Like A Good Neighbor?

Well, that is certainly NOT DeKalb County Schools. They have this annoyingly bright video sign at Austin.  They run this thing 7x24. Nonstop. And it flashes. Not seizure inducing, but annoying. Certainly it is nice for the kiddies to see their name/birthday out there for all to see. And it may be helpful for parents to get a clue about upcoming events while they sit, all but parked, waiting to drop kids off. Almost like there is no other way to let them know. Like maybe a web site, text message or email. 

Knowing that the school system is its own sovereign government you can be certain there is nothing the city can do, but is it possible to negotiate with the school? Maybe they could turn this thing off from about 6P to 6A when there really is no one around for them to "inform." Seriously, is that asking too much?

The Two Tales Of A City

Remember High School English class? Of course you do. Particularly Lit classes, where you'd read something that you'd never otherwise have read, and the teacher would want you to interpret the deeper meanings. Correctly. 

Well, we're back in High School, specifically in the cafeteria where there is a cool kids' table and everyone else, only now the "school" is virtual and it is actually a FeceBook group where the cool kids hang out. We'll label this group "D" which will become obvious soon. Now "D" started as an open group, anyone could see, anyone could comment. It is reported that a ghostly canine, residing at the rainbow bridge, actually commented on multiple occasions. Then "D" went private, members only, allegedly in anticipation of the chazerei around the November elections. Then came the flying monkeys led by HearNo, SeeNo, and SpeakNo and any monkey who crossed die Fuhrungsaffen were summarily excommunicated: no hear; no see; no speak. No longer allowed at, or even near, the cool kids' table.

This resulted in the obvious. The excommunicates created their own FeceBook group which we'll label "D-Prime" as it is a derivative of the group "D". Yes, we've jumped from High School Lit to High School Calc, but we will circle back. In "D-Prime" the monkeys are unleashed, saying and doing what they will, with the understanding they may be taken to task, perhaps with limited tact and no decorum. You lay out some bullshit and someone is likely to call bullshit on you. They may pile on, so you should proceed with caution and Nomex is advised, as this is the virtual world version of the playground where you learned social skills. You're gonna get some bumps and bruises, but you stand a chance getting smarter, stronger.

Inevitably "D" found out about "D-Prime" and die Fuhrungsaffen were pissed so they invaded "D-Prime" as "D-Prime" is open to all. You've just got to handle the heat. Turns out, the first interloper withered like a jellyfish on a hot beach because the excommunicates still didn't like the condescending, self-righteousness of the "D" monkeys, so they beat it back to the safety of their cushy, padded echo chamber, regaling die Fuhrungsaffen with the horrors of "D-Prime". Yet "D-Prime" saw an immediate surge in membership. Something was happening. Something the cool monkeys didn't understand. Because they're monkeys.

Let's get Lit. If this were something you had to read in that English class, what would this story really mean? Well, you'd have a poignant commentary on contemporary society and politics. There is one troop of monkeys that holds itself above all others believing they wield power over any and all others, and they freely share that belief. With all these others. They are the superior monkeys, or so they say, so they believe. Until a whole lot of the other monkeys quit believing. Then die Fuhrungsaffen could not deafen, could not blind, could not mute very many monkeys because they had driven them away. 

Today we call die Fuhrungsaffen Democrats.

Living With Inflation

First came Bidenomics. Now we look forward to T2 Tariffs. Looks like excessive inflation is about to be as normal as global warming. Except for a few folks. Who would that be? The 1 percenters? The Three Percenters? Nope, and nope. 

It is far worse: it is public schools.

That's right, the folks that brought you school closings and a generational setback for the children of America hold themselves above inflation, and you. Georgia passed a statewide law, by referendum approved by the public, to limit property appraisal increases to the rate of inflation. This means that local governments, including public schools, would see their revenue increases limited to the general rate of inflation. Your average working stiff is not guaranteed a raise to cover inflation, but the schools are. 

But that is not enough. The law offers taxing agencies a means to opt-out of these appraisal increase limits. They have to post public notice that they will do this which some might think would name and shame them. Some would be wrong as the folks running these systems have no shame. They are greed incarnate.

At it isn't as if their revenue is really capped at inflation. Not all properties are subjected to this limitation and those that are mark-to-market upon sale. But they will tolerate no restriction on their current or future revenue. They will claim they need the money to address the pandemic learning setbacks which were largely of their own making, and given free rein at the time they would have made it even worse. And no, they don't think you're stupid, they know you are. After all they probably educated you.

Just remember this the next time you vote for a school board member or an eSPLOST.

Follow The Science

But watch out for the scientists.

Research, particularly research conducted inside the academy, is informally known as a "publish or perish" reality. Want tenure? Pump out those papers. Want a promotion or a raise? Keep 'em coming. 

And so they do.

To be very clear, just any old publication will not do. No vanity press here, these need to be accepted by peer-reviewed publications, and it should come as no surprise there is a pecking order to these publications. Some are just more prestigious than others. What seems to be consistent across the board is the review process.

Authors will tell you this process is burdensome, unnecessarily so, and feel some reviewers provide annoying criticisms, demanding fixes, because, well, just because they can. What is increasingly clear is this process does very little to ensure the scientific integrity or veracity of the research work. It should come as no surprise that once a prestigious journal publishes, they tend to turn a deaf ear to outside peers who find fault, scientific fault, research fault, with the publication. 

In one case, retraction of seriously flawed work took six years. In this time the paper was cited almost 150 times. Damage done. And lest you think this is an unusual or rare occurrence, Retraction Watch's database has 55,000 retractions of which over 450 are CoVid-19 research papers. So, if you are going to "follow the science" you need to read these papers with a bit more critical eye than the reviewers.

Little Oaths Of Loyalty

Remember the Whiz Quiz? They still do that don't they? You know, all that drug-free workplace stuff government funded and business implemented. What Fourth Amendment?

Then came wave after wave of progressive dogma. Safe spaces. Trigger warnings. Pronoun of the moment (smart folks settled on "it"). Political correctness. Heckler vetoes. The chill of self-censorship. All leading to universal, mandatory diversity statements to ensure fealty, the bending of all sheaves to a god of the established elites' making. 

And now we have an administration, an executive branch, demanding loyalty to that administration to retain or obtain a job. They are even checking prior social media activity. Sounds familiar doesn't it? It is more than just the similarity to the academy, but to prior administrations. The tools of that trade are no more different today than four years ago. The similarities are frightening and any differences seem manufactured, and only important to boo-birds. 

What would have been nice, what could be, are voices from the Fourth Estate that decry suspicion-less pre-employment drug testing, mandatory diversity statements, and pledges of political loyalty with equal fervor.

They Have Known For Some Time

With Jimmy Carter's passing much praise has been heaped on his legacy. Much well deserved. One item of note is his elevation to the status of "climate warrior" because he had solar panels installed on the White House. Which he did. He also championed (beltway-speak for "spent money on") solar energy research, with quite a few GT-EES researchers on the job market when Reagan took office. But was he really a climate warrior? Did he know something? Yes he did. But so did most of his predecessors and all who came after. How did this happen?

A good place to start is around 200 years ago. That's right, the 1820's. This is when Fourier, better known for his transform, theorized about a process we now call the greenhouse effect. This became more concrete in the 1850's when a scientist determined, empirically, that CO2 and moisture had just the heat retention effect that Fourier predicted. These results were presented in the U.S., but roundly ignored in Europe. This particular scientist had three crippling qualities: she was female; she was an amateur; and she was American. Not until several years later, when her results were reproduced by a European male did this become generally accepted. So, before the United States was 100 years old. 

To be fair, at this point in time, most inquiry regarded where we were in the current Ice Age and where that was headed. Yes, we are still in an Ice Age. This was Tyndall's line of investigation in 1859 with a focus on identifying the specific gases involved in atmospheric heat retention. This was after Foote's work and she was never credited and yet he identified the same gas as she. In 1896, Arrhenius, a Swede, create the first of what we would now call a "climate model," which estimated our current global temperature rise with frightening accuracy. 

So. For well over 125 years we've known. Well, at least the best and brightest have. You know, like our scientists and world leaders. Creme de la creme. Teddy Roosevelt knew. So did Franklin. And Churchill. And Kennedy, who preferred a man on the moon over a stable climate. And Johnson. And Reagan. Eisenhower. Obama. Yes, even Jimmy Carter. They all knew. They all had other things on their to-do lists. 

Was there anything they could do? No, there really wasn't. So, has there really been a climate crisis? Not according to Mirriam-Webster, who defines a crisis  as an inflection point, where some action, some change is imminent. Things are indeed happening, but immediacy is not part of the conversation. Probably because there isn't much we can, and even less that we will, do. Not anything that will make a significant impact. Now that the issue has become a political bludgeon all that will happen is folks will beat their opponents over the head while spouting copious hot air. 

Now we all know.

A Different Reality

The era of delusional presidents is upon us. Perhaps a bombastic Trump led the way, but Biden, or his caregiver, is intent on going where others fear to tread. His ignoring of the Constitution has left the world wondering just what, as a career politician, he won't ignore. To the Constitution and SCOTUS he's now added Congress. See, when Congress kicked off the drive to ratify the ERA, they set a time limit. When it wasn't ratified before the limit expired, Congress extended the limit. It still was not ratified within the limit. Then, along came Trump, and three other states ratified long after both deadlines had lapsed. In the intervening years several states have rescinded or sunsetted their ratification, some objecting to changing the rules once the game was started. These changes are a bit smarmy, but may not violate the Constitution. 

None of that matters to Biden. He wants everyone to join him in complete dementia and just pretend that the ERA has been added to the Constitution, a Constitution he has shown little regard unless it suits him in the moment. This is not that moment.

Again, Ginsburg shows the way, supporting the ERA, but also acknowledging that the best way to handle the missed deadlines is to start over, noting that if you count a late-comer on the plus side, you can hardly dismiss those who've changed their minds. The problem is that while the original text would likely receive prompt ratification, the radical left will not tolerate that text, and that's a shame.

In The Crosshairs

The "Police Blotter" is one of the best features of the Blue Bag Rag, but it could do with a layout change. Since the Wally Whirled Freak Show folded tent and left town, Shoplift Nation has targeted, well, Target. And they're hitting them up multiple times a week. Just recently they got hit on December 19, December 21 and December 26 (Happy Boxing Day). Maybe there should be a section in the Police Blotter dedicated to "shrinkage" at Target. This need not be permanent as Target is likely to follow the trail blazed by Wally despite having superior Loss Prevention personnel and procedures. 

And these perps do bring entertainment to the community. First, they ain't from around here. Not sure if that is a comfort (your neighbors aren't thieves) or a concern (we're being attacked from without). We're talking Marietta, Clarkston, Lawrenceville and Duluth. What, do these places have no Target? And before you get all "It's MARTA" about it, in at least one of the cases the perps drove cars, a Genesis G70. How may Targets did they drive past to get here? Or, did they stop at every one?

Then, it is somewhat interesting that, at least in these three cases, all the perps are women. In a couple of cases they didn't act alone. One woman brought her kid, a four year old boy. Never too young to learn. The perp was hauled off to jail but not before granny came for the kid and the perp's personal effects. 

Lady Genesis had a crew of three (all women) of which two were arrested. This crew was particularly interesting in that the car was searched, drugs were found as were checkbooks, credit cards and IDs belonging to someone other than these three ladies. Oh, and a handgun on the front seat. Here's the kicker: the driver claimed complete ignorance of the contraband saying it wasn't even her car. You gotta wonder if the car was stolen, and if so, why the Flock didn't descend upon it. With all this, only two of the three were arrested because the third woman wasn't on the Target security footage, but she probably had to Uber home because the car was impounded as the driver had no license. 

Stepping back a bit, you really have to wonder what it is about Dunwoody that attracts thieves. They ARE making quite the trip to get to a Dunwoody Wally Whirled or Target. Do they know something we don't? Maybe Loss Prevention should be a bit more introspective. 

Third Time Is The Charm

The Chicken Littles seem to be over their malaise and are back to sowing Trump Terror. This isn't about T2, which is on the launching pad, but the prospect of T3.

Wait...what?

Yep. They're scared of a T3 and they're touting the plan that makes this possible. It is as if without Trump to tear down they'd have no reason to live. Is this really possible and just what is this plan?

Well, it is possible, but highly improbable, which will become obvious when you consider the plan. The plan is simple in design. Trump runs as Veep with someone else topping the ticket, they win, and upon inauguration the new Prez resigns elevating Trump to the oval office. 

This is perfectly legal, and as the left is about to learn, it is because words matter. See, the constitution prevents someone from being elected more than two times to the presidency. It does not place a limit on the number of times someone can serve in that office. The left, notorious for word salad and semantic gymnastics will contend that somehow, the word elected subsumes the meaning of the word serve. Might be true in their partisan minds but not in a court of law, primarily because of legal precedence. Genuflect to stare decisis. The precedent is priceless because it is Joe Biden. See, Papa Joe ran, and was elected, to the US Senate when he was 29 years old, too young to serve, but between being elected and sworn in, he turned 30 years old, old enough to serve. Clearly there is an undeniable constitutional distinction between elected and serve, a distinction that cuts both ways. 

So, it is technically possible for Trump to serve a third term but it is practically impossible. For so many reasons.

It requires that Trump be on a ticket that can win, one where top of ticket can overcome what is likely to be significant Trump Fatigue in the electorate. That's one hell of a candidate.

Such a candidate who can carry that burden across the finish line will inevitably be equipped with an enormous ego. Hell, losers are blessed with egos that would overflow the Benz. Even Biden now thinks he should not have dropped out with his ego telling him he could have snatched victory from the jaws of dementia. Does anyone with any political acumen really believe there exists a politician, were they to win the White House, that would willingly relinquish the presidency?

Another political reality is there are Republicans who feign loyalty (for their own benefit) but secretly look forward to a post-Trump political landscape. Everyone knows politicians are windsocks interested in themselves, their wealth, their power, and little else. 

So yeah, the fear-mongers have identified a legitimate path to T3, but only an idiot can be fooled into taking it seriously.

Slap Happy New Year

The year end edition of the Blue Bag Rag included self-congratulatory back slapping by the mayor and some New Year's resolution from Top Cop 2.0. Only a politician can tout spending money as an "accomplishment" when most of us have tightened our belts and success, for us, looks like fiscal prudence. But hey, this is government. 

One "accomplishment" the mayor and TC2 both spoke to was the "Real-Time Crime Center" serving as a "sports bar" where cops get to watch crime as it is happening. Wonder if they get popcorn. The mayor declared this a "game changer" without any reference to exactly what that game might be, who keeps score and who is the ref. Yet the claim is this expenditure "improves emergency response and aids in crime prevention and investigation." Wow. "Improves" in no way suggests a metric for emergency response consequently providing no assurance that this "improvement" is adequate. Relativism is the tool of political obfuscation. "Aids in crime prevention?" How so? We'll never know. Investigation? Sure, video evidence is admissible. 

TC2 chimes in with commitments to further integrate RTCC with "community safety programs" (we'll ignore the "regional partners" we're subsidizing with this effort). To what community safety does he refer? Certainly not community patrolling for enforcement of traffic laws. But maybe they'll get a kick out of watching red light runners on the big screen. TC2 hopes to ensure this system's "benefits" extend across all neighborhoods and businesses. The "benefit" seems to be "surveillance" so we, the taxpayers, should expect a bill for more cameras. Coming to a street corner near you. 

Maybe if they spent less money and time with their high tech (and soon to be outdated) toys and more on time-tested conventional police work, where community engagement means police patrolling our streets to keep us, and our children, safe, we might be better off. We will probably never know because it will probably never happen.

It's A Roundabout!

Is this part of the problem?

Seems like this package went round and round between Palmetto and the Distribution Center in Atlanta. It was a book, not a hot potato. 

How Long?

The city's recent concrete drop in the village raises an interesting question. You see, at one point, the city required anyone making what the city considered major building reno widen the sidewalks in front to meet Shining PATH Foundation requirements. Hence the patchwork (incrementalism?) you see on Village Parkway in front of a law office and the Jiffy Lube X-Fit. They showed their mercenary bent when the condo developer balked at wide sidewalks on the other side of the parkway. 

Still, you have to wonder. The city dropped some concrete in front of the PNC bank on Mt. Vernon, a road in the Shining PATH's crosshairs and this was the Wide Side, as it was before. A few yards further west, in front of the Wells Fargo bank, we see a Narrow Side dropped. 

Lost Opportunity

Hmmmm... Why didn't they do the Wide Side? Was it because it wasn't in a resident's yard? Perhaps they'll claim it was replacing what was there. Or maybe they'll invoke their long abandoned eco-creds claiming they didn't want to disturb those wonderful shrubs. And yet, rather than replace a fallen tree, which had previously been there, they decided to 'crete over the hole. 

Could Have Had A Tree