Testbook Definition

After the horrific school shooting in Florida, several major companies have announced plans to rescind special advantages given to NRA members. One of those companies is Delta Airlines which has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Now many Republican lawmakers in Georgia are threatening to withhold approval of a tax break planned for the airline regarding jet fuel if the company follows through on eliminating price breaks for NRA members.

There are longstanding jokes about the intelligence of southerners involving inbreeding, but this time they clearly didn't give much thought to their threats. The First Amendment protection of speech doesn't apply to you telling your neighbor to shut up, or deleting comments from a private website. The purpose of the free speech rights is to prevent government from using its various powers to eliminate speech it doesn't like. So taking steps to punish a company financially through the government power of taxation because the Republican representatives (and there are several but the biggest voice comes from Casey Cagle  who is currently lieutenant governor but is running for governor) don't like that company's public stance is pretty much the textbook definition of a violation of the First Amendment.

Being from Georgia it is likely that Cagle doesn't much care about the nitty gritty details of the US Constitution. Most of his type of politician use bluster about overreach when talking about the federal government any time they don't like paying attention to law.

Winter Finally Arrives

In a typical year, snow starts late in October with patchy snow until around Christmas, more snow in January and the most snow in February at which time it isn't as bad because the temperature has risen. This year we had one small storm on Christmas Eve but nothing since then until Monday. Now it has snowed pretty much every day since Monday, with increasing snow totals each day. Today we have had at least 5 inches already and more is expected tomorrow.

The meteorologists haven't made any statements about snow depth or water forecasts but before the snow started this week our water resources were less than 25% of needed and normal. That doesn't seem to matter to folks around here who continue to plant grass and water with abandon as if Utah is Brittany or something.

Yes, water is one of the reasons my husband and I are leaving but it has more to do with the attitude toward water than the availability of water. We xeriscaped our yard when we moved in and we only use landscape water for our tomatoes. We keep plastic bottles around the sinks to hold the water that flows before the water gets hot and a bucket in the upstairs shower we use for the same reason. We have low flow toilets. The only thing we don't do is harvest water but we did that in our former house.

Puzzling

I don't participate in any winter sports despite living in a city that hosted the Winter Olympics, but I do read multiple newspapers every day and some of the news from Korea is simply puzzling. A bronze medal winning curler from Russia has tested positive for a banned substance. It boggles the mind that a curler, a curler, took some sort of performance enhancing drug. Then yesterday, before the ice dancing short program, I read an article asking why more women didn't wear unitards instead of skimpy costumes for figure skating. Today I imagine that the young French woman wished she had worn a unitard. Add to those items the fact that Lindsay Vonn has been receiving endless hate messages after saying that she wasn't interested in meeting Trump.

Gone is the idea that the Olympics are supposed to be about fellowship. We have been treating it as a nationalist show since at least 1936. But athletes are primarily about working hard and trying to do their best. For me it's sort of like listening to a superior singer and being awed that the singer and I are from the same species. We have debased the Olympics with commercialism; we don't need to tarnish it more.

Good Reads

I am a reader. I have been a reader my entire life. I don't remember not being able to read and there is a famous family story of my mother having me read the New York Times to her sisters when I was two. That doesn't mean that everything I read is memorable or good. Like most people I have some low tastes but even in my low tastes I refuse to reread writers I find moronic. So I don't read any Mary Higgins Clark even though she has made millions of dollars appealing to her coterie of readers.

Currently my husband and I have been reading mysteries set in France by Martin Walker. His "Bruno" series is not only charming but informative. I also recently finished a book Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts, by Christoper de Hamel. Mr. de Hamel is a paleographer and the book introduces the reader to a plethora of remarkable manuscripts, in the classic definition, from the eighth century, to the final manuscript in the 16th century. De Hamel introduces these books as friends the reader should meet. Remarkable.

There Is No Doubt

The White House today once again declares vindication but all that declaration does is underscore Trump's idiocy. He thinks that because the Russian influence on social media started in 2014 that he and his are totally off the hook. All the Russians were looking for at that point were willing idiots. That's what they used to be called during the Cold War.

Now, apparently, we are all willing idiots. I stopped subscribing to the New York Times early in the election cycle, long before 2016, because I was offended by the obeisance to the Clinton machine. What offended me was not Mrs. Clinton, herself, but the fact that there was no option for a second opinion. The newspaper might has well have been an arm of the election campaign long before any primaries or caucuses had been held and that's equally as offensive as any Russian media meddling.

A Different Topic Entirely

 An Irish pharmaceutical company (Horizon Pharma) is in the news today because they are charging customers in the US $3000 for a drug whose combined ingredients, ibuprofen and a buffering drug would only be $36 if purchased separately. I only have a dog in this fight because the Irish company defended their charges by saying that no one pays that price, they all charge it to insurance.

Well, duh, that means everyone pays the price not no one pays the price. I take an asthma medicine that has been out of patent for several years but the FDA still hasn't approved a generic because the claim is that the generic doesn't provide the same dosage. This medicine has gotten more and more expensive as I have been taking it so that now it is approximately $500 a month even though it is no longer under patent. Of course when it becomes generic the current model would be to then charge $4000 a month, destroying the notion of generic drugs entirely.

What recourse do we have? Well, AARP started because one old woman was angry about how she was treated. We do have a voice.  

Vote Against the NRA

Go to the New York Times and read the list of elected officials who have taken money, a great deal of money, from the NRA. Despite all the prayers and platitudes, these men and women don't care if your children kill each other with guns. They care about how much money is in their election coffers. Did John McCain need that $7M to win his seat in Arizona again? Marco Rubio and Joni Ernst are praying for the children but they both took over $3M from the NRA. Those dollars eclipse Judas' pieces of silver. Where I live now, the politicians are calling for arming public school teachers, many of whom already carry guns to school and in to the classrooms. Years ago, Sting sang a song with the line, "I hope the Russians love their children, too."  When do we start to love our children enough to protect them with sensible measures? We certainly don't have to worry about the Russians killing them.

Edit: It was reported today that only 1/3 of adults in the US own guns. Keep that in mind when you consider the 2d Amendment. 2/3 of adults have the power to advance sensible laws. We won't be able to eradicate the 2d Amendment, nor should we given the current state of the country, but we can have serious impact on shaming those politicians who think money is better than your children.

The Vile Defending The Indefensible

As I predicted, someone from the Trump orbit said that the FBI was deliberately trying to undermine Trump by not approving security clearances and by contradicting White House statements. Of course it was only Sebastian Gorka, whose own security clearance was denied and whose veracity is doubted by most reasonable people.

The excuse that these people are new to Washington doesn't work very well now. These men and women, for the most part, have all been around the block more than once, and some of them were even good at their previous jobs. But watching the machinations and gyrations of language has become like watching kabuki theater--everyone wears a mask and no one represents the truth.

Obfuscation

Sarah Huckabee Sanders claims that it isn't the White House's fault that so many of their staffers have not gotten security clearances. She says that it is the fault of the relevant agencies and of Congress for not streamlining the process. Besides the fact that the process needs to be thorough and exacting, Sanders' claim is like saying, "It's not my fault the big bad wolf can't get hired to guard the three little pigs." If you pick candidates with questionable aspects in their backgrounds, you  can expect delays or denials.

Edit: Christopher Wray, FBI director directly refuted the narrative the White House has been pushing, testifying before Congress that the background check on Porter was completed last summer with all of its warts and wrinkles and that the WH knew he had stood accused by more than one wife of spousal abuse. Wray added that the WH asked for clarification later last year which was returned forthwith. Of course all the Trumpettes out there will say that is more evidence that the FBI is conspiring to destroy Trump but that is so insane as to point out their frailties and their idiocy.

Wray is a registered Republican appointed by Trump. There is no particular incentive for him to lie and all the reasons in the world to tell the truth.  

Frustrating

I have been working with a junior in college to improve his writing skills so that he can write decent application essays for medical school. He did not go to the high school that I am associated with but his younger brother does and gave him my contact information. Not knowing much about what is asked in essay prompts for medical school I did some research online and found that the topics were pretty similar to those for undergraduate applications, though I expect that the responses need to be very different. So they ask questions such as "How will you improve the diversity of our student body?", and "What obstacles have you overcome?" Since he hasn't even decided where he will apply, the prompts we have looked at are the ones that are common or repeated across multiple schools.

Since I did not know this kid beforehand, some of the past couple of months has been taken up with finding more about him as well. I asked him way back at the beginning why he wanted to become a doctor and was astonished by his answer. He said he wanted to become a doctor so that he could be assured of a large income. I told him I didn't think that was a very good reason even if that was a reasonable bet. Don't get me wrong--my husband is not a physician and none of my children ever wanted to go that route so my response to the student was more automatic reflex than from knowledge. But I have a hard time believing that writing on the application that you want to be a doctor to be rich is going to be a winning hand. This literally did not make sense to this guy. He had no idea why I cautioned him against using that rationale for his application.

Then yesterday, he asked if we could discuss his approach to a couple of other prompts. It is common for medical schools to ask what activities the applicant engages in and the "obstacles" idea is on several different medical school sites. He couldn't think of any obstacles, not even with prodding. I suggested that the obstacles didn't have to be societal or familial, i.e., prejudice, or poverty, but could be personal demons that one wrestles with such as ego or anger, but he still couldn't come up with any hurdles he has crossed. Since my role is in the real craft of writing and presenting ideas through words, we couldn't move forward on that prompt until his own ideas matured (or he did). So he suggested we consider the activities prompt. I asked him what he did with his free time even though I knew that he didn't have a great deal of free time. He makes good grades and studies a lot and he works in an ophthalmology lab at the university as well as does volunteer work at the university hospital so there isn't a great deal of free time in his life. But apparently that doesn't matter because he plays video games and goes to the gym if he has any free time at all. He has those two activities scheduled in his life. So I asked him if he had experience helping others or the community in any way since I thought those might be the types of activities that were being solicited. Silly me, he stopped doing those types of activities once he entered college because he no longer needed them to be in the National Honor Society. I suggested that he might want to find time for those activities but once again it didn't make much sense to him.

All in all I hope this kid never becomes my doctor even though I know he is smart.

Farewell California

My husband and I have just returned from a three day visit to San Francisco. We wanted to say good-bye to some of the places we have come to love and some of the people we know there. First we said good-bye to Sons & Daughters. We have been going there since they first opened when they were the new kids on the block trying to make their name. Now they have a place on the Michelin lists and the price has gone up accordingly. But the food is always innovative and delightful, and the staff is professional and attentive. It's the kind of place that keeps track of their loyal customers, even the ones like us who only come once or twice a year since we live so far away. So we are always greeted enthusiastically with no hints of smarminess.

We also said hello and good-bye to Britex Fabrics. The hello was for their new location, one block up from Maiden Lane on Post Street right next door to Gump's. There are only two floors here, with enormously tall ceilings and long ladders (not for the customers thankfully), and everything in a delightful maze with discoveries around every bend. I think they have added some staff but perhaps it's just that the previous employees are simply on two floors instead of four, but there are people all around to help you find what you want or need in the new location so even though it is a little confusing it is also very easy. I didn't need any quilting fabric but I did buy a piece of fine wale corduroy to make a pair of pants and a remnant to make a pillow cover. The remnants are now scattered by type on both floors which is both good and bad. I am not sure I saw all of them but then again I can go totally crazy when I see a whole table of delicious remnants at reduced prices.

The final good-byes were for the two museums we like best in SF and to Souvla, a very good Greek place with a quick but super fresh and tasty menu. The SFMoMA had a big show on Rauschenberg along with the usual and some new exhibits. Same sort of deal with the Asian Art Museum--all of the old classic sculptures and ceramics along with new pieces by interesting new Asian artists.

The frightening part of the visit was that here it was February and the daily temperatures were above 70 with clear sunny skies each day. Now SF is coldest in June usually, but clear and sunny and above 70 is not normal for February. The same has been true of Salt Lake City this year in many ways. We haven't quite been above 70 but we haven't had much snow at all, just six inches or so on Christmas Eve and very light sprinkles scattered since with nothing even to shovel where I live. The daytime highs have been above 60 as well. That doesn't bode well for the water year since both places are at below the 25% of normal range. That is one of the reasons we are moving away from here and our new property has both a spring and a creek so water should not be an issue there--at least not in my lifetime.

Manichean Worldview

Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared yesterday that the comments about treason in the SOTU address were simply jokes by Trump but then she upended her own argument by saying that the problem was not Trump or some twisted sense of humor but Democrats. She flat out stated that Democrats were going to have to decide if "...they hated Trump more than they loved their country." That posits the idea that blind allegiance to a man is more important than looking for moral or ethical or bipartisan solutions for problems.

Guess what, Sarah? It is entirely possible to love the country and hate Trump. There is not a black and white choice here at all. Trump is a prevaricator and performer who doesn't care whom he insults nor what chaos he causes. Not clapping or standing at the SOTU is not treason; it is practically tradition.

The Ball Drops

Normal Republicans have been putting up with Trump because stuff they wanted was getting done, including a skyrocketing stock market. But anyone with half a brain knew that the stock market was going to take a serious dive and for the last several days, that's what is happening. Today was the biggest single day drop in years. The dollar is dropping, inflation is rising, the market is in turmoil--I am just waiting for some Obama finger pointing in the next few days.

James Fallows has a good article in The Atlantic about what to call the Trump effect. Oddly, I am not crazy about Fallows though I know he is a well respected writer with global experience. What I remember about him is that he tried to evade the draft during the Viet Nam war by becoming anorexic and losing weight dramatically. We always saw him running along Storrow Drive in Cambridge at all hours of the day and night. I don't know if he ever made the under weight but he certainly qualified as certifiably obsessive. 

Me Or Your Lying Eyes

While I understand the Trump family desire to besmirch the Department of Justice, I question how ordinary Americans benefit from their actions. We learned after 9/11 just how important and smoothly functioning intelligence command is, one with well oiled parts that fit smoothly like good gears. So denigrating and mocking the men and women who serve in the FBI or as FISA judges just doesn't serve a useful purpose for all but the handful of grifters and conmen who smirk as they make snide comments.

The surveillance on Carter Page was initiated prior to the infamous Steele dossier and renewed three times. When FISA renewals occur, the anonymous judges who approve the warrants have to be made aware of continuing questionable activity by the target, activity that was gathered by the previous warrants not activity suggested by the first application. What that means is that Page was suspected of wrongdoing prior to the initial warrant and surveillance, then the surveillance revealed a continuing pattern of activity that triggered more surveillance when the initial and subsequent 90 day reviews occurred. The courts and judges cannot simply show the same data to get continuing surveillance approved.

But Trump and Trump Jr. are crowing and chortling as if they have pulled off some great feat. I know they are dumb and dumber but this borders on insanity.

Oxymorons

The House Intelligence Committee is led by Devin Nunes, no one's idea of a real smart guy, not even his own idea of a real smart guy. When he made his dash to the White House last March and was then shown to be a craven bootlicker, he said he really would rather be home making goat cheese. But he is a loyal soldier so he remains in Congress and remains as head of the House Intelligence Committee although he doesn't fit that profile.

This showed once again today when he forced the release of a four page memo that his staff wrote (also not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier) that supposedly shows extreme bias at the DoJ and specifically at the FBI. Never mind that the head of the FBI was hand picked by Trump and is a registered Republican, never mind that the assistant AG is also a registered Republican and was also picked by Trump, never mind that the process for working with the DoJ to obtain FISA warrants is cumbersome and involves numerous redundancies to prevent targeting innocent people. Anyway, the memo was released and there was virtually nothing there, sort of like between Rep. Nunes' ears, but what was there seems to do the exact opposite of what Nunes wants.

Pretty much the only thing the memo claims is that the FISA warrant granted to investigate Carter Page relied on the Christopher Steele memo. Now that is unlikely to be accurate because FISA requests normally run to dozens of pages and affidavits and evidence that a judge examines before granting the FISA warrant. But if that were the only evidence used to seek more answers through more insidious means, that would mean that the judge who looked at the evidence in the Steele memo found the information to be credible and worthy of further investigation. And Carter Page was not even the target or subject of the Steele memo.

I am reasonably sure that Devin Nunes doesn't want anyone, not even me, to think that the Steele memo has even a semblance of credibility. I am reasonably sure that Devin Nunes wants everyone to think that the Steele memo is a farrago of innuendo and gossip rather than anything that any judge anywhere would rely on for a FISA warrant which some judge (they are anonymous) did.