Category: Philosophy

No Integrity Allowed

Trump fires intelligence community watchdog who told Congress about whistleblower complaint that led to impeachment

CNN Headline

Apparently, the White House has decided that integrity is a disqualifying factor for employment in the federal government. This is probably why CAPT Brett Crozier, the skipper of the USS Theodore Roosevelt was cashiered. CAPT Crozier put the safety of his men above himself and his career. Such blatant integrity is not to be tolerated.

A final irony is that a REAL Navy Captain was fired on the orders of an ACTING Secretary of the Navy. Since Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly’s action does not appear to be a public relations coup, let’s see how long it takes for Trump to throw him under the bus.

I can’t wait to see how historians portray this president for middle school civics classes in twenty years.

In for a Penny, Out of a Pound

It’s true that there are many things that business does better than government. On the other hand, there are things that only a national government can handle. Over the past 20 years, the Tea Party politicians have rallied to the cry of “Make the government smaller!”

There’s a difference between pruning a bush and yanking it out by the roots. Getting a haircut is significantly different than being beheaded.

So we removed the analysts who warned about an inevitable pandemic and had a worldwide network to watch for such an occurrence to be able to respond quickly. We saved a few bucks there, but I wonder what an honest audit would say. Is the millions of dollars saved by dismantling parts of the National Security Council worth the billions of dollars the economy will lose over the next two years–if not longer.

There are many fine Americans who serve in the military and are willing to die to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” How many of you are willing to lay down your own life for the economy?

 

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

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People say–many people, many-many people–that self-proclaimed stable genius Donald Trump, has the hoax, but not a hoax, Corona Virus situation under control. His solution is perfect–read the non-transcript. It’s perfect.

So, to those of you having difficulty breathing, a 104 degree fever, and hallucinations, don’t worry. It’s all okay. It’s totally okay.

Trump’s gut, which is smarter than you will ever be, told him to put Jared Kushner in charge of the pandemic. One reason is because Jared (the son-in-law, not the jeweler) did such a marvelous job in negotiating peace between Israel and Palestine. The peace was perfect, except for the continuing hostilities and casualties. However, it was perfect, just perfect.

Kushner, a real estate developer (not a slumlord), requires no education or experience in medicine, epidemiology, or disaster management, to be the obvious choice. Out of 329 and a half million people in America, including 11 million medical doctors and tens of millions of other scientists, HE is the one with the unique skills to handle this.

Kushner’s other bona-fides include marrying into the Trump family, although, his wife chose to keep her surname. Many people say, or so I’ve heard, this males things easier during a divorce. But then again, that might be a hoax. Or not. Or fake news. Or not.

In any case it’s good. It’s perfect. Just perfect.

 

tandk
Trump praises Kim Jong Un’s authoritarian rule, says “I want my people to do the same.” Washington Post, June 15, 2018

President Trump has offered assistance to North Korea to handle the COVID-19 threat. I have two observations:

  1. Shouldn’t Trump take care of the United States?
  2. Kim Jong Un should run, not walk, to the nearest exit.

Consider the Source

Thirty-one year-old actress-singer Vanessa Hudgens made some inappropriate comments about the coronavirus and is desperately attempting to correct the indiscretion.

If the opinions were presented by a 31 year-old physician, epidemiologist, or other scientist, I’d agree that it was a serious matter. However, actors and singers are not good sources for medical advice. They are skilled at emoting. Much of the time, they are presenting words and actions written into a script or a song that are not their own.

So why do we put so much stock into what celebrities say and do? I’ll explain that in a forthcoming diatribe. For now, please, consider the source. Don’t expect scientists to sing. Don’t expect physicists to win Oscars. Don’t seek medical advice from actors or singers.

Surrounded by Idiots

With regard to COVID 19–Laurence J. Peter, a professor at the University of Southern California, proposed that cream rises until it sours. The Peter Principle states that in a hierarchy, an employee advances until they reach incompetency, after which time they neither advance nor decline. A good grocery clerk might be advanced to department manager and continue to do a great job. However, when promoted to assistant store manage, if they perform poorly, they remain an assistant store manager.

In emergent situations, this process accelerates; today’s idiot is tomorrow’s idiot-in-charge.

It was an idiot-in-charge who decided that celebrities should have front of the line privileges for the COVID-19 test.

Idiots-in-charge are the ones deciding that meetings, religious services, etc. should include hundreds of people in an enclosed space.

Idiots-in-charge also engage in independent operations by boarding aircraft when they know or suspect that they have the virus.

Beware of these idiots! They are not difficult to spot–you know what to look for.