Flailed Authority

Stephen Sackur, host of the BBC's Hard Talk, recently interviewed Martin Baron, the (fairly) recently retired editor of the Washington Post. Just when we thought the chicken littles had been served up as chicken dinner with media pundits pivoting towards the durability of our constitution and away from chimerical existential threats, Baron parrots the pre-election punditry served up by jurassic "journalists." Between decrying all the bad things the prez-elect will do, he belabored the loss of "authority" by the dying media that was his livelihood. And how does he know what T2 will do? Because Trump said he would. Anyone who's been paying attention for the past ten years has heard many prevarications, seen enormous amounts of "fact checking," and been told time and again, by dinosaurs like Baron, that "he's a liar." But Baron, and only those like Baron, can tell his truths from his lies. There, according to Baron, lies journalistic "authority" as in authoritative, not authoritarian. Yet.

But dino-media have lost this authority with many in the public no longer seeing them as purveyors of fact and objectivity, of truth. Critics of last generation media see them as politicized propagandists, but since almost no one under the age of forty even consumes legacy "output" their ability to move the needle has gone the way of their authority. Their transition to biased influence and prevarication is being "fact checked" in the courts. George Snuffleupagus stepped in it when he declared, on air, that Trump had been found guilty of rape. Fact: he was found, in a civil suit, liable of sexual abuse. As a "journalist" Snuffleupagus should, and probably did, know better. ABC, knowing the only defense against libel is the truth, wisely dodged their day in court by agreeing to pay up $15M. Of course this further convinced the public of ABC's devotion to the left at any cost. No authority, just politics. 

Now, tee up the Des Moines Register. And their recently retired pollster. Seems the pollster, in the week before the election, concluded that Iowa flipped from Trump to Harris with Harris commanding a three point lead. The Register dutifully printed it, after all it was what they wanted to believe. The pollster was only off by about fifteen points. Now she and the Register are facing their own fact checking. In court. Accused of election interference. By the winner. They didn't lose their authority, they threw it away. Of course Baron sees this as an illegitimate attack on the Fourth Estate, wants to hide behind the First Amendment and claims the court case is an existential threat to American democracy.  Almost as if he is crying lawfare.

Sackur challenged Baron on key points, but more importantly suggested that maybe, just maybe, the media empire of the previous millennium has fallen. And it can't get up. The cause of death? Suicide. Like the dinosaurs of yore, they did not adapt to a changing environment, they pretended that their business model would endure. It didn't. So what did they do? They doubled down. When that didn't work, they decided to pick a team, a political team, one they thought would align with them, support them, giving up a broad fan base for a smaller group of fervent followers. It isn't clear it ever did work, but it certainly has failed. Perhaps having a media star, like Snuffleupagus, lie about someone he has consistently called a liar, just doesn't play well in Peoria. The Fourth Estate had become accustomed to thinking of themselves as king makers, but they have not been very good at it. Had they been, we would be seeing the close out of Hillary's second term and not T2. The media not only gave up on facts and objectivity, they replaced introspection with arrogance. After all, they are the only ones claiming media authority is even a thing. They had no clue their transparent partisanship would backfire. Maybe telling voters that their candidate is in the lead isn't the best way to get out the vote, at least not for their candidate. 

They knew what they were doing, or wanted to do, they just didn't know how to do it.

Drug Money

Drug dealers have a special way with sales: the first one's free. Free samples are used in other fields, but it is particularly effective with an addictive product. Apparently this tactic is being used at city hall (and you thought it was just prostitution), on city hall. And the drug? Money. And the cost of the drug? More money.

Sounds like a recursive call to the stupid(){...} function. Because it is.

This manifests itself in do-what-we-say grants that gets whatever-they-say started but is insufficient to cover the real and often recurring costs. But the power of addiction is strong and it seems as if everyone at city hall has that monkey on their back. That's how we came to forsake our morals, cast aside integrity and embrace our current spend-then-tax addiction. 

Makes you wonder if we can pack them all up and send them to rehab.

Transform

Please. Please just do it.

The election is over and the democrats lost. In Georgia they got their hats handed to them. So please, just give it up. It didn't work, and frankly you didn't even try. But you just cannot let it go. 

And what is "it?" Well that would "trans girls competing in AFAB sports." The republicans, who rule the gold dome, intend to pass a law keeping AFAB sports free from any Y chromosomes. Democrats, who should be munching on popcorn while watching the show just cannot transform themselves into listeners. Nope, they gotta yack it up. 

We've got an AJC-curated letter lamenting this effort as well as the AJC's public school promoter-in-chief chiming in, in the midst of a diatribe about funding. Both see this effort as a waste of valuable legislative time that could be better spent on, well, damn near anything. Joining the chorus is the reliably leftist seat on the Georgia Gang who pontificated on the very small percentage population known as trans and the vanishingly small number of those that are interested in sports. It was unclear whether this argument was, or was not, in support of the legislation. The fall back position from "doesn't affect many people" was "waste of time-better things to do" as if this is a talking point running through the left. The left have also embraced the "this hasn't happened so we don't need a law" as if democrats have never supported or passed preemptive legislation. It also ignores the fact that it has happened, in Georgia, at the college level.

This issue did not work for them in the recent elections. Apparently the trans turnout did not carry the day. Maybe democrats should embrace their own logic. The trans issues affect very, very few, while infuriating many, many more. Maybe they should be listening to a broader, more mainstream constituency. If they still have one.

Permission To Speak Freely...

...or perhaps accurately. Or, maybe not so much.

Seems the Dunwoody PD filed their usual false police report when making a prostitution bust in which they refused to properly identify the location substituting the city hall address as the scene of the crime. Now there might be some pimping and whoring going on there but there is no way there would ever be an arrest.

The Blue Bag Rag reported the location as Le Meridien hotel in their "Police Blotter" section. How do they know when the city consistently lies? Well, there was a separate arrest report that revealed the location of the sting. Apparently they put two and two together. 

Wouldn't it be nice if the city just quit lying?

What A Pair

Watching Me Watching You

Promises, Promises

The Whitehouse has recently confirmed that Joe Biden, our current president, will in fact pardon his own son of whatever crimes the poor boy has committed, admitted or been convicted of. As Gomer Pyle would say: Surprise, Surprise! Now that the election is over we are back to politics as usual, using power and privilege for personal benefit. But was Gomer right, or was that sarcasm? Let's go with the latter, after all this is the same man who went to the rail for crackers and wine, and then went out advocating for what that very church sees as a critical moral issue. One his Pope says he falls on the wrong side of. Or, keeping it secular, he also swore to uphold the constitution and then took actions he confessed he knew were unconstitutional. Wrong. Knew it. Did it anyway. Why? Because he's a politician of the worst sort. Party above morals. Party above country. 

Don't think for a minute that politicians of this ilk have been rounded up and locked in the internment camp we call Washington, D.C. We have them right here.

The folks that marketed, supported, and campaigned for passing the city referendum were, and are, politicians. And they lied. They lied when they instituted a millage rate cap saying it would not increase without passing a referendum. And they knew it. The Home Rule Act was adopted in 1965 and they knew this could be used to make significant changes to the city charter without voter approval. The cities' industry lobbying group, the Georgia Municipal Association, contends this act makes the prior "political commitment" as easily erased as the memory of a politician making such a commitment. It seems the bureaucrats at city hall are working diligently to erase any restrictions on their spend-then-tax approach to empire building. Mayor and council seem largely supportive, and why not? They are politicians.

Spiderman

Fear of flying? No? You might want to reconsider. Authorities arrested a man who was attempting to board a plane while smuggling over 300 tarantulas, and hundreds of other creepy crawlies. On his person. 

What could possibly make him think this would work? Could it be experience? Perhaps this wasn't the first time, just the first time he was caught. Mull that over. Now, the next time you board a plane try your very best not to consider that the bloke sitting right beside you might be doing his very best to make sure hundreds of spiders don't break free. And that tingling feeling on your leg? That's all in your head.

Your Childhood Is Illegal

If you are pushing forty or are older, the childhood you enjoyed, the childhood that made you the adult you've become has been outlawed. You probably played. With other children. Without adult supervision. 

Then came molester vans.

Parents' paranoia went through the roof. No more free play. No more unsupervised anything. In the real world, parents became hyper-vigilant and unarguably over-protective.

Then came smart phones hosting social media. Irony set in. These helicopter parents allowed their little darlings unfettered, unsupervised access to the anything and everything on the internet in their little hands. Swipe at will. How could these same vigilant parents become so laissez faire?

Does it even matter?

Somebody thinks so. Seems evolution is a real thing, and we evolved to develop as humans by way of human interaction. As children. Often with other children. Exclusively. A necessary playhouse with no parents allowed.

But we've made that illegal. Right here in Georgia. A mother, in Mineral Bluff, is potentially facing a year in jail because her 11 year old son was out and about and decided to go to a nearby store. Less than a mile away. Some random busybody dropped a dime on the sheriff, who intervened with the full force of the law. We don't know anything about the busybody or if there is a backstory there. Never will. What we do know is that in your day an 11 year old was baby sitting neighborhood kids but now would not be allowed to walk to and from a neighbor's house.

This is beyond nanny state.

But How Do They Know?

Shortly after the election you probably  heard from CBN (Click Bait News) about the text messages sent to big b Black folks. Messages they, rightly, found offensive. Now CBN is reporting on offensive text messages being sent to italic l Latinos. Reactions range from disgust to "something must be done" even if that undermines our democracy. No one, definitely not CBN, is asking a key question.

How do they know? They being the folks sending these text messages. How do they know that a phone number is for a big b Black or a italic l Latino? Is there a directory with demographics somewhere? Is it on the dark web? Really? Do we have to fire up TOR to find out? Probably. No one in the fourth estate is going to tell us.

It could be something else. Maybe little w whites are getting these texts and just concluding: wrong number. Maybe CBN feels there are no clicks in reporting everything so they've selectively reported only those things they find profitable. 

So how do we find out? We probably can't and we'll probably never know.

Get Schooled

Biden went to Peru recently and got schooled by Xi Jinping. He should have already learned the lesson since his border tsar was faced with protests of "trade not aid" when she went on her tongue wagging tour down south. He knew the problem. They gave him the answer. He ignored it.

Xi has been listening. China is opening a major seaport in Peru. Is that "aid?" Yes. But in this case it is "aid" in support of trade. After all, that is what a seaport is for, isn't it?

You have to cut Biden some slack. Dead Aid is more than a book. It's an industry. One that is well entrenched in western countries, none more so that the U.S. It is a powerful industrial-governmental-nonprofit combine with many beneficiaries that sadly includes no one who is the alleged target of this aid. This system is dangerous and it will not be fixed from within. China will take care of it because they understand the real trade war.

Hope

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

Cry A River

Not A $1B Face Plant; Still A Problem

How Will They Kill Cytisine?

What? What is cytisine? It is a plant based compound that has been used for decades in Eastern Europe for smoking cessation. It is considered similar to varenicline and more studies indicate it is more effective than patches. Oh, and it has milder and fewer side effects. It is receiving broader interest outside of Eastern Europe. It is not available in the United States.

Want to guess why? Because it is easy to manufacture and it is inexpensive. 

Big Pharma is likely to team up with Big Gov to ensure this kind of competition does not invade their market. They've done it before, demonizing and all but outlawing a therapeutic used throughout the world, leaving US patients with nothing, until it was frankly too late. It's early days so now is the time to watch so you can see the opposition unfold. It is amazing if you will just look.

It's Not What You Say

And it isn't how you say it. It's what you don't say.

Case in point: not too long ago a city councilman was quoted in the Blue Bag Rag as saying "there is a lot of demand for services," without any evidence to back that up. How are the "demands" issued? To whom? Exactly who gets these? Name. Position. Who? Where can we get a copy of these demands? Where is the process for issuing demands documented? Is it publicly available? What is the definition of "a lot?" In the absence of clear, on point answers to these and other questions we're left to conclude we've just been treated to another politician spouting political bullshit in support of something that is out of touch with the public. But of course, nothing was said about this.

The same Rag has the City Manager confessing that staff are looking into any and every way they can possibly jack up the millage ceiling, with a rate hike to immediately follow. A favored approach is for the city management (bureaucrats) to bypass a referendum and unilaterally change the charter, eliminating the ceiling. There is also some blather about avoiding a decrease in city services. OK, what isn't said is how many of these "services" are the result of profligate spending of one-time COVID funds. Of course not. That would suggest that these "services" should go away, so let's not bring that up.

This "we don't need no stinkin' referendum" scheme was discussed on social media (surprise, surprise). The mayor chimed in and at no point clearly and definitively stated that there would be no rate hike, no ceiling lifted without a referendum, as was promised when the city was being sold to the voters. Instead, the mayor was crying poor-mouth because the founders of this city committed, then and for the future, that this city would be limited and spending would stay under control. The political blather sank into a claim that the State Farm complex would have been apartments were it not for the city, and yet, because of the city they're building apartment towers at State Farm. Can any politician put together two sentences without a contradiction? And nothing was said about keeping commitments made to the voters. There was something said about "solving this" (whatever that means) before leaving office, but that assumes there won't be a recall vote. If citizens must demand that their voices be heard at the ballot box do not be surprised if they rise up and do so.

Rebuilding Trust

This could go pretty much anywhere, right? Well, it couldn't go to TOD because to rebuild trust you had to have had some in the first place, and that doesn't apply. But it does apply with the Fourth Estate, and no, this is not about the reluctance of major outlets to endorse the political candidate they clearly and consistently support. Nope, this is about how it came to be that this could be an issue at all. They have abandoned objectivity, even knowledge, to make themselves the handmaiden of a political agenda, a political party. It is the words, the adjectives and adverbs, that skew any story favorable to one view, but it is also a casual dismissal of fact. 

This occurred recently in a letter to the editor of the AJC. Since the newspaper is a traditional news outlet, with journalists, and journalistic ethics and practices, they cannot cloak themselves in Section 230 like platforms that merely allow others a distribution channel. After all, the newspaper is worthy of our trust, right? This trust extends to their selection and presentation of outside editorial content. They own their decision and it's their headline in boldface. An outside author does not absolve them of their responsibility. To their profession. To their readers. To the truth. A bad choice is more than a breach of trust, it is blatant propaganda. We cannot stop the lies, they will not rebuild trust.

And so they publish a letter: "Roe v. Wade got it right: Put trust in women" which riffs on the factually incorrect assertion that Roe was about a woman's choice to choose elective abortion. It wasn't. Didn't know that, did you? The summary section of the majority opinion clearly states:

For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgment of the pregnant woman's attending physician.

As Ginsburg noted, Roe does not confer any rights to women, instead it protects the rights of physicians to practice medicine. In Roe, the woman is never mentioned in the absence of the doctor, the doctor however, well, read it for yourself. 

When you're thinking about women's choice, you are probably thinking about Casey, the court's attempt to fix Roe. After belaboring the importance, the sanctity of stare decisis, the majority hacked away at Roe, leaving what they contend to be Roe's central tenet: elective abortion. It was an attempt to throw out the bathwater while saving the baby, to douse it with holy water and re-name it a "woman's choice." The text of Roe did not change and the intense hypocrisy of the court's simultaneous adoration of, and disregard for, stare decisis was pure foreshadowing.

As Ginsburg also noted, Roe was a clear case of judicial over-reach on a collision course with the constitution. In abandoning judicial restraint, the court wrote new law, a job best left to elected legislatures. The modifications in Casey (e.g., first trimester changed to viability) served to prove that the judiciary should not be creating law, especially not the Supreme Court as the only remedies to their mistakes are constitutional amendment or the Court itself. The latter is what happened in Dobbs.

Once the initial shock subsides, for many it hasn't and for some it never will, most will realize that Ginsburg was also correct in saying that in Roe the Court should have sent the matter back to the states where our duly elected representatives craft laws serving the electorate. This is what passes for democracy in the U.S. The impatient see this as untenable, slow and likely to fail (by their definition of failure). But it has worked before. Prior to the '60s & '70s and the women's movement, no-fault divorce didn't exist and most often proof of adultery was required to secure that parting of ways. Hobbled by lack of financial independence, women were at a severe disadvantage. Today every state in the union has no-fault divorce laws on the books. No federal law, no Supreme Court decision required. We would already be there with abortion had Roe not been mishandled. We'd have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment as well.

Quiet Firing.

Much like quiet quitting (AKA "slacking off"), quiet firing has been around for some time and heretofore was simply known as "de-hiring."  This approach to encouraged unemployment is to make certain conditions of working undesirable or unpleasant to the point that the targeted employee, or employees, up and quit. Post pandemic this has become much easier, especially in high tech, as employees had become quite well adjusted to [not] working from home. Back to office, or office repopulation, has been met with employee resistance with many threatening to quit. Just as an aside, when any employee threatens to quit the proper response has always been to accept that offer. Your team and your company are better off without them. What has changed is a bit of a role reversal with companies enforcing policies that some say have the intent of driving employees out, much like a layoff but with considerably better severance from the company's point of view. As with any right-sizing, the impact on employee morale is somewhat negative. 

It is interesting to view the current USPS fuster cluck through this lens. 

But first, some context. The USPS has two types of employees: career; and non-career. Career employees are permanent and receive federal benefits even though some work part-time. Non-career employees are temporary, perform the same work as career employees but at a lower pay. As you might imagine, career employees are virtually impossible to get rid of, while non-career are inherently temporary. Despite ongoing, long term efforts to shift operations towards the more cost-effective non-career workers, they remain less than 30% of the USPS workforce. 

Now we get to de-hiring. 

A common approach is to move the job location. You still have your job, with pay and benefits, but you work out of a different location. In the tech world, this is moving your office from your basement back to the corporate facility just a painful commute away. One might view the USPS restructuring, consolidating dispersed sorting operations into a more centralized and efficient facility as a way to shed staff, particularly of the career variety. It is highly unlikely this is a primary motivation, but is likely a beneficial consequence. 

Now we get to politics.

While this change was clearly intended to have consequences (e.g., improved efficiency) there have been some less desirable impacts, notably delivery delays and failures. The finger was immediately pointed at these new facilities, but is that a knee-jerk reaction? Data are thin on the ground, but recent examples, numbering in the single digits but relevant to our area, indicate that the Palmetto facility is not to blame and the fault lies with the incumbent local offices. Seems that one individual needing to correspond with the DeKalb courthouse on a routine basis sent a certified, return-receipt mail to the courthouse, resulting in a tracking showing a 2-day delay to get into the system, but an 18 hour turnaround from Brookhaven to Decatur, where the mail went missing for a month, beyond the system's tracking window. Even when finally delivered the return-receipt never was. Efforts to contact the Decatur post office to resolve the issue were fruitless, but this is in fact where the mail was embargoed. Not Palmetto. 

Now let's fire up the conspiracy train. Why would this happen? Perhaps morale is low, particularly with career employees who see jobs moving away from their little part of heaven. After all, a career job with USPS is a sweet gig, but do you really want to move to Palmetto to keep it? And here's the great thing: you can hardly blame it on demographics as Palmetto and DeKalb are quite similar. How often does that happen around here?

The things the USPS are doing are the same things that any company in a competitive situation would do, but it seems leadership are a bit out of touch with how entrenched employees might "resist" the changes. But this is not a competitive situation as the USPS is an "independent" agency of the executive branch and is the only such agency explicitly authorized by the US constitution. Therefore, very, very political. It should come as no surprise this issue is being misrepresented for individual political gain, even by politicians who claim they will fix things. Nothing will get fixed until they shut up and move on.

Student Driver? Driving Students?

Why do they do this? It isn't as if they free up an entire lane by blocking the bicycle lane. 

Do The Bicycle Fascists Know This?

Does make you wonder sometimes, doesn't it? What exactly would have to happen to actually get police patrols in our residential areas? 

Have We Gotten This Petty?

That appears to be the case. 

Torn Apart Over Trump

The sad thing is that it is likely the person who did this is old enough to vote but clearly not mature enough to make a reasonable choice. Of course that doesn't matter because we're not being offered a reasonable choice by either of the two major parties. Yes, yes, that statement will piss off the partisans, both red and blue, but about a third of voters don't drink either KoolAid and they're kinda pissed at the crap candidates curated by these parties. Vandals and vandalized, it doesn't matter. They both suck. 

Guest Post: Informed Recipient

As noted earlier, the USPS is a struggle bus that stops at no good locations. But here's an idea for transforming Informed Delivery into something useful. Something others could and some do.

This estate is gonna be the death of me yet. I swear. Finally got the Final Report in. How do I know? Well, UPS reliably delivers and offers tracking. Then, as they should, the Probate Court cashed the check. That's right, every move you make, there's a check they take. Not that that necessarily means anything, at least not for certain. Now here is one thing the Probate Court does really, really well: they answer the phone. And you can talk to a real live person who, given the proper info, can tell you the current status of the estate. I know folks just love to bitch about government incompetence but they better not be dissin' DeKalb Probate.

Now it was time to get this done and dusted, so I filed the petition to close the estate. Much like the final report it was: complete the petition; get supporting docs; write a check; and deliver via UPS. UPS got it there overnight with confirmation of delivery. Probate cashed the check 5-7 business days later. Then. Nothing. Not for another week. Not for another two weeks. Then three. Before it was an entire month I call. Same experience as before. Come to find out the judge had signed off on the petition and it had mailed out the same day. USPS. I'm subscribed to "Informed Delivery" and though it has been over two weeks there has been no delivery and no information. 

So I got to thinking if I've signed up to be informed why do they restrict it to delivery? Keep in mind, what they show in that email is only loosely related to what they put in my mailbox and they have never informed me that a neighbor's mail would wind up in my box though it happens all the time. What seems reasonable is that the USPS could inform me when they get any mail, except maybe "resident" junk mail, that is addressed to me. As soon as they stamp that postmark an email should be headed my way. After all they have my physical address and my email address. That way I would know that the Probate Court had sent something my way. 

You might argue that would expose the incredibly long time local mail takes to go across town, but we already know that from the postmark, which is timestamped, and the time we pull it out of the mailbox. There may be some concern that notification of mail entering the system that somehow never exits the system. Lost mail, never found, but now we'd know. Heaven forbid.

Where's Martha?

Artificial Intelligence?

Natural stupidity? Core ignorance? [D|M]isinformation? Maybe all of the above? 

We're in the midst of one of the most objectionable election seasons in a lifetime, even Biden's long, long lifetime, and it comes with Helene-ic floods of blather that are just plain wrong. Only thing worse is the pushback with the Biden/Harris tribe branding anything they don't want to hear as "disinformation." Even when they are legit questions with actual, factual answers. Just answers they don't want to say out loud. 

How did we get here? 

Probably started with the wordsmiths, the purveyors of news, olds, the finders of facts and liars of lies. Yep. The media. And they've been subtle, which makes them incredibly dangerous. We've been given this almond-scented dose from the left-leaning Huffington Post:

"a Food and Drug Administration-approved update to the Mammography Quality Standards Act"

Why is this dangerous? Because it is either profound, entrenched ignorance from those who should know more and better, or it is intentional subversive propaganda. And it has been going on for so long that most folks don't even see it for what it is. Do you? You see, the FDA is a federal administration and part of the executive branch. As such, the FDA does not create congressional acts, and congress neither seeks nor needs the FDA's approval because it is the FDA's job to establish regulations conforming to the MQSA. The MQSA passed by congress. Who knew? Apparently NOT the fourth estate, the self-appointed, self-proclaimed defenders of our democracy. 

We're in trouble comrades.

Buck Up, Buttercup!

Two Bucks, Chuck

Martha and Her Entourage

Criminal Minds

Do you watch it, the TV show? It is a fiction, or so one would hope, involving the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, which is in fact a real thing. If Wikipedia is to be considered a reliable source, BAU operation is summarized as:

The BAU focuses on preventing targeted violence by identifying concerning behaviors. For example, active shooters meticulously plan and prepare for acts of violence. Throughout this process, they frequently exhibit worrying behaviors, characterized as observable and identifiable actions suggesting potential progression towards targeted violence. While no individual behavior definitively signifies an individual's trajectory towards committing targeted violence, the presence of multiple behaviors may warrant attention and concern.

It may come as a surprise that the FBI has been studying the issue of School Shooters for some time now and have published a document: The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective. Now this document is over twenty years old as a preface is provided by Janet Reno and is based on work beginning in 1999, so there has been plenty of time for this information to be disseminated throughout educational and security communities.

Perhaps it has.

It certainly has not made an impact on mass media with the FBI noting that "[n]ews coverage magnifies a number of widespread but wrong [...] impressions of school shooters," citing specific misinformation: "school violence is an epidemic"; and "easy access to weapons is the THE most significant risk factor." [emphasis in the original]. On the contrary they note "[un]usual or aberrant behaviors, interests, hobbies, etc., are hallmarks of the student destined to become violent," which seems intuitively obvious. There is a strong suggestion that biased media coverage also leads to knee-jerk reactions, but counters with H. L. Mencken's aphorism that "for every problem, there is a solution which is simple, neat, and wrong." Fair enough, but perhaps a nod to Occam's Razor is also in order, after all, adolescent Black females aren't shooting up schools. Finding out why one particular demographic seems to predominate should gather the attention of researchers. Regardless, this document is must-read for anyone with adolescent children in schools, particularly public schools. It will keep you up at night and might have you asking pointed questions at the next school open house.

A couple of sections are particularly concerning. The first fright is Family Dynamics with almost every item being a symptom of, or exacerbated by, the newest fad: gentle parenting. Truly terrifying is the section on Personality Traits and Behavior. Most of these are what you would call "teenager," but what might happen is a perfect storm as many of these traits feed on one another. Others are more concerning, including narcissism, entitlement, pathological need for attention, and anger issues, all of which seem to have become increasing issues with adolescents over the years. In addition, media: TV; video games; and the internet are mentioned, maybe even featured. A particular issue is "fascination with violence-filled entertainment," so if your adolescent enjoys watching "Criminal Minds" they very well may have one.

What Are They Fighting About?

Spend, SPEND!                RESTRAINT!

Tax, TAX, More Taxes!          Just Stop It!

Pave It All!                   Save Paradise!

Give It To Developers!        No, It's OUR City!

Are Crazy People Happy?

The gut-check answer is "no." It's inconceivable that the crazies could possibly be happy. How could anyone be happy with being crazy? That would be crazy, right?

Well, Mr. Gallup tells us that over the last 12 months that 50-60% of folks have self-diagnosed as bat-crap crazy. Who are these people? Partisans, which really means hyper-partisans, because ordinary partisans have either drifted away or joined their thundering herd racing to the extremes. Left or right, it doesn't matter because they've gone so far they've wound up sharing the same cesspool. And what do they find in this hockey-chopper? Floaters? Sinkers? Both? Maybe, but what they are both smeared with is vitriolic hate speech, and one is doing it better than the other. 

The clear winner is, and has been for some time, the extremists on the left. Academics, who consistently bow their sheaves to the left, initially silenced dissent with boycotts and extensive use of the heckler's veto. They followed this up with extreme actions and speech, ultimately ending with blatant antisemitism. While there was some backlash, the extremists remain entrenched, catching their breath, ready to start again. 

Then we get the 2024 election cycle and rhetoric heats up as it simultaneously descends into crazy. And dangerous. That is what differentiates one side from the other. As we all know, Trump and his allies spout some pretty crazy shit. Sorry, but there is just no other word for it. But if you're one of those 40-50%, take a step back and look at the characteristics of what is being said. First, it is incredibly ludicrous. It is hard to believe that anyone believes this blather. Then if you mull it over, you'll realize these are ad hominem attacks. They are technically personal insults, but they are superficial insults based on things like appearance and how someone's name is pronounced. It is grade school humour and makes you wonder if they still tell, and laugh at, fart jokes. Yes, it is infantile, and yes, it is tiresome. But it is largely harmless.

Not so for the left, the Democrats and their allies. And they have many, many allies. They have cultivated homegrown crazies that have resorted to violence to advance The Cause. Shortly after Trump came on the scene, we had the attack against Republican congress members by a homegrown left lunatic. Remember, the left said that words matter. Then they proved it. They have been incessant in proclaiming Trump as an existential threat to democracy as we know it, as in, empowering unelected bureaucrats. So is it any surprise that two crazy lefties have made assassination plans and attempts? And they have help. Even the AJC grooms their letters to emphasize the leftist meme that Trump can only be believed when what he says can be twisted in support of their "existential threat" lies. They love to mention Trump and Hitler in the same rant, though it is highly unlikely any have read Mein Kampf. They've not read the Constitution either, at least not the part that comes before the amendments, or they'd know Trump is going to be no more, nor any less, of an autocrat than the current president. 

What is impressive is how entrenched the left is in media, academia and think tanks. It's not just the aforementioned grooming done by news outlets, or the antisemitism raging across academia, but a BBC interview with an employee of the Carnegie Institute was, frankly, brazen. Ostensibly the "expert" was given airtime to discuss the need for greater Secret Service security after the second assassin came after Trump. She, Rachel Kleinfeld, would have none of it, pivoting quickly to blaming Trump because he is the root cause of inflammatory rhetoric. So she says. It was like the scene from Jaws where the two boys get caught with the cardboard shark fin. You know the one, where one boy points to the other and says "he made me do it."  But it seems to be working, and they seem to be winning. How do we know? Just look at who's getting shot at.

Working The Web

The Village Gets Spidey Sense

Boobs In D.C.

Among other things, Americans are notorious for short attention spans, so it is no surprise that we're not hearing about swamp draining or deep states though it seems like deep fakes are here to stay. Maybe this is due to, or despite, the incredible loss of public confidence in government institutions, particularly of the medical variety. For the CDC, which started the pandemic in damage control having strayed from science into politics, this may have been a fatal blow, leaving them as a very expensive white [coat] elephant. 

The FDA's story is more complicated.

As part of "Warp Speed," the FDA was key in getting life-saving vaccines to market, and while this was at the direction of the administration, it did not become a political hot potato. Sadly, this seems to have come at the expense of therapeutics, but that is not the FDA's fault. In any event, the FDA has always gotten its fair share of criticism whenever something goes sideways.

Some of this criticism is unjustified. Really. It is. Unlike Europe where manufacturers must demonstrate product safety and effectiveness, the U.S. is concerned, almost exclusively, with effectiveness. Everything has side-effects, right? As long as treatments for side-effects are profitable, this isn't likely to change. 

The FDA is also seen as an administration within the executive branch, which some say makes them part of the swamp, while others see that as an opportunity for legislation by regulation. Kind of a swamper thing to do. The real problem isn't with the FDA but with all those who think they can make the FDA do their bidding. This was recently revealed in the Federal Register. You read the Federal Register, don't you? Well, you should.

In the early '90s Congress passed the Mammography Quality Standards Act which became officially effective in '94 with implementation by the FDA in '95. This was a good thing. Slow, but good. Fast forward thirty years, three full decades, and the FDA is updating regulatory requirements to include breast tissue density reporting to both patients and their referring physician. Before you say "'bout damn time," ponder this: do you really want a federal agency who cannot hold a steady course? If so, you've got the CDC.

The fascinating thing about the publication in the Federal Register isn't the meat of the changes which are so inherently reasonable you must wonder why this was not universally practiced already, but what can be gleaned from comments, and the FDA's responses. There are 156, with the publication aggregating similar comments and grouping them accordingly. It can be a fun read, but much of it is mundane, and some clearly coming from sources with a vested interest in influencing the outcome. 

If you're a deep state denier, the FDA responses will give you hope, on account of the logic in their responses, and fidelity to the U.S. constitution. Several commenters seemed to expect that the FDA could, and should, do whatever they wanted and the FDA consistently pointed to the MQSA and the limits inherent in the enabling congressional act. For example, some seemed to think this act, which covers mammography, could be extended to include ultrasound and MRI imaging modalities. Why? Just because. After all, this was under an administration whose leader stood before cameras and declared he was going to do something he knew would not withstand constitutional challenge. Why? Just because. The FDA was having none of it.

Some comments were far worse, but you have to understand the larger context: women's health has long been neglected and it is long overdue for at least minimal communication of this health issue. And minimal it is. Two reports are required, one for the patient and another for the referring physician. Here's where it almost becomes "blame the victim" as the required text in the patient report targets an eight grade reading level. Some comments claimed that was too high, suggesting a fifth grade reading level, and none suggesting anything higher. If it doesn't frighten you that folks (elites?) that have the ear of a critical federal agency thinks the public, women in particular, are illiterates, then it should. It gets worse. One objected to the lowest density classification as "fatty" as this might offend some patients, but the FDA only requires the fully detailed classification in the physician report. The patient report condenses the four classifications down to two: dense, or not dense. Even a woman can understand that, right?

This publication is an interesting read, but stepping back, what is really frightening is that it has taken 30 years to get to this point. Our country's neglect of women's healthcare is a shameful societal failing. Even with something as serious as breast cancer, and even with broad public awareness, we have not done right by the 51%. Shame on us. On all of us.

Buying A Divorce

You know, it starts out great. You've done all the right things; said all the right things. You're on the same page with family, career, kids and finances. But somehow, somewhere it all goes wrong. You're no longer on the same page. You're not even reading from the same book. You know where you are, but you're not exactly sure how you got there.

Until you are. 

After the initial shock, most divorcees find that one of the biggest sources of fatal conflict is money. Having it. Spending it. Saving it. And heaven forbid, borrowing it. And you did discuss this. You came to an understanding, an agreement. Inevitably this agreement is to be prudent, to spend money, yes, but to spend it wisely. And with a common understanding of what, exactly, wisely means. And this is what you do.

Until you don't.

Something happens. Usually one finds that the commitment to prudence escapes them. Maybe the neighbors got a new car and jealousy set in. Maybe deferred gratification isn't your thing. Or, just living within your own means means you won't live with the things you want, things you feel will make your life better, without any way of knowing if there is an ounce of truth to that. But you've made a commitment, a vow, and you will keep it.

Until you won't.

At first, you're sneaky. You're clever and hide your indiscretions. You may even enlist others into your deceptions, but deceive you do. 

Until you're caught. 

At this point the damage is done. The wound is mortal, the relationship is over. It just takes time, often too much time, for both to acknowledge it. To bury the remains of a relationship that upon reflection was dead when it started, when one, or both, said they would do something that goes against their nature. Things that deep down, you knew you could not, you would not, do. 

And you didn't.

So this is where we are. It started with promises of financial restraint. Taking care of our needs and watching out for our greeds. To establish clear priorities, to not deviate, remaining undistracted by outside influences. To remain immune to envy, to jealousy. All the promises you made, so many years ago, you've broken. You've used outside money, one-time funds, to incur ongoing, recurring liabilities with no clue how you're going to pay the bills when the windfall runs out. Do you just pray for another windfall? Certainly you will deceive, you will lie. 

And you have. 

We discover, in the Blue Bag Rag, that "staff have been instructed to not use terms like 'reserves' and 'structural deficit'" in a clear effort to deceive the public. This comes as no surprise from someone who has condoned falsifying police reports, but this deception breaks a fundamental trust. A promise made at the beginning of the relationship. Because of your infidelity, and your constant deceptions, you have created an untenable situation. You have killed what could have been an enduring relationship, perhaps intentionally, certainly without a care. It is time to revisit the charter, not to amend the contents, but to tear it up. You have already destroyed all it ever represented. You're asking for a divorce.

And that's what you deserve.

It's Freezing Out There

Social media is lighting up with deluges of disinformation around city taxation as we have intentionally entered the overspend zone. Yet again. 

One of the key topics coming from the "spend then tax" crowd is that damned legal document known as the city charter. Seems when this fuster cluck was being sold to the electorate the pro-city folks included a maximum millage rate in the charter. The pitch at the time was this would guarantee we'd not end up with out of control spending and taxing, and since everybody agreed THIS city would be fiscally responsible (wink, wink) it wouldn't ever be an issue. Until it is. Like now. Another interesting deception coming from this crowd spins around the word "invest," as in "invest in the city." Sounds good, right? Problem is none of these lip flappers can can actually show how this so-called "investment" actually pays off. They also fail to mention that these "investments" come with ongoing operational costs for security and maintenance. Who's going to pay to keep these twelve foot wide "investments" clean and safe? Oh, yeah, that would be us, the taxpayers. So they are really "investing" in a future of never ending tax increases.

Another deception centers around the property valuation freeze. Left out of these hyperbolic complaints is the fact that this freeze only applies to homestead properties, which, in the state of Georgia, means you must own the property and it must be your primary residence. Interesting side effect: if you're also a citizen it makes you eligible to become a voter. In the city. Ooops. What this set of whiners neglects to point out, front and center, is that commercial properties, including rental properties, are NOT homestead properties. No freeze for these. Just never ending backdoor tax hikes. This might explain why the city has become a proponent of apartments everywhere. The other fact that gets buried is that when a home sells, it is marked to market. Per Rocket Homes, this includes 43 homes sold in August alone (in July the number was 51). So the freeze gets thawed and the city sees a huge jump in a sold property's valuation. Cha-ching. Maybe that's why the try so hard to piss off long term residents. To get them to sell out and move on.

These folks absolutely refuse to entertain the notion of cost containment. They won't even consider slowing the rate at which they balloon city spending. It is as if the world will implode if they don't spend at least 5% more each and every year. Heaven forbid someone should question why a city of this size needs an assistant city manager. Really? They do like to compare Dunwoody to other cities. Notably those in other counties, and cities which by any objective measure are not comparable. They want everyone to share their fear of missing out but they seem terrified of being ourselves. 

Why is that? Because these folks have no vision but they do have an excess of envy.  So when they see someone else getting something, anything, even if it is inappropriate for Dunwoody, well they lust after it. Not because it is any good, but simply because somebody else has something they don't. It is easily mistaken for a herd mentality but it is far worse. It is greed and jealousy. 

This is why we need to "right size" city government. And "right" means smaller.

Are We Having Fun?

Dunwoody changed liquor laws and threw some money at a private business in an effort to turn Dunwoody Village into party central. It worked. Folks are partying like they would in an Air BnB. Right here in our little town. 

Bringing the Party Outside

Nothing quite like a swig and a smoke sitting there watching the world go round and round. 

Does That Say "No Smoking"

To be fair, that "No Smoking" admonition isn't a city ordinance and that notwithstanding, even if it were it would not be enforced. Why? Because that would require enforcement. And Dunwoody doesn't do enforcement. Never has, never will. [ed: not quite true, as early on they enforced DWB until called out on it.] Now it may be that the cops Public Safety ambassadors at their fancy "command center" got all this on camera, but so what? They didn't care about Espinoza's pics so what makes anyone think these are of more concern?

And it should be noted that their "Real-Time Crime Center" was named after the police chief whose department harbored a bad actor and has cost us millions in legal fees. What bizarre universe do these people live in? Apparently one where you put up a flock of cameras so you can sit back and watch folks speed, run red lights and do pretty much anything else illegal, and then do absolutely nothing about it. Seems like their idea of community policing is "coffee with a cop" and not actually patrolling the city. You know, so we stay safe. 

Foreshadowing

Broken? Or, Fixing Stupid?

Didn't last long, did it? See, the shorter of the two recently installed light polluters has given up the ghost. Or, maybe someone pulled the plug. Either way, this is a clear indication of how this city works. They'll install something, anything, especially if there is outside money involved, but they will maintain nothing. Even if by "maintain" you simply mean "see what's broken and call on those responsible to fix it." Why? Well that's because the folks running this goat rodeo don't care. At least not enough to do a "wellness check" on things in the neighborhoods. But, to be fair, they may just be overwhelmed losing all those court cases. 

Make It Stop

Can he? Will he? These two blatant violations occurred on the same fine morning.

Another Red Light Runner

Frito Bandito: Ride Into The No-Truck Zone

And then, on another day that ends in "Y" we have another helping of Fritos.

You Can Set Your Watch By His Violations

Is anybody at city hall ever going to do anything about this? Didn't think so.

Keeping Us Safe

See the blue lights atop the police cruiser? These are not flashing, but are solid on. They're called "cruise lights" and are often used so that people, particularly drivers, are aware of a police presence as this tends to discourage the kinds of illegal on-the-road activities that plague Dunwoody. 

You Will Notice This Is NOT Dunwoody PD

As the caption indicates, this is not Dunwoody Police, for a couple of reasons. First, Dunwoody Police never, never, no not ever, do traffic patrols anywhere in or near the village. The second is, they also never use cruise lights. They are not going to patrol. They are not going to stop traffic offenders. They're not even, on the rare occasion it would apply, make their presence known so folks might behave.

They leave that to outsiders. If you see a patrol vehicle with cruise lights on, rest assured it is DeKalb Police, Sandy Springs Police or Brookhaven Police. It sure as hell is not Dunwoody PD. 

Where Do You Get Yours?

Disinformation that is. The most reliable source seems to be the Federal Government, with their most recent dissemination regarding added jobs. Turns out the Labor Department (that is in the executive branch, right?) boosted the actual numbers reported between 4/23 to 3/24 by over 64%. 

How could that happen? Do they consider that "margin of error?" Or, are they just making these numbers up? For some particular reason?

Could it be that these inflated numbers were blowing up the tube man known as Bidenomics, and now that the baton is passed, different economic pressures are blowing the new flag a different direction? Who knows? But one thing is certain, if you're in the market for disinformation, you can look beyond random blogs, commercial sources, and non-profits, because your Uncle Sam is in the business. In a big way.

It's Common Sense

In a recent AJC op ed, columnist Bill Torpy took on Georgia's State Election Board, criticizing their rules that honestly seem to do exactly the opposite of what they say they will. This is the way politicians play politics. Always have. Always will. But that's not his nugget of wisdom. This is:

'I've been around long enough to know if someone keeps telling you it's "common sense," then you're about to get screwed.'

Truer words were never writ.

Then it gets really good. See, our boy Torpy hails from the Windy City, currently hosting a bevy of Democrats. This is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, Chicago has given us "Hey Jackass," an amazing analysis of dysfunction in ChicagoLand. And this analysis centers around the dysfunction of people shooting people. With guns. 

Here's where the Democrats factor in. Whilst Torpy noted that the Election Board used the term "common sense" two, count 'em, two times, Democrats use it almost non-stop in their crusade against the Second Amendment. As in "common sense gun laws." 

Let's hope that the AJC, and Torpy, call out the Democrats on their "common sense," and how we're about to get screwed, the next time they propose to infringe the Second Amendment.

UPDATE: that very Friday the AJC ran a front-page article highlighting Lucy McBath and giving her ink for her "commonsense gun laws" chant. Torpy has not commented on how this aligns with "you're about to get screwed."

Dunwoody PD Is Hiring

You may have noticed. You know, the sidewalk signs they rolled out. Well as it so happens this advert showed up in some dark corner of the interweb. 

The Police Department of the City of Dunwoody is hiring for various positions. We are seeking qualified public safety professionals across a range of experience and we offer competitive compensation and benefits. Applicants should supply a résumé, three professional references, and several unfiltered photographs of genitalia with sufficient context for proper identification. Preference is given to candidates with prior content on OnlyFans. 

Seems like this would have top notch candidates flooding their inbox. After all, how hard can it get?

Why Make Things So Difficult?

What, you ask, is so difficult? Well, that would be apologizing, and this city has well over a million reasons to apologize. And really, how can you NOT apologize. You ran an organization with systemic sexual harassment and to make up for it you not only spend millions of dollars to lose court cases, you allow the person who was supposed to keep this from happening to run his own investigation. Of himself. This would be laughable if it were some banana republic, but it isn't. To make matters worse, neither of the top dogs, the city managers, did anything other that fight against what is right, because they seemingly think "wrong" looks so much better. And for them, appearances are everything. 

Wouldn't it have been easier to acknowledge that a superior officer demanding porno pics from subordinates is unacceptable and will not be tolerated? Hard stop. Then you apologize to those victims in the police department, to the whistle blowers you punished, and to the citizens who expect better. You do this by explaining exactly, in precise detail, what went wrong, who failed in diligence and action, and what measures you have taken and will continue to take to ensure this never happens again.

Instead, you've pissed away OUR money defending a predator and fighting whistleblower complaints. You look like idiots and are an embarrassment to the community. And this goes not only for the unelected bureaucrats running this shitshow, but for the elected mayor and council who sit idly by, or worse yet rise up in support of this atrocious display of moral rot. When this first came to light, the mayor and council should have insisted on an independent, outside investigation and if the city manager refused he should have been fired for insubordination. Once the truth, which is now seeing the light of day, was revealed, mayor and council should have called for the firing of the police chief, and again, failure of the city manager to act would be fireable insubordination. 

It is time for the mayor and council to show some integrity, and character worthy of the citizens they claim to represent. It is time for them to grow a spine. If they cannot, or will not, then they should resign. 

What's With The Cops?

Dunwoody PD has been advertising with their mobile signage, the kind you and I are not allowed to have. Some have taken issue with that and this has started a real goat rodeo. When one pointed out that the cops should be obeying the laws they enforce someone else pointed out that it is not the cops that are tasked with enforcing signage codes. It isn't clear if anyone, even those who should, actually enforce these codes, but it became a point of argument. Others, rightly, pointed out that the PD has had, and shows no signs of change, serious issues with internal sexual harassment, mistreatment of whistle blowers, and an incredibly bad, and unsuccessful track record in the courts. Many others, a vast majority, think the PD walks on water when it isn't frozen so anything the PD does, including breaking the law, is OK by them. It is a real shit show, but it tells you a lot about what is wrong with this city.

Guest Post: Baby It's Hot Outside

Once again we reach out to Calinky, this time with an uncle and nephew reminiscing about the wisdom imparted by a recently departed brother and father. You'll find that you can't fix stupid, but sometimes you can avoid it.

Harry, I gotta tell ya, I was down at the fillin' station last week listening to young'uns, no offense, bitchin' 'bout their power bill and how the power company reported record earnings. Like they thought those two don't somehow go together. 

Isn't the "fillin' station" that bar down the street from the "Town Pump"?

Yep, and that Whore House has the best Italian in the tri-state area. Francesca's putane...

Back on track?

Anyway it got me to thinkin' about yer dad, brother John, and how he tried to save pops from a big mistake, and how he sure as hell saved me from one. Ya see, there was this one guy preachin' hellfire and damnation to the power company and heapin' all praise and glory on his magnificent solar system. Ya remember when, back in the late '70s I think, when pops put that solar water heatin' system on his roof? Course ya don't. Anyway that thing was trouble from day one. Hardly ever worked. Almost never stopped leaking. Finally froze up and pops paid more than it cost to rip it out. Tore up the roof somethin' fierce. John tried to tell him it was a bad idea. In fact, he told him that whenever the government "gives" you money to do something then that is most certainly something you should not do. Pops wouldn't listen. Said John was showing off that fancy book learnin' he got at that trade school over near Atlanta. What was that...

Southern Tech. He went to Southern Tech, but it's gone now. So is he.

Well, 'bout twenty years after pops learned his lesson I was fixin' to get ready to learn mine. It was the late nineties, maybe early naughties, and folks were puttin' these solar panels on their roofs to make their own electricity. My neighbor got some, and upfront they were expensive, but he was so excited about all the money he was gonna save on his power bill, while neighbors like me were gonna pay and pay. Next time I was over to John's he was grillin' steaks on pops' PK...whatever happened...

On the deck. Use it every chance I get.

Good. Pops'd be proud. He didn't talk much about Korea but he loved that PK. And John, he could make that thing singe a steak just right. Durin' dinner that night I was tellin' him 'bout everybody gettin' these solar systems and how I was thinkin' 'bout getting one too. He got that look on his face. You know the one, not smilin', not frownin', just looking atcha like you're a damn fool breathin' his air. Without permission. Well, he lit into quite the lecture. While we were eatin'.

"I got no clue what problem you're trying to solve, and I'm certain you don't either.  But whatever it may be let's look at what you're getting into. Now I understand the price of these systems can be all over the map, but it seems they run between twenty and fifty grand, and that's a lot of money. Let's say you're looking at thirty grand, but you ain't got thirty grand, you ain't getting it from me, so you're gonna have to get a loan. Let's say you drag this out for fifteen years, presuming you're going live there that long, then at today's interest rates I'd say you're probably looking at a payment of about $250. Let's use that. What the hell are you doing, running the A/C with the windows open? Yeah, yeah, you could get some money selling extra power back to the company, but they're gonna pay you what it costs them to generate, not what you pay. Outside of summer, that's pretty much what you're getting out of that system. During summer, you might run your A/C for free, during the day, but at night you're still paying out. You'll be lucky to save more than $100 per month on average."

"Then it gets worse. These things lose efficiency as they age, mostly in the first year, about ten percent. It slows down after that, but they will still lose efficiency. Time you pay off the loan, they ain't gonna be what you bought. They are also high tech electronics, and like all high tech electronics, next year's version is gonna be better, either at the same or a lower cost. Ain't quite like Moore's law and computers, but they're gonna get better and cheaper. Then there's hail. You do remember hail, don't you? Don't answer that. You get reminded every time you see those dents in the hood of your pickup. Shattered the windshield if I remember correctly. Hail will do the same thing to those panels. You probably don't have insurance to cover that. In fact, you may not be able to get it and if you can it's gonna cost."

By now we're done with dinner and are sitting in the den nursing our beers. Didn't slow the lecture. Not one bit. 

"I'm gonna tell what you should spend your money on that's better than solar. Stock. Specifically stock in the power company. I know. You hate them. But you only hate them because they're making money. Always have. Always will. See, the power company is regulated and driven by government forces. Governments are handing out "incentives" to get companies to move to your state, and this seems to be working. This drives up demand for electricity, and the power company has to meet that demand. But they are also regulated by a Public Utility Commission that prohibits them from charging whatever the hell they want. I know it doesn't seem like that when you write that monthly check, but trust me, they'd charge more than that if they could. But the PUC also has to consider what the ratepayers are actually paying for, and in general, they would prefer that not be interest. They know meeting demand means capital investment that will require the power company take on debt, so the PUC wants to keep the bond rating high, and that means the power company must be in good financial standing. That's key to what I'm about to tell you."

"Let's say after loan payment, insurance premium, power savings and buyback that your net average monthly expense is $175. Now let's say that instead of spending that on keeping up with the Jones' that you invest that in power company stock. At current prices you'll pick up about 10 shares a month, and with the stock appreciating at around six percent per year you will buy fewer as you go along, but you'll average 5 shares per month ending up with around 900 shares. These will be worth more than you paid, and by my guesstimate they will also yield at least $1.75 per month in dividends. That's a little over $1500 per year."

"I'm gonna suggest you reinvest the dividends, and not just because that's what I do, but because this will drop that six percent stock price appreciation down down to one and a half, and you'll end up with well over 1500 shares. That's over $2600 per year in dividends. Now I am assuming you have $175 a month to invest in power company stock, but it seems like you're willing to commit to more than that anyway. See, the savings are speculative, the cost of those panels is set in stone."

I don't know if I wasn't expecting him to sell past the close, or if it was the beer, but I didn't see the knock out punch til it landed. 

"Here's the best thing. Let's suppose you and Nancy stay in that house until you retire, say twenty, maybe twenty five years from now. Those solar panels will be shot, if they're even still there. You may actually have to replace the roof, which means taking them off, and then will it be worth the cost to rehang clapped out panels? Don't think so. But let's assume they are there when you retire, and that when you retire you guys move. Maybe to the beach. Maybe the mountains, my choice, but wherever. You move. You ain't taking those panels with. But those dividends will follow you anywhere, and if you want you can pay the power bill wherever that might be. And if you decide to keep up the investment past the original fifteen years, maybe five or ten more, you'll easily be looking at $3500-$4000 annual dividends when you retire. Plus, the money you invested has been safe, even from inflation. You'll have a cushion. Very likely over $100K. Looks better than solar panels to me."

That was a great steak, good beer and a damn long lecture. But I took yer dad's advice. Every word of it, and it worked out better than he said it would. We retired a couple of years ago, we did move, and we don't pay any utility bills. Not electric, not gas, not water, not even internet. It's all paid by the power company. So while I was sittin' at that bar, hearin' those whiners goin' on and on about how corrupt the big bad power company is, I thought about how stupid they are, how stupid I was, and how lucky I was to have the best big brother ever. But you're luckier than I could ever be, because he was your dad.

DeKalb Water Billing...

...is still not right. Notice that the billing for August 2024 is based on a meter reading from December 2023. Are we still playing catchup? 

Isn't It Worth A Try?

Now that Wally Whirled has packed up his tents and left town maybe the Dunwoody PD can do what we were told they would do and actually start policing the neighborhoods. Now it may not rake in lots of money as the former Top Cop explained, but isn't it worth a try? If there were some patrolling going on then maybe we'd not have vehicles leaving the roadway with enough inertia to take the life of an innocent fire hydrant. 

This Was Done By A Honda

If we enforced our no-truck zones, which are often coincident with school zones, then we would not be finding road gators near a school entrance.

This Is A High Speed Event

This gator shouldn't be there because those trucks should be barreling down Roberts. Hard stop. Schools starts next week and no one at city hall seems to give a damn. 

Red Light Runner-At Least He Signaled

Now, lest you think this is the only traffic signal in daVille being violated, you should spend a little time at the intersection of Chamblee Dunwoody and Roberts, where it is all too common to see northbound vehicles heading onto Roberts treat a red light like a yield sign. One glance to the left and they just plow right through the light. It is worthy of note that these drivers do not seem to care about pedestrians. And don't fool yourself, this is not just happening at the near-dawn jogging hour, this happens in broad daylight. Lunch time. 

Why is this happening? Could it possibly be that since this city was founded there has been virtually no traffic code enforcement? And everyone, absolutely everyone, knows there never will be any. That's why.

Full Court Press

And it is by the press. The Blue Bag Rag, the official organ of Dunwoody, has run yet another front page article about how this city is not raising the property tax rate. And this one comes with a byline. 

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Why are they yammering and hammering this point? We all know they maxed out the legally allowable tax rate years ago. Without going to the voters they cannot raise the millage rate. This is about the only time, and the only issue where they actually respect the electorate. So what's up? Is this prepping for some tax finagling like setting up some special tax allocation district so they can raise taxes without our approval? Are they trying to rebuild trust credibility after their disastrous attempt to sneak through Shining PATH taxes claiming these were for parks?

We only know this: if they could have raised the millage rate, they would have, and then we'd not get flooded with these repeat articles.

Just Passing Through

Actually, they live here.

Two Together

Leader Of The Pack

Trophies on the hoof. Who says we have too many deer in daVille?