Excising Expertise

The latest atrocity in the current maladministration is Trump's executive order directing governmental agencies to cut their advisory committees by a third. At a time when scientific expertise is needed now, more than ever, this clown is showing scientists the door. The idea that this is a money saving measure is ridiculous in light of the growing deficit. The idea that this is a measure meant to curb conflicts of interest is even more ludicrous, especially in an administration that puts a former aerospace executive in the position of Defense Secretary. The very idea that Republicans were waging a war on science has become axiomatic. Trump is ramping up this war, he's basically nuking science from orbit, it's the only way to be sure that his corporate cronies can complete their Global War on Terra.

Gulf of Oman Incident?

I don't trust the Trump maladministration, and I especially don't trust neocon loon John Bolton and theocon loon Mike Pompeo, thus I am more than a little skeptical about the recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, which Pompeo insists were perpetrated by the Iranian armed forces. While I find the Shiite fundamentalist regime of Iran repulsive (though I think the Saudis are worse, despite our purported alliance with them), I've been suspicious of Republican claims of Iranian malfeasance ever since George W. Bush lumped them in with Iraq and North Korea as part of the 'Axis of Evil'. In light of Trump facing increased scrutiny for his failures and felonies, I am concerned that he might pull a 'wag the dog' maneuver if he thinks it'll save his badly bronzed hide (I've never bought that 'Donald the Dove, Hillary the Hawk' narrative). I can see Pompeo and Bolton egging him on towards this end, I just hope that Congress would act to stop any sort of foreign policy blunder.

I really don't want to sound paranoid, but it's not like trumped-up naval incidents in the gulfs of the world are that far-fetched.

Men Wouldn’t Face This Scrutiny

I watched most of yesterday’s women’s World Cup match between the United States and Thailand while playing bar trivia last night. It was a 13-0 rout, in case you missed it. Tonight, one of the stories on the network news concerns whether or not the continual scoring and subsequent celebrations were evidence of poor sportsmanship. I doubt that a men’s team would face the same criticism- they would have been portrayed as exuberant rather than bullying, their displays of bravado being portrayed as admirable.

The US is a large, wealthy country, and one that places more of a premium on women’s athletics than most other nations (though the Michigan State horror shows how far we need to progress). It’s no wonder that the women’s national team would be a dominant force in the World Cup. Coming opponents will be wealthier countries than Thailand, countries with stronger soccer traditions- the outcomes of the games might be uncertain. Let the women’s team have their moment of exuberance, they play a lot better than their male counterparts.

Another Young Immigrant Dies In Trump Administration Custody

Via Tengrain, we have the tale of another young immigrant dying in custody of the Trump maladministration... the French oak sapling given to Trump by Emmanuel Macron as a token of goodwill between France and the United States has died. It had been placed in quarantine after already having been symbolically planted on the White House grounds... whisked away to an uncertain fate like a Guatemalan toddler. It’s axiomatic that everything that Trump touches dies, whether corporation, child, or tree. Part of me suspects that Trump didn’t want anything shadier than he in the vicinity of the White House. At this rate, we’ll be lucky if the Republic is left standing when he leaves office.

Unarmed Man Enters Battle of Wits

I had a long, arduous (but fun) weekend on the job, so I spent most of this rainy day sleeping. I missed John Dean’s testimony in Congress, which was knocked out of the local headlines by a Manhattan helicopter crash. I DID manage to catch up a bit this evening, and was struck by this exchange:

what a joke pic.twitter.com/Oqn80Djgyi

— jordan (@JordanUhl) June 10, 2019

What we have here is a failure to communicate a drunken bro-hole trying to outclass a man who has been a public servant and a truth-teller for longer than he’s been alive. It’s amazing to see callow nepotism hires believe that they can best individuals who have weathered the greatest political scandals of our time. Looks like Gaetz chose the wrong day to quit drinking.

A Semi-Formal Night

In a marked contrast from last night, tonight is the night of a major fundraisers’ event. I’m sitting around in jacket-and-tie as the swells are having a lovely al fresco dinner. Needless to say, the head of our organization is here, along with two Vice Presidents. My day really begins when the caterers need to clean up and get out, when my role as keyholder comes into play.

Then it’s change into shorts and T-shirt and run around making sure that the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed... making sure the caterers know where the dumpsters are, then locking up the service entrance. Thankfully, the weather is perfect, so I won’t be running around in a quagmire in my best shoes.

It’s been a weekend of contrasts, a night with young Bronx working class heroes and an evening with well-heeled (some exceedingly so) philanthropists. It’s the blend of job experiences that makes the position interesting... well, that and being with all the critters once both poor and rich humans leave.

A Rustic Night

Tonight is a weird night on the job- one of our sites is hosting a campout for the counselors of another educational non-profit. I just arrived, and the recent college grads are out having dinner. I had worked an afternoon shift at another site before relieving my coworker who had been here.

The ‘kids’ are all vetted- they wouldn’t be working with high school students if they hadn’t been. My coworker told me that there were about twenty of them, so it should be a lively night. They will be setting up a campfire in a designated firepit when they get back.

My job is to act as keyholder, to make sure that our guests can get where they need to get and to use my local knowledge if there’s an emergency (which I don’t expect). I anticipate that it will be a fun night, but a busy one... and it’ll also be a busy night for the mosquitoes.

UPDATE: It’s dawn now, and the guests are still sleeping. When they came back from dinner, they built a campfire and made s’mores, making sure that I got one. One of the old-timers, who was here on the overnight last year, told a funny story about cooling off in our one air-conditioned building (for the record, last night was a lovely 60 degrees) and hearing a bang-and-clatter overhead... he didn’t want to stay inside, and he didn’t want to leave the building to face whatever made the noise. He was in the classic horror movie dilemma. I joked that I’d be the guy to go outside and investigate, to my doom!!! That’s why I’m the night guy. Even though I only live a few miles from this crew, I came across as some sort of eccentric Druid type.

The highlight (literally) of the night was when these young adults, who are mainly from the Bronx, looked up and saw the (truth be told not-many) stars of the northern suburban sky. One young man, making out the constellation, joyfully exclaimed, “The Big Dipper!” It was just the sort of moment that camping is made for.