Linky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Secret back channel between FTX and White House closed day after FTX declared bankruptcy. When they warned crypto would be used for illegals activities - this is what they meant. The corruption is just blatant at this point. 

- No science at all involved in recommended alcohol intake limits. Don't trust any government recommendations when it comes to diet anymore.

- Twitter Files: Twitter and Other Government Agencies. All the three letter agencies were using Twitter for their own purposes.

- Time to take down the tree. (One book at a time.)

- This brought a tear to my eye.

LBJ and Political Corruption

Interesting post about Lyndon Baines Johnson and how he may have been the model for political corruption today. 

When Johnson entered Congress, he was dirt poor and obsessed with money. He remained an elected federal official until his term as President ended in 1969 - an unbroken string spanning more than three decades - and yet managed to retire with a fortune that would be valued well in excess of $100 million today.

You could replace the name "Johnson" with the name "Pelosi" and the statement would be equally true today.

Normalization of behavior like Johnson's has led to a continuing debasement of US politics to the point where scandals that would have previously ended careers are now routinely blown off as standard operating procedure.

Well maybe depending on which party the offending elected officials belongs to. You can even sleep with Chinese spies or employ a Chinese spy as your personal driver for years if you're a Democrat.

As the cancer of corruption grows , so too does the government's need to corral the outrage and the activities of ordinary citizens.

That's where the censorship of social media, the drive for a government controlled digital currency and other means of government control comes in. I hope Americans don't stand for it.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- We Need a Leader. Another analogy between the American Revolution and our situation today that's worth your time. (HT American Digest)

-  Heh Heh

- Glenn Reynolds: The Navy needs to stay focused - or we're doomed. This worries me as well.

- Glenn Greenwald: Nancy and Paul Pelosi Making Millions in Stock Trades in Companies She Actively Regulates. 

Money in Politics

For years I've heard that we need to get big money out of the political process. I guess each party doxxing the other party's major donors would be one way to accomplish this goal.

Though I think the people trying to shame Trump donors haven't thought this through.

If that's OK then I'm guessing it's perfectly fine for the ADL to publicly dox anyone who gave money to Ilhan Omar's campaign and portray them as people who are actively supporting anti-Semitism and Sharia Law.

Or for an opponent of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to publicly dox anyone who donated to AOC's campaign as being complicit is driving away Amazon's proposed headquarters from the district and costing 25,000 much needed jobs.

Under these new rules all that is fine - right?

This reminds me of when Harry Reid used the "nuclear option" to eliminate filibusters on executive branch appointments and federal judicial appointments. How's that short term thinking working for the Democrats as Mitch McConnell uses the new rules of the game Reid implemented to help President Trump install more Federal (Republican) judges than any President in history.

I would also be perfectly fine with taking away the tax deduction status of all political donations. It's nobody's business if I buy a large Hawaiian pizza from Dominos. When Dominos reports their earnings as required by law - they don't publicly report individual purchases by customer. So I don't have to worry about people doxxing me because I happen to like the combination of pineapple and ham (which I know some people view as an abomination in the eyes of the Lord). Likewise politicians would report how much money they raised but not from which individuals.

The big drawback to this suggestion could be the unfettered influx of foreign money.

Of course the simple solution would be for EVERYONE to just stop giving money to these assholes altogether (or all together which may fit better). Then maybe, just maybe, elected officials would have to run on their accomplishments and how they've helped their constituents and not on attack ads and much of the crap we deal with today.

Just a thought.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Am I the only one who misses the Beef O'Brady Bowl? I just loved saying and mocking that name... The photo makes me smile (because in my head I see a thought bubble above both of them saying "This place is a dump!")... This is a major argument for the success of Bitcoin... In Roman times corrupt public officials were thrown into the River Tiber with a sack of rats tied over their faces. Now they just buy Georgetown townhouses... The new Defense Budget includes $350 million in military support for the Ukraine in their war against Russia. You would think this would be more widely reported and applauded... I still miss Jon Lester. I still root for Jon Lester. Both of those things are true of most Red Sox fans... When the robot rebellion begins this will be programmed into the memory of all the robots. There's no artificial intelligence in the universe that can grasp that smearing things with feces just happens to be a San Francisco tradition...

Political Corruption

**WARNING - HERE BE TALK OF POLITICS**

As I've gotten older I've become less and less political. I think that's because I've come to believe that both parties are equally rotten to the core. The current kerfuffle over Donald Trump's "conflict of interests" regarding his businesses and his duties as President is a perfect example of this.

Will foreign nations try to curry favor by staying at Trump hotels and playing golf at Trump resorts? Absolutely! Will they also try to curry favor by trying to do other business deals with him? Again - absolutely! I don't mind this so much because it is more out in the open and transparent then say a gift to the Clinton Foundation for example. Recently it was revealed that Norway has cut their donations to the Clinton Foundation by 90%. Is this because the Clinton Foundation has stopped doing worthwhile charitable things or because the power and influence of the Clinton's were crippled when Hillary lost the election?

The Trump University settlement? During the campaign it was made clear by the media that Trump University was a scam from top to bottom. But maybe if that same media hadn't tried to portray Mitt Romney as a bigoted, misogynist, shady business man the public might have believed them when a real bigoted, misogynist, shady business man actually appeared. Besides - I'm glad Trump did the right thing and settled the case so it wouldn't be hanging over his Presidency.

Going back to Trump's hotel business - am I the only one who remembers the stories written with glee about how Trump's campaign was hurting his business? Who is really surprised the opposite is happening now that he won? Besides for every foreign delegation - there's an NBA team or Hollywood star boycotting Trump properties.

It's the nature of the beast. Get over it!