Maybe It’s Time

Posted on 28 November 2022 by eehines

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction reported to Congress at the end of October that

for the first time in its history [SIGAR was] unable this quarter to provide Congress and the American people with a full accounting of this US government spending [in Afghanistan] due to the noncooperation of several US government agencies.
The United States Agency for International Development, which administers the majority of US government spending for Afghanistan, and the Treasury Department refused to cooperate with SIGAR in any capacity while the State Department was selective in the information it provided pursuant to SIGAR’s audit and quarterly data requests.

This is a preview of Maybe It’s Time. Read the full post (249 words, estimated 1:0 mins reading time)

Political Payback

Posted on 28 November 2022 by eehines

The Wall Street Journal‘s Editors note that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, CA) plans to remove three of the more sketchy and extremist members of the Progressive-Democratic Party from House committees if he becomes Speaker. The Editors then fret that

This sort of mutually assured political destruction is both a symptom and cause of the decline of Congress. But these are the polarizing precedents that Mrs Pelosi has set, and in politics payback is inevitable.

This is a preview of Political Payback. Read the full post (202 words, estimated 48 secs reading time)

Colleges and College Majors

Posted on 27 November 2022 by eehines

There appears to be a big difference between generalist (I’m being generous here) college majors and specialist college majors, based on the level of post-graduation, on the job satisfaction of the graduates with their majors.

Among arts and humanities majors, nearly half wished they’d studied something else, while STEM graduates tended to feel they made the right choice.

Note that this is far from a properly done survey, limited as it is to just two cities. However, there’s a large hint here, if today’s colleges and universities will pay attention. Or even if they won’t.

This is a preview of Colleges and College Majors. Read the full post (153 words, estimated 37 secs reading time)

A Deliberate Move by the Progressive-Democratic Party

Posted on 26 November 2022 by eehines

…against American citizenship and American citizens.

The Progressive-Democratic Party-backed Washington, DC, city council voted 12-1 (!) to allow anyone resident in the city for at least 30 days to vote in city elections. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) didn’t have the courage to take an open position, one way or the other, on the bill; she allowed it to become the law of the city by simply not signing it. The new city law is so broadly written that illegal aliens and foreign college students would be able to vote, and

This is a preview of A Deliberate Move by the Progressive-Democratic Party. Read the full post (294 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

A Plan for the Winter

Posted on 25 November 2022 by eehines

Mark Kimmitt (USA Brig Gen, ret) has one for the Ukrainian military that centers on resting and refitting for a major spring offensive. The thought has some merit, but I disagree.

Rather than using the winter to refit for a spring offensive, the Ukrainian army should use refitting-in-progress to mount a winter offensive along one or two fronts.

A drive through Melitopol’ to the Azov Sea coast would be one useful front; a drive to liberate Severodonetsk and though Kramatorsk would be another.

This is a preview of A Plan for the Winter. Read the full post (309 words, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

Controlling

Posted on 25 November 2022 by eehines

Naked self-promoting advertisement….

My latest (as of 22 Nov 22, anyway) Peter Hunt novel is out, available here.

Peter Hunt’s lady is brutally assaulted, and Hunt has to go after the mastermind who set the thing up.

Donahugh was involved in DPA Donason’s kidnapping and personally involved in her rape.
More quiet. Then Freyman said, “I’ll be handling the prosecution. Keep me current as this business proceeds.”
“Of course,” Jankuwicz said.
Freyman turned to me. “I’ve also heard about you. There will be persons to prosecute as this winds up?”
“Before I could answer, Jankuwicz said, ‘That depends on the perpetrators.'”

This is a preview of Controlling. Read the full post (451 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on 24 November 2022 by eehines

I first posted this in 2011. I think it bears repeating today.

Today I thought I’d share some thoughts on the matter offered by other folks who are a bit more articulate than I. In the meantime, be thankful for who we are and where we are: whatever straits in which we find ourselves, we’re orders of magnitude better off than most everyone else in the world.

This is a preview of Happy Thanksgiving. Read the full post (705 words, estimated 2:49 mins reading time)

How to Save Twitter and Democracy

Posted on 23 November 2022 by eehines

Mark Weinstein, founder of Twitter-competitor MeWe, wrote a Sunday Wall Street Journal op-ed on this subject; he suggested a number of “fixes” that Twitter owner Elon Musk should implement to save Twitter—and Weinstein’s conception of “democracy.” These are:

…immediately create an advertiser content-preference system. Allow advertisers to select the tenor and topical content that their ads are associated with….

Only if Twitter users can have access to the system and to which advertisers sign up for which censorship. That way, we can block the ads from Woke or otherwise too thin-skinned advertisers. They will have demonstrated that their products are too fragile for actual usefulness.

This is a preview of How to Save Twitter and Democracy. Read the full post (442 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Merrick Garland’s Special Prosecutor, in His Own Words

Posted on 23 November 2022 by eehines

Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as Special Prosecutor of former President Donald Trump (R). Leave aside the fact that while Smith was a lawyer in the Department of Justice a dozen years ago, he worked closely with the IRS’ then-Director Exempt Organizations, Lois Lerner, to target Conservative organizations applying for tax exempt status for slow-walking their applications or outright denial. Never mind, either, that Smith brought a number of charges against a sitting Republican Governor and obtained convictions, thereby destroying his political career. Or that these convictions were overturned by the Supreme Court over Smith’s naked distortion, to the point of blatant unconstitutionality, of the laws under which Smith achieved his destruction.

This is a preview of Merrick Garland’s Special Prosecutor, in His Own Words. Read the full post (289 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

The Cost of Food

Posted on 22 November 2022 by eehines

Saturday’s Wall Street Journal had an article centered on the difficulty of passing a farm bill that, among other things, continues subsidies for farmers. The article included some words on the bill’s food stamp program and funding, including this remark:

...SNAP, the food-stamps program is generally aimed at helping low-income households afford to buy food.

There are at least two ways to help low-income households afford to buy food. One is to restore work/train for work/school requirements to the program, which in the end, increases those families’ income.

This is a preview of The Cost of Food. Read the full post (235 words, estimated 56 secs reading time)

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Author Archives: eehines

Maybe It’s Time

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Political Payback

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Colleges and College Majors

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A Deliberate Move by the Progressive-Democratic Party

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A Plan for the Winter

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Controlling

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Happy Thanksgiving

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How to Save Twitter and Democracy

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Merrick Garland’s Special Prosecutor, in His Own Words

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The Cost of Food

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