Politics Plus

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage.  These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that.  Even though there are many more which I can't include.  As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

I have some stories about local happenings which, though vile, are two weeks out of date: the restaurateur who threw a customer out for being black, a quadriplegic who was denied admission at a private school for being disabled, a climate activist killed for walking barefoot to draw attention to climate change, even a city councilman who boldly proclaimed (/s) that women have a right – "to be slapped."

But I would rather discuss the new "administration" directly, particulary since things are moving so fast that actual atrocities are sneaking under the radar, or so it seems.  For instance, everyone here had heard of Rex Tillerson and Neil Gorsuch.  Most of us have heard of Scott Pruit and Andrew Pudzer.  But Ajit Pai?  Did anyone know his confirmation had gone through?

The FCC’s new Chairman Ajit Pai has told 9 companies, who had just recently been given the green light, that they will not be allowed to participate in the Lifeline program that helps subsidize internet services to low-income homes. 

The move, announced Friday by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, reverses a decision by his Democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler, and undercuts the companies' ability to provide low-cost Internet access to poorer Americans. In a statement, Pai called the initial decisions a form of “midnight regulation.” 

Last spring, the FCC moved to expand the Lifeline program in the hopes of bridging what’s called the “digital divide.” This is the expanse of information and technology unavailable to people who do not have a lot of money. Pulling back on nine companies is a huge step back to the program—which is what kleptocrats like chairman Pai seem to relish. 

Click through for more details, and also for a petition to sign.  Alecto, it's not just this person you need to – um – educate, it's the entire "administration,"  really.  Good luck with that.

While we are speaking of individuals in government, let us not forget Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), who is still the Chairman of the House Science Committee.  I'm sure we've all heard of him, just not for a while.  He is now trying to get his Secret Science Reform Act of 2015 passed, and his chances are much better than when the Senate previously quashed it.

  This bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing, finalizing or disseminating any rule, regulation or other "covered action" unless all scientific and technical information relied upon to support that decision is made available to the public in a manner where the research can be independently analyzed and substantially reproduced. While this appears to be a reform that provides greater public transparency in agency rulemaking, these new requirements would force the EPA to ignore any scientific information related to personal health and other confidential data legally protected from disclosure – jeopardizing the agency’s ability to use best-available scientific data and weakening its scientific integrity….

Further, by requiring EPA to maintain detailed descriptions of all materials, data, codes and models used to create rules, as well as instructions on how to access and use them, the agency would be forced to waste limited funds working through burdensome reporting requirements instead of important public health protections. 

Haven't I said that, although they worship money, Republicans have no objection to spending it as long as they can punish someone by so doing?  Preferably a whole lot of someones.  Megaera, good luck to you too.

I am convinced that the reason we are being bombarded with "off" things by the new "administration" is exactly so that, while we are all looking at the shiny stuff, we will not see some of the darker stuff – like torture.  I can't tell this story any better than by re-quoting this quote:

IN MAY, 2013, the Washington Post’s Greg Miller reported that the head of the CIA’s clandestine service was being shifted out of that position as a result of “a management shake-up” by then-Director John Brennan. As Miller documented, this official – whom the paper did not name because she was a covert agent at the time – was centrally involved in the worst abuses of the CIA’s Bush-era torture regime.

As Miller put it, she was “directly involved in its controversial interrogation program” and had an “extensive role” in torturing detainees. Even more troubling, she “had run a secret prison in Thailand” – part of the CIA’s network of “black sites” – “where two detainees were subjected to waterboarding and other harsh techniques.” The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on torture also detailed the central role she played in the particularly gruesome torture of detainee Abu Zubaydah.

Beyond all that, she played a vital role in the destruction of interrogation videotapes that showed the torture of detainees both at the black site she ran and other secret agency locations. The concealment of those interrogation tapes, which violated both multiple court orders as well the demands of the 9/11 Commission and the advice of White House lawyers, was condemned as “obstruction” by Commission Chairs Lee Hamilton and Thomas Keane. A special prosecutor and Grand Jury investigated those actions but ultimately chose not to prosecute.

That CIA official’s name whose torture activities the Post described is Gina Haspel. Today, as BuzzFeed’s Jason Leopold noted, CIA Director Mike Pompeo announced that Haspel was selected by Trump to be Deputy Director of the CIA.

Ms. Haspel's profile is so low I could not find a confirmed photo of her.  There wasn't one with the linked article, but I looked anyway.  Tisiphone, this seems to me serious enough to call for you to investigate.  The very best of luck to you.

One other article at Daily Kos (or diary, as they call them) asks whether anyone is keeping score of the atrocities.  If someone is, I would be delighted to hear of it.  In the meantime, all I can do is try to scout out the stuff from which the distractions are trying to distract us.

The Furies and I will be back.

Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4034763

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage.  These – things – which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that.  As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

The Trump-inspired hate crimes appear to be approaching critical mass.  By which I mean the news is moving from stories to statistics. 

American teens have experienced a steep surge in abusive and hateful behavior since the dawn of the divisive 2016 presidential race, a national survey has found.

The survey in question was conducted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) which is primarily a LGBTQ rights organization, and they are up front that their sample was not a valid statistical sample, since it used "convenience sampling."  While not a segment of the entire teen population, it does represent what is happening to the most vulnerable to bias and hate.  There is also confirmation from the Trevor Project, a crisis center for LGBT youth.

“The volume has continued to be higher than typical levels for November and December. This is very indicative of a higher level of emotional distress” for LGBT youth throughout the country, he said. “They’re clearly more distressed, so much that they feel the need to reach out for help…. The election results and the rhetoric going on in the media are enabling what would otherwise have been latent discrimination,” [David] Bond[, a Vice-President,] said. His organization, he said, is now counseling youth confronted by a wave of more “obvious and observable discrimination that is seemingly more welcome in the public eye, unfortunately.”

More welcome in the public eye.  Well, there you have it.  Big job, Megaera.  Good luck.

Then there's this.  "Anti-Corruption Act sparks a panic in legislative arena." 

Let's go back a step or two here.  This Anti-Corruption Act is not something that the legislature did.  This Act was initiated by the voters, and presented to the voters in the general election in November, and won by a margin of roughly 52-48.  Not exactly a landslide, but still, the will of the people.  It was supported by the Dakota Free Press and primarily by a group called South Dakotans for Integrity, through a website called Yes22.org.

In 2016, South Dakota was the only state in the country which did not limit the amount of gifts lobbyists could hand to politicians, and there was no accounting for them, so they could be secret.  The  people who wrote this law and worked for its passage studied all 49 other states, and they list all the laws, with links, on their website, so they know whereof they speak.  They wrote the law to be stricter than California ($10 per month limit) but more lenient than Oregon ($50 per year aggregate limit) – they selected a limit of $100 per year.

Now, in January, the South Dakota legislature is declaring a state of emergency in order to overturn this measure, the will of the people.  Emergency?  How could this be an emergency, you say?  Well, apparently groups are cancelling luncheons because legislators are afraid to attend lest they accept too much value and break the law.  They are afraid they might have to actually write down the cost of a cup of coffee.

This suggests to me two questions – first, has any of these legislators ever looked at an application for food stamps?  Would they even be competent to fill one out?  And, second, did it never occur to any of them that maybe their constituents want them working instead of going to parties? 

Or maybe they just have guilty consciences.  Alecto, have fun.

There's been a lot of attention paid to a number of things that the current occupant of the White House has done and not done this week, but there is one thing that bothers me which has not seen as much attention as I think it should, at least not in the circles I frequent on the internet.  If this is old news to you I apologize. 

Last Saturday the Canteloupe Cancer went to the CIA and gave a speech.  He was all happy and bragging that they gave him "standing ovations" (in addition to all the other things he brags about.)  There is just one problem with this.

The CIA will not sit down when the President is present unless he tells them to.  He didn't.

I've spoken in public; I've been trained to do it, and I've done it, probably not well, but I've done it.  If I went into a room in which everyone was standing – in front of seating – and continued to stand as I started speaking, I assure you it would not take me long to become uncomfortable and say something like, "Oh, please, be seated."  "Uncomfortable" is apparently not a tool in his toolchest, any more then "perception" or "empathy."  His world appears to be limited to "gloating" and "rage."

There was one other thing he didn't do. 

He didn't show much respect to the wall in front of which he was speaking.

The wall which commemorates 117 people who died in the line of duty.

This wall is the CIA's Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor – and we all can think of many other places which have an importance for the people whose colleagues they commemorate which can hardly be expressed.

A former senior CIA officer told NBC News he was embarrassed watching the remarks, which he called a "free-wheeling, narcissistic diatribe."  Another former senior official noted that that early on in his remarks Trump interrupted himself as he was commenting on the stars behind him and never returned to the topic.  "Not quite a `this hallowed ground moment,'" the official said.

Tisiphone, it wasn't a human being or a group of humans getting destroyed here.  It was honor, integrity, service and pride in service.  But I think you can deal with it.

The Furies and I will be back.

Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4033383

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage.  These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that.  Even though there are many more which I can't include.  As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

Well.  Pennsylvania.  Grace Packer was fourteen when her stepfather, I guess you'd call it, and adoptive mother raped, killed, and dismembered her. 

The beginning of the end seems to have been when they took her to a new residence; once inside, Dad hit her in the face, took her to the attic, and raped her, while Mom watched (apparently, Mom always got a kick from watching.)  They attempted to kill her with an overdose of OTC drugs (not as easy to do as people think it is).  But finding her still alive hours later, Dad strangled her to death.

They then kept the corpse in the attic for four months, using kitty litter to mask the odor.

Eventually, however, they moved it, as, when found, it was found in pieces, in a wooded area, by hunters.  Mom may have done the actual dismembering; at any rate, she is the one being charged with abuse of a corpse.

I came across this story because there is a petition to the prosecutor for justice for Grace.  I am not sure what is most chilling about this story –

• That it was done at all;
• That it was done in part by a mother whose profession was that of adoption supervisor for a county child welfare agency;
• Or that we are now so distrustful of our criminal justice system that we feel we need to petition them for justice in a case this flagrant.

Megaera – just in case it is necessary – follow this, will you?  Thank you.

Katelyn Davis, of Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia, was even younger than Grace Packer – just twelve.  She also had apparently been the victim of sexual abuse from a family member – a family member who had also told her that she was "worthless," and that she should just "go hang herself."

So she did.  And livestreamed it from her phone.  It took 42 minutes.

No one from her home or even her home town alerted police to the suicide.  They were tipped off by a police force in California.  They went to her home and rushed her to a hospital, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.  Does this outrage you?

She had posted the video on Live.me.  Someone or multiple someones copied it from that feed into YouTube, and into Facebook.  From there, it was picked up by other sites.  After several days, YouTube and Facebook were contacted and took it down (the YouTube one received nearly 40,000 hits before it was removed).  But other sites contiinue to show it.  Some will profit from advertising every time it is viewed.  Does this outrage you?

The Polk County Police Department has taken to Facebook to ask that anyone who has any "knowledge, videos, or comments" regarding this case please keep it off of the internet.  That is really all they can do.  They have no legal power to get any site to take it down; all they have is moral suasion.  Does this outrage you?

“But it’s just the common decent thing to do in my opinion.”  [PCPD]

And in my opinion too.  Tisiphone, I have a couple of things on my mind about this.  One is, who in Olympus's name told her she was worthless and to go hang herself?  And what else did this person do to her?  There are a lot of abuses being alleged, and none of them are mutually exclusive.  Not that I personally need to know.  But I'd like for you to know so you can act.  And also – can you get that video to go away?  Thanks.

Moving downward in age, Eliyah Elvidge, of AuSable Forks, New York, was um – two.

Prosecutors have charged [Patricia] Giddings[, his mother,] with criminally negligent homicide in the toddler's death, which occurred back in August, but she wasn't arrested and charged until just last week. Giddings and her boyfriend at the time, Brandon Bushey, are accused of leaving the child unsupervised in what prosecutors called a "holding pen," using a 4-foot high piece of plywood to keep the boy in a bedroom.

Ellyah's head allegedly became stuck in a notch at the top of the board while Giddings and Bushey watched TV. That allegedly led to the boy's death when he could not breathe.

Testimony Wednesday from investigators said the room Ellyah was being kept in was deplorable, including dirty diapers, animal feces and broken toys on the floor. 

If convicted, Giddings and Bushey could each serve up to four years in prison.  Alecto, make it so (and I too wish it could be longer.)  Thank you.

And, yes, this last victim was even younger (though, had he lived, he'd be a bit older than Eliyah now.)  Ezekiel Stephan was one (well, nineteen months) when he died of bacterial meningitis in 2012, in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

David Stephan, Ezekiel's father, and Collet Stephan, thought Ezekiel had croup or the flu.  They were treating him with remedies including hot peppers, garlic, onions, and horseradish.  Ok, and with a nutritional supplement called EMPowerplus.  Which is made by a company called Truehope Nutritional Support.  Which was cofounded by David's father.  Apparently they treated him for about two and a half weeks before he stopped breathing, which prompted them to call 911.  Ezekiel was admitted, transferred once or twice to different hospitals with increasing capabilities, eventually removed from like support, and died.

Now, I do not have a problem with EMPowerplus, if adults want to use it.  I use supplements myself, every day.  But even I do not use supplements in place of antibiotics.  Our antibiotics are being compromised rapidly, but there are still some in existence which can and should be used to treat bacterial meningitis.  At 71, there are some things about my body which I know better than a doctor does.  SOME things.  But at nineteen months, before you can even tell mommy where it hurts, you need to be seen by a physician.  David Stephan doesn't appear to agree, even now.  Though it happened in 2012, it is in the news now because he is still hawking EMPowerplus.

He also said he worries the case sets a precedent for prosecuting loving parents whose care-giving style falls outside government-dictated norms.

Right.  Ladies, someone please take a look at this.  Thanks.

The Furies and I will be back.

Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4030984

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage.  These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that.  Even though there are many more which I can't include.  As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

You may be familiar with the classic definition of chutzpah (insolence, impudence, gall) penned by Leo Rosten: "that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan."  I don't know whether that ever actually happened.  But I think we have a new definition, based on something which actually did happen: "that quality enshrined in a rapist who sues his victim, and the school which expelled him, for discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972."

Aaron Farrer, a 21-year-old from Lafayette, was accused of rape in September 2015 after a female student said Farrer took advantage of her drunken state. The woman showed police a text message she received from Farrer the next day apologizing for the incident. Farrer told police the woman consented to sex, and initiated the act.

So, he has just filed a Federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.  He says he was defamed.  He says he was a victim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.He says his constitutional rights were violated, and that he was not afforded due process.  He says the defendants "creat[ed] a gender biased, hostile environment against males."  Ah, me.  To the privileged, equality feels like persecution.

He says "the rape allegations against him were taken as truth from the outset."  Well, yes, when you admit and apologize to your victim in writing, and she is able to submit that as evidence, this is certainly a possibility.  It doesn't deprive you of due process.  Please explain that to him, Megaera, as only you can.

Question:  what would you do if you had adopted a dog or a cat and then decided you just didn't want it any more?  Trick question, right?  No on here would "just decide" they didn't want an animal any more after adopting it in the first place.  Or what if you just decided you didn't want your kid any more?  Really?  Would anyone do that?  Any human person?

In Halifax, PA, parents are facing multiple charges after police say three children were locked in a room, beaten and starved for three months because "they did not want them anymore."  I am not making this up.

Investigators found:

◦The six-year-old had a severe abrasion on his right eye; he said his father had thrown him across the floor as punishment, causing a severe facial injury
◦Victims told investigators that they would be locked in their bedroom at night and they could not leave the room
◦The four-year-old and five-year-old had visible signs of physical abuse; confessing to having been punched in the face
◦Victims said they would pound on the wall to get someone to take them to the bathroom, and they would urinate on themselves, on the bedroom floor, and no one would come
◦Victims said they didn't have a functioning heat source
◦Victims said the rooms were without furniture, and they would often peel paint off the walls
◦Victims said the last thing they could remember that they ate was an apple

"These were healthy kids, and while they were in their custody, these parents neglected them, starved them to such an extent they ended up the way they did," {Dauphin County District Attorney Ed] Marsico said. "We're prepared to prove they neglected these kids to such a point that they were near death."

There are things in the story which make me unsure to what extent the mother was a perp and to what extent she was a victim herself.  I cannot in conscience come down on one side or the other without more knowledge, so that's one thing I'm asking you to look into, Tisiphone.  Good luck.

So.  We've see two crimes of violence – sins of commission, as it were – and heaven knows there are more.  The guy in Las Vegas who was like, "How dare you object to me calling you a racial epithet, I'm going to beat you to death with this sign – oh, wait, my food's ready – OK, finished eating, I'll just beat you some more."  The woman who stabbed a black man in the New York subway because he offered her his seat – and he turned out to be transgender also – so she got a "twofer."  And, no, that isn't all.

But I want to turn to a sin of omission now.  WTF was this judge thinking?

TAYLOR COUNTY, Texas – An elderly Ranger man was sentenced to probation and community service after pleading guilty to multiple child sex crimes that happened at a church in Taylor County….  Wright was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. 

Well, sex offender registration is at least something.  But community service?  Is there anything in there that keeps him away from children? Or is he just being sent to a new happy hunting ground?

Okay, maybe prison is not the right place, but dammit, kids need to be protected, and if the church won't do it – and apparently it won't – the state needs to do it.  As one person commenting said,  "I can't belive, that we don't put child molesters in jail, they harm children, but we put drug addicts in jail for harming themselves. Just don't make sense to me."  Me neither, honey.  Alecto, I hope you'll keep an eye on him.

The Furies and I will be back.

Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4028948