Live Not By Lies

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It’s often been observed that many great scientific discoveries, as well as evidence of criminality, often begin with someone casually glancing at some kind of anomaly, saying to themselves, “Hmmm – that’s odd!” and curiosity drawing them into taking a closer look at the matter. Such was the case when an activist for matters to do with native American tribal identity (these would be the folk who used to be called Indians of the feather variety) was watching a TV interview. The activist was one of those who specialized in unmasking so-called “Pretendians” – those who claim Indian descent for reasons of social advantage or monetary gain. (Yes, looking at you, Senator Elizabeth Warren.) Remarks made during the interview, by singer-activist Buffy St. Marie, triggered a “Hmm, that’s odd!” reaction. Those remarks concerned St. Marie’s search for her real parents among a Canadian First Nations tribe, and the circumstances under which she was adopted by a white American couple as a baby. “Gee,” thought the activist, “That’s what all the other Pretendians say!”

That may not have been the absolute beginning of the thread-pull which unraveled the tangle of St. Marie’s decades-long claims, but it had the same eventual result.

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Worthwhile Reading

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Attacks on Churchill…from the Right.  This sort of thing feeds the same “aren’t we just awful” mindset that we see so much of from the Left.

Student expectations for careers versus actual outcomes.

Trump, Peggy Noonan, and the Old Guard.

How the Past envisaged our Present.

Martin Gurri on the importance of free speech: The Great American Debate Begins Again. Indeed, a lot of people seem to reject the whole idea of debate and of adversary proceedings in courts: they want an Authority to tell them what is true.

Related: Obama’s messaging machine.

Do graphic design and aesthetics affect the credibility of political communications?

Propellers versus paddle wheels: a case study in the introduction of a disruptive technology.

Jet engine turbine blades and single-crystal casting. Interesting that this sort of thing is rarely referred to as ‘tech’ by the media.

What are the health effects of replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs?

Not So Random Super Bowl Thoughts…

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First

Somewhere back in the misty halls of my memory I remember that Americans need a communal celebration, a party, about every month or two. That sounds about right, if only because companies need new marketing opportunities and retailers need new merchandise to stock their “seasonal” swing racks.

How else to explain Cinco de Mayo? That Halloween has become more or less an adult holiday? That doesn’t mean it’s all just sacrilegious and fun. Thanksgiving has become the American secular family holiday and Easter is well on its way, fully stripped of its religious significance, to being celebrated as a combination of a paganistic arrival of Spring and a family ham dinner.

So it is with the Super Bowl. The growth of the Super Bowl as a cultural phenomenon of course has matched that of the NFL. However, as the date of the actual game has been extended later into the calendar, its cultural significance has actually grown. Through 1980 the game was generally played on the third Sunday of January, placing it in the uncomfortable position of being a cure for a post-New Year’s hangover.

Now, thanks to an extended regular season, a bye week or two, and an extra round of playoffs, the game is held on the second week of February where it reigns alone. New Year’s Day is long in the rear view mirror, the pall of winter hangs heavy, and America is ready for another party (Valentine’s Day doesn’t count). Given the communal nature of watching sports on TV, the game essentially functions as a combination of a secular holiday and an indoor version of a backyard BBQ.

Second

A bit of family history.

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A Swarm of Sinecures

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Brown University Medical School…more specifically, the Department of Medicine within that school, whose divisions include cardiology, oncology, and primary care–now gives “diversity, equity, and inclusion” more weight than “excellent clinical skills” in its promotion criteria for faculty.

And, as has frequently been alluded to in recent days, the FAA in 2013 made some radical changes to its sourcing program for air traffic controllers…changes which surely had long-term impact, and not a positive one, on controller staffing.  (A very good article at the link, well worth reading.)

About a week ago, in a comment somewhere, I said:

It strikes me that jobs are increasingly viewed as sinecures…something that is given to someone to reward them with money and status. The idea that jobs actually involve work that actually needs to be done seems to play less and less of a part.

One might have thought that jobs like physician and air traffic controller would be reasonably exempt from this kind of thinking…but then one would have been wrong.

I suspect that the reason a lot of people view jobs as something where the incumbent receives value…but not where the incumbent necessarily adds value…is because their own jobs are like that.

John Konrad, who publishes the maritime site gGaptain, recently featured the S-word in a post:

The word is sinecure. NGO board seats, adjunct gigs, BS studies, book deals nobody is going to read… the list is endless Words have power. Start using this one.

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DOGE is an Oxymoron: Unchecked “Democracy” is the Problem

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Unlike the private sector, where operational efficiency is necessary to survive, the public sector is and always has been inherently inefficient. But that’s not the main problem. Think of federal public polices justified as being in the “public interest” as a building. On the upper floors are the best of them, the merely inefficient. At the mezzanine level are those suffering from extensive waste, fraud and abuse. On the ground floor are policies and programs rife with self-dealing and crony capitalism. Down in the basement is the “temple of virtue” where taxpayers are sacrificed to multiple ideological isms.

DOGE is peeking inside the locked doors on all four levels. As DOGE exposes “Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap,” politicians cry foul, as “they were implemented (by us) democratically. To paraphrase Churchill, “democracy is less bad than totalitarianism,” but, he might have added “generally worse than competitive private markets.” At this stage in US democracy, DOGE revelations have lost some of their shock value as commonplace, and politicians emphasize their good intent. DOGE needs to demonstrate that “good intentions” often lead to bad outcomes, and do not justify corruption in any case.

DOGE alone can only win a few skirmishes against Congress and its massive army of rent-seekers feeding off their largess. With public understanding and support, the Trump Administration could bring about more permanent structural changes that provide greater voter control.

Life is a Competition

Americans love sports, from 5 & 6-year-old soccer leagues through high school, college and pro teams, where the competition to succeed is intense. Pro sports is a business, as the recent Luka Donic trade to the Lakers reminds us, with winners and losers. It is incredibly “democratic” as millions of fans choose what players to follow, games to attend or stream at the posted price, and owners respond continuously to fan expectations. The competition is subject to a massive set of complicated rules and limitations enforced by referees and judges whose integrity is subjected to coaches’ challenge, instant replay and fan fury. That reflects the system of checks and balances that a competitive private market incorporates.

Now imagine a pro sports league designed and governed by the most honest and altruistic national politicians. They would deem it unfair to pay some athletes more than others, or to exclude the weak or physically impaired from the competition. Winners would be determined by political deal making in smoke-filled back rooms. Prices would be determined according to “ability to pay” and ticket purchases would be mandatory whether or not attending the games, with revenues first flowing through party coffers. Fans would be told who to root for and losing teams and cities would be declared winners so as not to result in hurt feelings. Voting against this system would result in your team being designated the loser but you would still be required to buy the tickets. That’s a metaphor for our current “altruistic” federal democracy.

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