a while, we realize there’s no real substance to the threats. Kim Jong Un is annoyed, so he wants to annoy everyone else.

Ignore him, with caution. We do the same with our six-year-old when she pitches a fit over bedtime. We put her in her room and she yells and screams and calls us names until she wears herself out. We don’t respond. We listen, just in case she were to do anything dangerous, but unless she’s dismantling furniture we let it go. The same applies to the actions of many world leaders. In fact, had the media taken this approach at the beginning of the presidential race, we wouldn’t be looking at the ridiculous Republican ticket we now face. Some people just insist on being loud and noisy. As long as there’s no immediate danger, we do well when we just ignore the rants and walk away.

Can You Change The Situation?

This comes back to focusing on what is really important. Can I do something about racial disparity? Yes. So that topic is worth my time and dealing with the frustration. Can I do anything about the current situation in Turkey? Nope, not a damn thing. There’s no reason for me to be annoyed by that which I cannot change. Those matters are out of my hands.

One of the challenges that come with the world so connected by information is that we mistakenly think we have a stake in matters that really don’t involve us. We might show concern for innocent people trapped in an airport or aid workers pinned down in a firefight, but we have to accept the fact that we cannot solve all the world’s problems by ourselves. Sometimes we have to let people deal with their own problems and their own tragedies for themselves. If you cannot change the situation, it is not your burden to carry.

Do You Have All The Information?

Earlier this week, a number of people shared this article because of its enticing headline about Marijuana and alien DNA. The link came through my newsfeed at least a dozen times, usually with a comment such as, “This is really exciting,” or “Now we know why marijuana cures so many things.” If anyone bothered to actually click the link and read the article, however, they discovered that it had nothing to do with weed, or DNA, or NASA, or aliens. Instead, it was a study on just how often we share things without bothering to read the article.

We, as a generalized group of Internet users, get annoyed often by issues we simply did not bother to understand. We look at an over-sensationalized headline and form an opinion without bothering to get the facts. Then, as Nietzsche says in the quote above, we get annoyed when we later discover that our opinion was not only wrong but totally baseless. I find myself far less troubled by things when I bother to read the full story before opening my big mouth.

Be Part Of The Solution

We have little right to be annoyed at a situation we can change ourselves. We might not see that change overnight, but when we see a situation such as racial disparity or income inequality or gender discrimination, we do well to fight rather than just sit on our ass being annoyed. Don’t like the looks of the presidential election? Get the fuck out there and vote, encourage others to vote, take a neighbor to vote. If 30% more people voted this November than did in 2012, we would see overwhelming change.

Annoyed by discrimination? Be part of that solution. No, it’s not going to be easy. No one likes being called out on their shit and when you do they’re going to resists. But if you’re really annoyed, then you have to act and hold whomever’s feet to the fire until a solution is reached. Don’t back down, don’t give up.

I’m at an age where I have to watch what I let get to me. Being annoyed gets my blood pressure up. If I get all worked up over some piece of nonsense, I could have a heart attack and die. Is there anything worth that risk? Not much. We do better to control those emotions and keep ourselves in check. Address what’s important and leave the rest.

You’ll have a better weekend if you do.

Current Issues / PotD

Half Full Or Half Empty

June 16, 2016

I have a simple philosophy: Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. Scratch where it itches. —Alice Roosevelt Longworth

charles i. letbetter - half full or half empty

There are days when one has to choose whether the glass is half full or half empty and proceed from there.

I almost didn’t write anything today. I feel empty. Immense pain fills my shoulders and elbows and fingers. Keeping my eyes open is a challenge despite the strong coffee. I had to push myself to make anything happen.

From where I’m sitting the glass seems half empty. After two days of severe storms, my muscles want to contract, my joints don’t want to move, and any pressure on my knees feels extreme. Having to keep children inside for the better part of two days was exhausting, leaving me with little energy to deal with them today. The lawn needs cutting but there’s still water standing across the yard so that’s not likely to happen. I’m aching to try out some different angles on a set of figure studies, but not only do I not have time, I’m not even sure who I would ask to pose.

Looking outside myself doesn’t help much, either. A new documentary, Living Wage Now!, chronicles the real world challenges, difficulties, and dangers of the Asian garment industry. The picture of forced sex, violence, and even workers being shot at goes beyond the horrors we’ve previously imagined. At the same time, fast fashion giant Uniqlo is positioning itself to become the largest apparel maker in the world. Given that fast fashion is much of the motivation behind garment factory horrors, it would seem that there is little chance of reform.

As we still pick apart the details of Sunday’s shooting in Orlando, I find myself angered by the fact that the shooter’s wife actually went with him to buy ammo knowing exactly what he was planning to do with it. How does a person know that someone is planning such a horrendous act and not say something to someone? I understand that she was a battered wife, but once he left the house she could have called someone. A grand jury decides later this month whether she’ll be charged as an accessory to murder.

Then, there’s the news of the two-year-old being dragged into a lagoon by an alligator at a Disney resort. That’s just one of those things a parent never expects, especially from a Disney property. As a nation, we’re captivated by the story because we cannot imagine experiencing such a horror ourselves.

All that and more leaves us with a glass that is struggling to be only half empty. If that were my only exposure to the world this morning, I would consider the glass completely empty, toss Pop Tarts at the kids, turn on Netflix for them, and go back to bed. That sounds like a very tempting scenario at the moment.

Yet, there are things that combat that empty perspective.

First, we didn’t get the brunt of the storms the past two days. There are thousands of people across the region who lost power, have large trees down in their yard, and are still dealing with serious flooding this morning. Kat had to dodge downed power lines and high water on her way home last night, but she did make it home safely.

Justice may finally come for the 1,400 garment workers who died in the 2013 building collapse and fire at Rana Plaza. A Dhaka court framed charges against 18 people yesterday for knowingly violating building codes. While the speed of movement, in this case, has been painfully slow, at least they’re making progress.

At least one politician has changed his attitude following Sunday’s shooting. Utah’s Lieutenant Governor, Spencer Cox, apologized to the LGBT community in a speech he made on Monday. He not only apologized for his own attitude, but he challenged other straight people as well:

How did you feel when you heard that 49 people had been gunned down by a self-proclaimed terrorist? That’s the easy question. Here is the hard one: Did that feeling change when you found out the shooting was at a gay bar at 2 am in the morning? If that feeling changed, then we are doing something wrong.

As always, whenever another mass shooting takes place, the talking heads made the rounds on news shows making the same arguments for and against gun control that they’ve been making the past 30 years. Yesterday, someone finally took decisive action. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut filibustered an appropriations bill with demands for tighter gun control legislation. It was a gutsy move, but quickly enough he was joined by 37 other senators and the filibustered continued until GOP leadership finally backed down and agreed to consider new gun control legislation. Is this a solution? No, but it is the first decisive step we’ve seen toward one.

So, there’s some full to balance out the empty.

Still, I’m having problems finding that positive attitude this morning. There have been so many negative things happen this week that I’m not sure it’s reasonable to expect the week to end balanced. Perhaps this is one of those times we have to accept that the glass really is half empty.

And be thankful we still have a glass.

Advertising / Current Issues / Just For Fun

Friday Follies

April 29, 2016

We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies – it is the first law of nature. —Voltaire

Oh, wait, we forgot to talk about a few things

Oh geeze, it’s Friday already. How did this happen? The lawn needs to be mowed, the house is a mess, the laundry is piled up and I don’t have anything thawed for dinner. I’m so behind on editing I don’t even want to think about it at this point. On top of that, there are no fewer than a dozen topics on my board that we haven’t had a chance to talk about this week. Writing takes up a lot of time and there just hasn’t been enough of that time available.

So, since most everything is somewhat timely, let me see how many of these follies I can reduce and get into one article. You can click the links for full stories in most cases. Or not.

Leica announced a new stripped-down version of its digital camera that sounds exactly like what I need. No LCD screen, no stupid video eating up battery, no wildly high ISOs, none of the stupid filters and shit that all the amateurs think make their cameras cool. This is a real photographer’s camera. One has to know what they’re doing and not rely on presets and the “auto” setting. I like the look and sound of this camera. What I don’t understand, though, is why the damn thing costs over $5,000! With all the nonsense stripped down I would expect a price significantly lower. I was all ready to put one on my shopping list until I saw the damn price tag.

I’ve always thought that, being a child of the 60s and 70s, we grew up with some of the best music ever written. Now, there seems to be some evidence that as, for the first time ever, older catalog music is outselling new music. Some are trying to blame this on streaming services while others say that the whole retro vinyl thing is a factor. To an extent, both arguments may have some validity to them. But, the bottom line, and we all know it, is that older music is just better. Only a fool would choose Taylor Swift over the Beatles or Stones, One Direction over AC/DC or Three Dog Night. We had the best music ever, and now even the kids are beginning to recognize that fact.

Durham, NC ad agency McKinney has the perfect response to their home state’s controversial HB2 law: flush it. To make that action more accessible to people, they’ve printed HB2 on toilet paper. The rest should be self-explanatory. The only problem with the concept is they didn’t seem to make any provision for it being widely accessible. If you write the company, they might send you a roll. You should know what to do with it.

Funniest thing I’ve seen on Twitter all week:

Today I overheard someone say, while on the phone, “well, who took your underpants? Do you have more?” No context given.

— VSESLAV (@Coffinsyrup69) April 27, 2016

Speaking of funny, if you’ve not followed Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County on Facebook this week, you’ve missed a special collection of real gems. Since Breathed decided to publish his work on Facebook rather than through the creative-squashing syndicate, we’ve seen some delightfully wonderful strips, but this week has taken the hairball (so to speak) as the cartoonist stretched Monday’s World Penguin Day into a full week. Well, almost. Bill the Cat got his dues in today. Still, this week’s strips have been a prime example of why Breathed is a treasured talent.

There, that clears out the most important stuff. Follies are best on Friday, I suppose. That’s the only way the alliteration works. There are still a couple of scraps lying around, but I’ll leave those in case I get desperate over the weekend. The grass on the lawn isn’t getting any shorter with me sitting here. Not that I’m going to cut it. I just need to find someone in the neighborhood who can use an extra $4.37.

Follies. Hehe.

news

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Going back to bed is still an option

The train stops here

Hey Doc, I’m feeling a pain in the ass

When free speech disrupts the economy

A bit of good news

And then the bad news

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A lot of noise but little substance

One step forward, two steps …

A matter of justice

A visible opposition

Educating the masses

And finally …

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The challenge to remain free begins today

Republicans abandon ethics

Bishops told of zero tolerance policy

Puerto Rico to file for statehood

Judging the American dream

And finally …

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This Year Of Misery Ends Today

China Is Shutting Down Its Ivory Trade

A Different Kind Of Police Shooting

When Your Birth Certificate Is Wrong