Month: April 2014

5 Things Happening that are More Important than Cliven Bundy

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Ok, the Bundy thing is still going on, and I do appreciate that it’s a local news story with national coverage. Not sure why anybody cares who says what about him on Facebook. However, while all of us are watching the circus, here’s 5 things we’re not paying attention to:

The President is in the Far East trying to get the TPP rammed through. Never mind the fact that it’s bad for most people.

Did you know that Afghanistan had a presidential election? Abdullah Abdullah faces a run-off, but he may well be the next Afghan head of state.

Iraq is having an election too. It’s this coming week. They also have some unrest ahead of the event.

Issues are not resolved in the Ukraine. Yeah.

Meanwhile in the United States, severe weather blows. Yeah, ok, bad pun.

And a bonus: The FCC wants to “save” Net Neutrality by destroying it.

All this and two new Saints in the realm of Catholicism. Even elections in far-flung lands probably have more bearing on you than the actions of one Southern Nevada rancher. But no, we prefer to hear about some guy who wants to let his cows wander his neighbor’s property without paying for the privilege.

Ok, Fine. Bundy.

I thought this was going to blow over fast, turns out I was wrong. So here is a brief summary of my thoughts. It is a local issue to me, actually in Clark County Nevada same as Las Vegas, and so Las Vegas Metro Police Department does actually have [some] jurisdiction. Still, it’s kinda a hike from town.

  • The Bundy Ranch issue was originally brought to my attention when the “standoff” started and a so-called “Free Speech Zone” was in place. Now, I am on the record as saying that Free Speech Zones are an affront to the First Amendment. Thankfully, somebody came to their senses and stopped that nonsense and they did it pretty quick.
  • Half of “the West” and 81% of Nevada is owned by the Federal government and has been for over a century. This includes lands ceded to the Feds as part of our incorporation as a state. This is a fact, sure as “the sky is blue.”
  • Bundy claims to have “ancestral rights” to graze his cattle despite the fact that a) his family hasn’t even owned it that long and b) people whose “ancestral rights” were guaranteed by freaking treaty don’t have them.
  • Contrary to what The Governor of Texas thinks, Bundy does not own the land in question. He owns the land across the Interstate Highway. The issue is that Bundy is using resources that don’t belong to him, just as surely as if I started watering my lawn from the neighbor’s spigot. If I pulled that stunt, my neighbor would be justified in disconnecting my hose.
  • There was a period of some years where Bundy did actually pay the Feds the required fees. I’m not sure anybody understands why he decided to stop.
  • The desert tortoise is a red herring. Ok it’s a tortoise, but it’s irrelevant.
  • The solar farm is just bad timing. Perhaps it made Bundy mad, but it certainly didn’t change BLM plans.
  • Bundy has been in and out of court over this matter for years and lost every single time.  If that’s not “due process of law,” I am unclear on the concept.
  • If anybody else decided they weren’t going to pay the feds money they owed, they would be in deep doo-doo.
  • If anybody else aimed weapons at the feds, there would be deeper doo-doo.
  • Ok, sure, the “militia” is “well regulated.” Well done, thanks much. Now maybe you guys can go home to your jobs and families? Oh right, if you had a job you wouldn’t be able to go to Bundyfest.
  • No, our local sheriff doesn’t have the authority to take guns away from the feds as Bundy wants. Otherwise, Commandant Arpaio would already have tried.
  • I hope nobody is surprised that a nutcase who thinks the feds have no authority over federally owned land is also a racist.
  • At this point, the thing is a full on Vegas festival of silliness, complete with a wedding.

I think the authorities are angling for a way to end this thing without causing an even bigger problem (and hey, glad the anniversaries of the Koresh incident and Oklahoma City bombing are past). And perhaps that’s why Bundy keeps letting this thing get more outlandish: more cameras means less odds of black helicopters or whatever he’s afraid of. Still, the best way to end this is to stop the media coverage.

In Closing: speaking of solar farms; easter [rotten] egg; like a Virgin; a competitor?; if you need a co-signer, you can’t afford it; and a bunch of items on the middle class, typical Americans.

Music Monday: A little late but better than never

Anybody like to guess what kind of day I’ve had?

Why that’s right: A Monday!

In Closing: freakin H-1B visas; anybody really shocked to learn this?; limes; open source seeds; bad idea retracted (hello did anybody think this through at all?); interesting idea (although I’d just as soon see one set of massive third party debates — let them all air their crazy and not-so-crazy ideas!); yeah, probably ought to declare a mistrial since the defendant died; job creation; I’d sooner vote for Chelsea; and thank God this man did not become Pope.

Heartbleed Beat

Ok folks, you could drive yourself mad trying to figure out the whole Heartbleed thing, so let me round it up for you.

What the heck is Heartbleed (thanks, Adam), and what does it mean?

How is the NSA connected? Or are they? Or are you really gonna believe they’re not involved, come on! (Bonus NSA linkage for your browsing pleasure!!!)

Ok, so what should you do now?

In Closing: Stupid kid; I’m not sure how you understand Nakba without understanding Auschwitz; let the dead bury their dead; why was it ever allowed in the first place??; circumcision; Glucosamine; priorities; and college.

Need new workout clothes?

I am not getting paid a dime to say this, but I like Champion workout clothing. Let me tell you why.

I was sold on the original Champion JogBra years ago. It has since been replaced by higher-tech even-lower-bounce products. In certain activities, it’s very important that The Girls don’t move around too much. Some of the new models even have double layers for more support — and there’s space between the layers for your gym locker key or armor or something. But my love of Champion goes much further than just bras.

These products are durable. I have a couple items that are about 5 years old and still going strong. The only reason to replace them is to keep from getting bored wearing the same old thing. You just aren’t going to get that kind of wear out of the stuff you find at the local discount store.

Now I like fashion as well as the next person. Champion manages to have both “new hip styles” and classics that you will always be able to wear to the gym. Come on, a modestly cut pair of navy blue workout shorts isn’t going out of style. Fine, pair it with a workout shirt in the latest “in” color.

For those that are plus sized, Champion absolutely has larger sizes. I can’t imagine how demoralizing it must be to know you need to work out to lose weight, yet  have a hard time finding exercise clothes that fit properly. At the risk of a really bad pun, they’ve got big girls covered.

Champion products are also very reasonably priced. I’m a clearance rack junkie, personally, but I can get an entire outfit of stuff (sometimes two) for what one premium bra from Lululemon costs — and I don’t have to think about wearing something called a Ta Ta Tamer or supporting a company with questionable values.

And finally, this may seem like a silly point. It is clear that orders are processed and packed by a human being. I know this because when I order a bunch of stuff, my items are packed into “outfits.” Say I have two bras, two shirts, a pair of shorts, and a pair of capris? They will be in two envelopes, one top/bra/bottom in each, color coordinated. Personally, I think that’s pretty cool!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some new workout clothes to toss in the washing machine.

In Closing: one young lady’s solution to child marriage; blah blah Snowden NSA privacy snooping et cetera; Her Majesty; fighting among ourselves?. See you all next time.

Shorties of Badassdom

When Kids are Smarter than the Adults: Apparently, being accused of twirling a pencil with a pencap on it is a problem that is best addressed by a 5 hour interrogation evaluation, including a strip search and blood testing. No idea whether anybody thought it would be a good idea to call mom or dad. Elsewhere — and I would totally like to believe this is an April Fools joke except that here’s local coverage including an interview —  police responded to a couple of kids building a tree fort with guns drawn. The child’s reaction was “I was thinking that I don’t want to be shot today, so I just listened to what they said.”

Tired of LinkedIn?: It was a pain in the butt to figure out how to close an account, so let me save you some effort.

You know you want this: Your dose of NSA, surveillance, spying, Snowden, privacy, and related links.

Jobs: A few items about the minimum wage, employment, job creation, and income equality.

A weighty subject: Some miscellaneous stuff about food, calories, obesity, diet, and exercise.

College Math: Sobering.

News headlines you won’t see: yeah.

And a reason to reach out to your Congressman: The Better Off Budget.

 

Winning, Duh.

Believe it or not, the downhill slide towards graduation is underway for college seniors. On the flipside, high school students are finalizing their plans for college and some college students are setting up for graduate school. In the midst of this, NPR ran this item last week on a law school that is boosting its rate of employed graduates by simply employing them. Feel free to spend 5 minutes listening to the whole thing:

These students get a stipend from the school to work for nonprofits or in public service. That stipend can come out of the school’s budget or sometimes alumni donations. And when a school hires its own students, it can bump up its ranking. William and Mary Law School, for example, jumped nine spots this year. It employs 20 percent of its students on a fellowship program.

The school’s dean says the program helps students succeed by showing potential employers what they’re capable of.

Needless to say, critics call the program self serving. I see it as a win-win-win situation.

Of course the college wins! They do better on the metric of what percentage of students are employed after graduation, and can boast about it on marketing materials. Further, they can point out that these students are employed in their profession at decent wages that can pay their student loan debt, not minimum wage burger flipping jobs. The college gets a further win in the business community because employers will know exactly what the can expect out of new graduates. This sort of information improves the school’s reputation.

Students win too: they get a job! Even better, they get a job that will jump start their resume and give them references for future job searches. Student loans get paid, they don’t have to live with mom and dad, lower stress, and so much more in an environment where there’s a tough job market. Some of these one year temporary positions even end with an offer of full time work in a similar position.

The overlooked third win is the nonprofit or public service organization that takes on these new grads. Many of these organizations do great work in their communities on a shoestring budget. This program means work gets done that might not be done at all if they had to hire an established professional at prevailing wages.

You’d have to be a real cynic to avoid seeing that the benefit is more than a jump in school ranking. If you really value the work ethic and honestly think that education is the key to success, then you really have to like this program.

In Closing: a couple Vegas items; save this for next year; a school tries doing something sensible; the importance of microbiota; privacy, surveillance, NSA, fake reforms, terrorism, yadda yadda yadda; petty Putin; exercise is good for you; on the minimum wage and poverty and the real center. Have a great weekend, folks.