Monthly Archives: May 2018

Some People

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…would rather find a reason to be offended than see humor, even if that humor isn’t their style.  Such folks are professional victims.  Here’s an advertising sign that one physical fitness gym owner has put up to advertise his business.

Folks actually are up in arms over this.  Is the joke for everyone?  Of course not; no joke is; not even those told by Milton Berle or Bob Hope.

That’s a big so what, though; humor varies from person to person.  Nevertheless, professional victims are calling him out for fat-shaming folks, for bullying folks.

Snowflakes need to get over themselves.  If they don’t want to be fat, then they should take steps to stop being fat.  If they say they’re satisfied with their bodies and don’t want to be called out for their shapes, then they should be satisfied and stop worrying about what strangers say.  After all, the only ones these folks—anyone, come to that—need to please is themselves first, and then their significant others.  And their bosses if they work for a company for which public appearance matters to the business.

On the concern about bullying, one solution—a better solution—is to stop being bullied. Bullies have only the power their victims choose to give them.  Yes, it’s hard to stop being bullied.  “Hard” means “possible.”

Memorial Day Celebrations

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I first posted this in 2012.  It bears repeating.

Enjoy this holiday.  Take the time to kick back, relax from the hard work you’ve been doing, and just goof off for a bit.

While you’re doing that, though, do something else, also.  Invite that veteran in your neighborhood, who came back from his service wounded or maimed, and his or her family, to your celebration.  Invite the family in your neighborhood whose veteran was killed in his or her service to your celebration.  They need the break and the relaxation and the support, also.  And they’ve earned your respect and remembrance.

To which I add this, excerpted from Alex Horton’s remarks on the significance of the day to him and his:

I hope civilians find more solace in Memorial Day than I do.  Many seem to forget why it exists in the first place, and spend the time looking for good sales or drinking beers on the back porch.  It’s a long weekend, not a period of personal reflection.  At the same time, many incorrectly thank Vets or active duty folks for their service.  While appreciated, it’s misdirected.  That’s what Veterans Day is for.  Instead, they should take some time and remember the spirit of the country and the dedication of those men and women who chose to pick up arms.  They never came home to be thanked, and only their memory remains.

 

h/t Spirit of Enterprise

The FBI and Backdoors

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Recall that the FBI has long wanted government-accessible backdoors into our personal but encrypted communications.  “Trust us,” FBI leadership assures us, “we wouldn’t misuse that access; we’ll only use for ‘criminal’ investigations, and only with government authorization.”  And they’ve claimed in support of that wide-eyed innocence that they can’t break into over 7,000 cell phones in the pursuit of criminal investigations.  Current FBI Director Christopher Wray even put the number at over 7,700.

However.

On Tuesday, the FBI told PCMag that a programming error resulted in a “significant overcounting” of the encrypted devices. “The FBI is currently conducting an in-depth review of how this over-counting previously occurred,” the agency said in a statement.

PCMag went on to cite the Washington Post as putting the actual number at around 1,200.

Oops, indeed.

According to the agency, starting in April 2016, it began using a new “collection methodology” with how it counted the encrypted devices. But only recently did the FBI become aware of flaws in the methodology, it said, without elaborating.

Right.

“Given the availability of these third-party solutions, we’ve questioned how and why the FBI finds itself thwarted by so many locked phones,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a blog post.

Indeed.  Whether this government agency was being dishonest in its characterization of the encryption “problem,” or it was just being incredibly sloppy in using “collection methodology” that it has so plainly inadequately tested, this incident is just one more reason Government cannot be trusted with back doors into privately encrypted personal correspondence.

Believe a Woman

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Last weekend, a woman accused a Texas State Trooper of sexually assaulting her during a traffic stop.  Sherita Dixon-Cole

alleged that after she failed a field sobriety test, Hubbard had “suggested she could go home in exchange for sexual favors,” according to [Dixon-Cole’s lawyer Lee] Merritt’s initial press release. Dixon-Cole said that after she refused, she was taken to Hubbard’s police car where she was “forcefully groped, fondled, and vaginally penetrated during a prolonged arrest.”

She went on to say Hubbard continued his sexual advances on the way to the police station, even alleging that he offered to take her to a remote location where she could provide sexual favors in exchange for her release from custody.

Never mind.

Texas’ Department of Public Safety reviewed and released two hours of dashcam video of the incident as soon as they received the woman’s accusation.  After seeing actual evidence,

Lee Merritt issued a statement saying the evidence “directly conflicts with the accounts reported to my office” by Sherita Dixon-Cole.

Then he—not Dixon-Cole—apologized for the false accusation.

It’s instructive that Dixon-Cole has yet to apologize to the officer or to the Texas DPS for her smear.  Instead, lacking integrity (which she’s already shown) and the moral courage to apologize, she’s cowering behind a third party.  Her lawyer apologized, allegedly in her name.  That’s grossly insufficient.

Nevertheless, a woman should be believed whenever she accuses.  Except when she lies.  Or except when it’s inconvenient to believe her, as with Juanita Broaddrick.  #MeToo, indeed.

Europe, EU, and Iran

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Walter Russell Mead had an op-ed in Monday’s Wall Street Journal wherein he suggested that, while Europe…is dismayed…with President Donald Trump, they still need us, as we need them.  There are, though, a couple of remarks that want response.

The Europeans should have checked the relevant clauses in the American Constitution, assessed the state of congressional sentiment, and realized that Mr Obama simply lacked the authority, political or constitutional, to commit the country permanently to such an agreement.

The Europeans knew—and know—this stuff full well. They’re just desperate for Iran’s post-JCPOA nuclear-armed missiles to fall elsewhere than Europe and hoping that their continued appeasement today might achieve that.

The Trump administration’s apparent indifference to European concerns….

Never mind that European leadership is utterly indifferent to the concerns of the US. European concerns are all that matters. Especially regarding those Iranian missiles and how much we owe Europe.