Breaking Fake News Update (v16)

 Fake News Broke on August 28, 2025!

Is there any surprise that we're using the National Guard not only for law enforcement, but also for mundane tasks that would normally be performed by municipal or federal employees? 

• There certainly shouldn't be, given that the National Parks Service, which used to take care of some of these tasks, now has a three or four hands full of employees in DC, compared to a couple of hundred pre-DOGE and pre-One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 
• There certainly shouldn't be, given that DC has seen federal funding slashed by Congress and the administration. 
• There certainly shouldn't be - after all, even FOTUS declared that crime was down 25% in DC this year alone, so no one should be shocked that there isn't a lot for the Guard members from DC and the red states of Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina that gleefully ignore high crime in their own states to stand with FOTUS and start Making Restaurants Safe Again for lobbyists, lawyers and politicians. (Are those distinctions without differences?)

I would think, though, that seeing camo-wearing folks with weapons mulching flowers, picking up trash, and loitering in Union Station would be quite the thing in the US capital, wouldn't you agree?

As always, when fake news breaks, we'll be sure to keep you informed. 

Wondering on Wednesday 3/8/23

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Let's dive right into the wonderment, shall we? 

If you've followed me for a while, here or elsewhere on social media, you know I'm a frequent critic of media folks and publications. I don't pretend I can do their jobs better than they do; I just sometimes wish they did their jobs a little better. 

And that's how I felt reading this AP article about a "surreal Twitter exchange" between an employee and chief twit Elon Musk.

Haraldur Thorleifsson, who until recently was employed at Twitter, logged in to his computer last Sunday to do some work — only to find himself locked out, along with 200 others. 

After several days of not hearing from the company whether or not he had been fired, Thorleifsson decided that publicly engaging Musk might get him the information he was looking for. 

Eventually, he got his answer after a surreal Twitter exchange with Musk, who proceeded to quiz him about his work, question his disability and need for accommodations (Thorleifsson, who goes by “Halli,” has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair) and tweet that Thorleifsson has a “prominent, active Twitter account and is wealthy” and the “reason he confronted me in public was to get a big payout.” While the exchange was going on, Thorleifsson said he received an email that he was no longer employed.

There's more to the story, and the article covers it all. Here's what I'm wondering: why write an article about a Twitter exchange, surreal or otherwise, and not include a link to the tweets? 

News is out that Walmart is closing its last two Portland, OR stores.

The closures come after Walmart CEO Doug McMillion said in 2022 that record-breaking retail theft has hit the company’s economic performance and could lead to store closures. “Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” McMillion said, adding that “prices will be higher and/or stores will close” if authorities don’t crack down on shoplifting crimes.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems kind of obvious to wonder whether the company considered hiring security guards instead of greeters and employing cashiers instead of leaving it up to customers to do the work.

NY's Gov. Kathy Hochul has put forward changes to our state's bail reform law. A key change? Getting rid of  "the so-called 'least restrictive' standard for judges when considering bail." 

It's going to be a battle with her own party; "Democratic leaders have called for ways to address underlying issues surrounding crime, such as poverty, housing, and mental health," while Hochul is looking to make the law itself fairer. 

It depends on the judge and the political leanings or the philosophical leanings, or the judicial leanings of a judge versus looking at commonsense, commonly accepted criteria.

I can't help wondering why so many Dems disagree with her. After all, they're among the first to complain when people 'judge shop' to find a friendly ear for redistricting or gun control cases. Surely, the Dems know that alleged criminals don't have that chance. 

There are probably a couple million folks talking about the spate of 'anti' bills introduced by Republican legislators around the country.

One, in Florida, would ban the use of pronouns "that do not correspond with [a] person’s sex." The guy who submitted the bill said it

would enshrine the “God-given” responsibility of parents to raise their children... The bill also protects students and teachers from being forced to use language that would violate their personal convictions.

I don't have a dog in this hunt, but I have to wonder why we need laws designed to disregard the God-given responsibility of parents who are respectfully raising their children, and to violate the personal convictions and identities of others. 

Tennessee is trying to out-Florida Florida. A bill passed this week would 

require paid drag performers to get a permit before they can take the stage, and would specifically prevent minors from attending their shows...

I didn't have to spend a lot of time wondering how soon drag performers would start acting for free just to be able to host a show without having to go through the permitting process? And it's fun to think about the 'small government, anti-regulation' folks having the tables turned on them, isn't it?

And speaking of protecting minors, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that America's Youngest Governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R- AR), just signed a bill "loosening child labor protections" in her state. 

Under the law, the Youth Hiring Act of 2023, children under 16 do not have to obtain permission from the Division of Labor to get a job. They will no longer need to get an employment certificate, which verified their age, described their work and work schedule, and included written consent from a parent or guardian. Sanders signed the bill into law on Tuesday.

Why was this bill necessary, you might be wondering? Because requiring a permit 

had placed an "arbitrary burden on parents" who needed government permission for their child to get a job. 

If you follow all of this kid-protecting stuff, coming from the same basic political idea gene pool, you're doing better than I want to do.

What are you wondering about tonight?

Sunday School 9/25/22: Extra Credit

Part of what Sen. Joe Manchin was trying to get across to Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream in yesterday's Sunday School was that people - and the country - are more important than the politics of the day.  It's a message sure to fall on deaf ears, on both sides of the aisle and across the airways and the interwebs, but he's right.

Down the hall in the CNN State of the Union classroom, Jake Tapper had a conversation with two former governors of Tennessee: Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, and Bill Haslam, a Republican. They host a new podcast, You Might Be Right.

Tapper asked Haslam what he'd say to folks who say it's not possible to find common ground "with people who are literally trying to undermine democracy?"  Tapper was referring to the many Rs, including the top leaders in the House, who push the Big Lie and, "in the view of many critics, don't seem to have a real commitment to democracy."

Haslam dodged the meat of the question, the part about the lack of commitment to democracy, by saying that 

most Americans aren't out there watching -- wondering about this or engaging in an argument this way or another. They're living their lives. But they do want to understand it better. What we're trying to do is take difficult issues, show both sides of the problem, so that people can understand, the other side might have a point.

So, Tapper tried again, suggesting "it's difficult to have an argument" about important topics like taxes, foreign policy, abortion and so on "if the other side won't even accept the results of a free and fair election." 

Bredesen took the question this time, pointing out that "if we get stuck on that" there won't be a lot of progress made.

What Bill and I are trying to do is to say, look, there are some issues there that are -- they're very difficult and people are in hard corners, but there's a lot of issues in this country having to do, I mean, with the debt and with the environment and so on, that there are real problems that need solutions. And trying to explore with the public at large, not necessarily with the Congress, but the public at large, as to what some of those common grounds might be, I think, is important.

And, Bredesen said, when you look at both sides you get to better answers than you do if you "just stick to the catechism of one party or the other..."

Haslam was asked about white evangelicals and what role they play in "both the extremism in the Republican party today and also the potential solutions" he and Bredesen discuss. Tapper asked about this because Haslam's been vocal about "how far off-track the church has gone." Haslam said in his experience in office,

believers act just like everyone else when it comes to the political sphere, instead of being different and saying, one of the reasons that you serve in offices like Phil and I did is to actually solve a problem, to make a difference, to -- it's not about making a point. It's about making a difference. And I'm trying to encourage people of faith to say, how can you actually make a difference? Make a difference means actually trying to solve a problem, instead of just yelling at the other side about how horrible they are.

Bredesen added that their backgrounds help other folks understand the importance of actually solving problems and getting things done.

I mean, we both were in the business world before politics. We both were mayors and then governors. I mean, those are all jobs where you actually have to do something Monday morning. If there's a problem out there, you're expected to do something to begin to -- begin to solve it. That's just a very different environment than you have in the Congress, for example, where there's very little problem-solving going on, but there's a lot of posturing going on and working to the base. So, I hope that the combination of experiences of the two of us bring something a little different to the discussions as well.

Tapper asked Bredesen to talk about the root of the cultural canyon he sees between "the so-called cultural elite and folks who know somebody who drives a Ford F-150."  From Bredesen's perspective,

I think we're living in an America which is obviously divided, although my perception is, it's not as divided as you would think by listening to the Congress or listening -- listening to the media. If I walk into the grocery store and see people, probably, I'm sure, on both sides of a lot of these issues, I mean, they're largely the same -- the same people with the same desires in life and the same intentions as to what they do.

He thinks, more than anything, it's an urban-rural divide, one that "may be inevitable" given how the country has moved away from rural areas into cities. 

But I think it's possible to bring it back together again. We were very divided in the '30s, and World War II fixed it. I'm not suggesting that we want another war or something, but there will be some challenge that comes up to the country at some time that I think will help to pull us back together and find our common roots.

And Haslam noted, "we're pretty evenly divided as a country," noting the 50/50 Senate, a handful of votes separating the House, and the fact that we've not had a president elected by a double-digit margin in years.

But the problem is, we have become kind of segregated by our beliefs. And so we think everybody thinks the way we do, and we can't believe anybody would think differently. Part of what we're doing with this podcast... is modeling former Senator Howard Baker saying "always remember, the other person might be right." And that's what's lost in this -- in the discussions we're having today, is this idea of, the goal is to get to the right answer, not to get to my answer. And so we're trying to take hard topics, present people that have two very different perspectives, and then present some potential solutions.

I'm going to check out the podcast, to see how they approach the topics that wish our politicians would talk about, instead of focusing on getting the perfect soundbite. 

Checking back with Manchin, here's how he ended his chat with Bream.

And I sure do put the country first and America. It's all about America, not about Democrats or Republicans.

Tonight, Manchin pulled his permitting reform bill from the funding plan the Senate is considering. In a statement, he said

It is unfortunate that members of the United States Senate are allowing politics to put the energy security of our nation at risk. The last several months, we have seen firsthand the destruction that is possible as Vladimir Putin continues to weaponize energy. A failed vote on something as critical as comprehensive permitting reform only serves to embolden leaders like Putin who wish to see America fail. For that reason and my firmly held belief that we should never come to the brink of a government shutdown over politics, I have asked Majority Leader Schumer to remove the permitting language from the Continuing Resolution we will vote on this evening.

Over the last several weeks there has been broad consensus on the urgent need to address our nation’s flawed permitting system. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to move forward on this critical legislation to meet the challenges of delivering affordable reliable energy Americans desperately need. We should never depend on other countries to supply the energy we need when we can produce it here at home. Accelerating the construction of energy infrastructure is critical to delivering that energy to the American people and our allies around the world. Inaction is not a strategy for energy independence and security.

Is it critical enough to actually do something? Only time will tell...

See you around campus - and be prepared to discuss issues as if "the other person may be right."

Wondering on Wednesday 3/24/21

Ready... Set... Wonder!

I've got an eclectic set of wonderment today. Let's dive in, shall we?

According to this article, the Biden administration is putting accountability back into the government, because "(a)gencies were clear, and unanimous, in their desire to have the earlier framework reinstated," according to an OMB official. The guidelines, which were removed on Christmas Eve, relieved agencies from having to set performance goals and track progress against them. One reason for the removal was that folks weren't reading the reports on Performance.gov. Another reason? The Trump administration was focused on getting rid of work that "doesn't lead to impactful change or measurable efficiencies." I'm wondering, how you can determine if measurable efficiencies have been made if you're not measuring them?

Moving from DC to Tennessee, if everything goes as State Rep. Jerry Sexton planned, the Bible will be the official book of the Volunteer State. Sexton gave a couple reasons why the Bible should be the official book, including to "reflect family heritage and underscore the multi-million-dollar industry that is Bible printing in Tennessee." Now, obviously the Bible is not critical to many Americans, including "Buddhist, or Muhammad or any of those religions," as Sexton called them, trying to be respectful to everyone's concerns and "just put the Bible where I feel that it belongs." 

His feelings aside, I wonder about the choice. While Bible publishing may be a multi-million- dollar industry," the healthcare industry in Tennessee is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Maybe the state's official book should be the manual on how to read an insurance claim form?

A researcher asked groups of voters to imagine that the Republican Party and the Democratic Party were each one person, and to identify the characteristics each of those people would have, or, as he put it, to “pretend that the attributes you associate with the Republican party were encapsulated in one person.”

• Five independents and one Democrat defined the Republican Party 'person' using these terms: Stubborn, Conservative, Unreliable, Selfish, Greedy, Ultra-capitalist, Closed-minded, Ultra-religious, Anti-immigrant, and Hypocritical.
• Three Republicans, two independents, and one libertarian used these terms: Fiercely loyal, Fiscally conservative, Responsible, Egotistical, More extreme, Rudderless, Narcissistic, Controlling, Elitist, Fearful, Passionate, Inconsistent, and Divided.

The same groups were asked to define the Democratic Party 'person.'

• The first group used these terms: Community-minded, Humanitarian, Open-minded, Fun, Caring, Globally aware, Accepting of other humans, Diverse in interests, Racially/gender diverse, Futuristic.
• And the second group? Stereotyping, Critical of ideas/of things they don’t like, Underdogs/Uncomfortable in the majority, Empathetic, Patronizing, Hypocritical, Messiah-complex, Utopian-driven, Spend a lot/not fiscally conservative,

I don't see any revelations there, but I do wonder about the Republican-Independent-Libertarian group being so harsh on their own party, and what that will mean going into the next election cycle.

Speaking of the next election cycle, C-SPAN is kicking off the "Road to the White House 2024" this Friday, with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talking up the Westside Conservative Club in Iowa. Whether Pompeo gets to run or not depends on whether The Former Guy decides to run again. With that decision seeming to be on hold until after next year's midterms, everyone else interested in running is forced to get out in front of voters - or at this point, are they just donors?  I also wonder who else will jump into the early fray.

And speaking of elections, how horrible must it be in Israel, I wonder? Yesterday's election apparently has resulted in another no-winner decision, for the fourth time in two years, if the exit polls are right. I can't even imagine having to go through that - it's hard enough having to put up with the mid-terms here. And if those polls are right, there'll be a fifth election later this year. 

Finally, news is breaking that New York's Senate, Assembly, and the Sonofa Gov have agreed to legalize adult recreational marijuana. I haven't seen the bill yet, but it was reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said getting this done is "essential" to the state's social and economic well-being - and by that, he means the 9% state sales tax is essential. Some local governments can tack on an additional 4% sales tax. There's more - a whole nother hunk of burning bureaucracy to manage the weed, and fights over what to do with the tax money, naturally. I'm not wondering about all of that - that's the New York way, adding taxes and layers of bureaucracy, and fighting about all of it. 

Well, what am I wondering about? How do I go about getting "Don't Bogart That Joint" installed as our new state song? I respect the folks who picked "I Love New York," our current state song, but I just want to put this song where I feel it belongs. 

What are you wondering about?