So much happening. So much left uncovered. Here is an attempt to somewhat rectify the latter.

I Wish I Had Said That

Saturday was the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (a/k/a the Nerd Prom). Unlike his immediate predecessor President Biden had the courage to show up. He may have had the best line of 2023 when he concluded a joke with, “You’re either drunk or Marjorie Taylor Greene”. I really wish I had thought of that first! However, I’ll write the “sequel”. At least if you’re drunk you will sober up in a bit.

Part Of Why I Read So Much

I had arbitrarily set 30,000 new daily COVID infections as the point that I would start my (indoor by choice) walking program. I hated the idea of simply walking and doing nothing else so I decided to listen to audio books. Currently I’m listening to Matthew Desmond’s, Poverty, By America. In it he asserts that undocumented immigration to America hit its peak in 2007. I questioned that statement and decided to research it. It checks out.

In 2007 Republican George W, Bush was president and his fellow “tough guy” Texan Dick Cheney was the Vice President. (Cheney claims otherwise but we all know that in reality he was a Texan at the turn of the century.) When you think about it a bit that makes sense. W was beholden to his border region buddies who wanted to maximum the exploitable workforce. Undocumented workers don’t go to the authorities when you “shortchange” them.

Simply Ignore The Problem

Sunday, I read an op-ed (I think they are calling them opinion pieces now) in the New York Times by Beth Blauer, Lauren Gardner, Sheri Lewis and Lainie Rutkow entitled, Our COVID Data Project Is Over, but the Need for Timely Data Is Not. As my regular readers know, for a considerable time I tracked the 14 day rolling average of daily new COVID infections (referred to above in the 30,000 number) because I considered it the best leading indicator of where the pandemic was headed. The New York Times was my easy lookup source. By mid-March of this year the information was no longer published. The op-ed answered the question: Why? It wasn’t because the pandemic ended – although I will stipulate that, in large part because of the efforts of the Biden administration, the threat is greatly diminished in America. It was because many states simply stopped reporting. Ignorance may bring you bliss but it doesn’t change the facts.

Too Easy

More broadly I’ve written on this topic before and I still feel it is simply too easy to get security clearances in America especially related to the armed forces. It has come out that the Massachusetts Guardsman implicated in the latest leak of classified documents was refused (with apparent overwhelming good cause) a gun permit but yet he somehow got a top secret security clearance. Am I the only one who sees a problem here?

Perhaps The Worst Of The Very Bad

Transgender people are one of the latest GOP targets. Montana’s Republican Governor Greg Gianforte (of body slam and Trump shout out endorsement fame) signed a bill into law prohibiting transgender medical care in Montana for people under 18 despite pleas from his own nonbinary child. Now, Greg we all know that young people have no sexual feelings before 18 and it is only at some point after their eighteenth birthday that their gender role becomes in any way clear to them. Besides, obviously state legislators have a much better idea of what is happening with a child than either their parents or physicians. What happened to parental rights and small government?

In Montana if an elected member of the state House of Representatives  says something to the contrary the Republicans will simply ban her from the floor. When did hear no “evil” become a license to do evil?

The Sinking Ship

Adding to Florida Republican Governor and wannabe 2024 GOP presidential nominee Ron DeSantis’ problems is that Disney is now suing him. Going after an economic powerhouse in your state and beloved American institution wasn’t such a good idea Governor Kinky Boots. You might have better served your cause by showing up in the flood zone. Heck, you already have the boots.

Justice And Wisdom

Theoretically a judge should be guided by a pursuit of justice. A Supreme Court Justice should be wise. Then you have Clarence Thomas. A death row inmate has requested DNA testing. Thomas voted against it. Then he took solace in the fact that a man seeking DNA testing can still be executed. I have no idea if the plaintiff in question is guilty or not but wouldn’t it be wise, just and prudent to find out before we execute them?

Ending With A Thought

I’ll leave you with this thought today: When did democracy cease to be a conservative and patriotic value worth defending?

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