Archive for the Bureaucracy Category

Covid-19: BAU v. BAU (February 24, 2020)

Posted in Bureaucracy, China, Covid / Coronavirus, Ebola, Public Health on February 24, 2020 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “BAU is not the most graceful acronym.”

J          “Its opposite – Business As Unusual – is not that graceful either.”

. . .

J          “Every American has a constitutionally-guaranteed right to buy a cheap tv and  drugs to go with it.  When Americans are unable to access the ‘plug-in drug’ and pop a few pills, the populace will disconnect and drop out.”

K          “If someone pulls the cord, you will see discord.  Without a 72 inch tv and a 72 day supply of prescription drugs, the populace will dissent.”

. . .

J          “When you think about it, do all cars really need a front bumper, a right side handle, a left side mirror and a rear gear box.”

K          “Three tires and an eight track player and you should be ready to hit the road.”

. . .

J          “Artificial medical devices already are in short supply.  Right now there are patients who need a left aorta or a right knee.”

K          “They may need to be patient.  Could they consider getting by with a right aorta or a left knee.”

. . .

J          “You can live without an Apple® but not without an apple.”

. . .

J          “You will not be economically impacted unless you buy stuff made in or sourced from China.” 

K          “Or Vietnam or South Korea or Malaysia or . . . fill in the blank.”

. . .

K          “It is bad.”

J          “It will get unimaginably bad, if you can imagine.”

. . .

[See “COVID-19 Pandemic:  The Complacent Are Clueless” dated February 17, 2020 and “When Will We Admit Covid-19 Is Unstoppable and Global Depression Is Inevitable?” dated February 23, 2020 in “Of Two Minds” by Charles Hugh Smith; “Easily overlooked issues regarding COVID-19” in “Our Finite World” dated February 19, 2020 by Gail Tverberg; “The white swan harbingers of global economic crisis are already here” in “The Guardian” dated February 19, 2020 by Nouriel Roubini; “‘Dominoes falling’ in global shipping as coronavirus continue to grip China’s economy” in “The Telegraph” dated February 20, 2020 by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard; the daily aggregation of articles cum commentary by Raul Ilargi Meijer at “The Automatic Earth” and the many timely, insightful and informative articles and commentary on the “Virus” by Chris Martenson at “Peak Prosperity”.]

[See the e-commentary at “Seeing 2020:  Panda < Eagle > Bruin; Panda + Bruin > Eagle.  Oh, And Happy Chinese New Year! (January 27, 2020)” and the other e-commentary linked at that post.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Covid-19 f.d.b.a. Coronavirus:  Coming to a town near you

Keep calm and panic

JIT —> NIT

The Toyota Production System (TPS) may not systematically produce Toyotas

Is it possible to go through the day and encounter something or anything not made out of oil and not made in China?

MPP / MPA:  Are They Really Masters?  (November 13, 2017)

Posted in Bureaucracy, Bush, Clinton, Education, Kennedy, O'Bama, Pogo Plight, Schooling, Schooling Industrial Complex, Trumpi on November 13, 2017 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “These Masters of Public Policy and Masters of Public Administration types all suffer from a collective groupthink.”

J          “That they are the Masters of the Universe.  They are actually the errand boys and errand girls for the real Masters of the Universe.” 

K          “Apparatchik manufacturing.  The law schools historically have manufactured them.”

J          “These programs are a ‘law school substitute’ or a ‘law school light’ program.”

K          “The most important part of the curriculum is ‘Excuses 101’ that salvages any ill-conceived whim.”

. . .

K          “Maintaining groupthink is the overriding concern and the unifying doctrine.”

J          “And building the old boy network to divide the spoils.”

. . .

K          “Look at the responses on the mid-term.”

  1.      What choice did we have?
  2.      Nobody saw it coming.
  3.      All policies have unintended consequences.
  4.      All of the above.

J          “They are the ‘D’ students.”

K          “Are we all the ‘D’ students?”

. . .

K          “Better to get an MFA?”

J          “Better to skip the classroom, boycott the S.I.C. and teach yourself.”

K          “Have you ever seen the syllabus for a Master of Coarse Arts degree?”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “Schooling The Apparatchiks For The Kleptocrats (December 7, 2015)” and “Clinton, Inc., Trump, Inc., Bush, Inc., Kennedy, Inc., O’Bama, Inc. (October 24, 2016).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.”  Frederick Douglass

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble.  It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”  Mark Twain

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world.  The unreasonable man adapts the world to himself.  Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”  George Bernard Shaw

There but for the grace of God go I

Appropriately Proud Single Mom:  “My three ‘D’ students took their mom out to dinner for her birthday.  My M.D. student, my J.D. student and my Ph.D. student.”

“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”  Eric Hoffer

Government Bureaucracy 101 (September 26, 2016)

Posted in Bureaucracy, Global Climate Change, Global Warming, Government Regulation, Hypocrisy, Journalism, Kleptocracy, Newspapers, Press/Media on September 26, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “When you find the need for the government to be there, it is nowhere to be found; when you need the government to be off your back, it finds a way to be in your face.”

J          “To be or to be.  That is the quandary.”

. . .

J          “I find that so many individuals today do not want to work and do not want government to work so they go to work for the government and do not work and then the government does not work.  They rationalize their studied indifference by saying they are getting government off our backs.  At least this species of overpaid and underworked bureaucrats is not in your face, only in your pocket book.”

K          “So many times the bureaucrat with all the resources of the bureau could have done something in the face of a clear need for action.  If there is any possible downside to the bureaucrat or the activity requires effort, nothing is ever done.  At all.  And those terrified and overpaid bureaucrats include judges who are often the worst offenders.”

. . .

K          “That is still a problem.  There are those times when there is a need for the government to work.  I am trying to make the government work.”

J          “Sounds like a romantic to me.”

. . .

K          “Some bureaucrats in the Environmental Protection Agency are trying diligently to protect the environment.”

J          “There are exceptions.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “Go East, Young Person (August 25, 2014)” and “‘Titters’ v. ‘Self-Unemployed’ (September 1, 2014).”] 

Bumper stickers of the week:

The system works for most journalists, so most journalists report that the system works.

“When you find the need for the government to be there, it is nowhere to be found; when you need the government to be off your back, it finds a way to be in your face.”

“I find that so many individuals today do not want to work and do not want government to work so they go to work for the government and do not work and then the government does not work.” 

“All government, in its essence, is a conspiracy against the superior man: it’s one permanent object is to oppress him and cripple him. . . .  The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos.  Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it.  And even if he is not romantic personally he is very apt to spread discontent among those who are.

The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic.  He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched.  He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”

H.L. Mencken

To Raise Or Not To Raise? (December 14, 2015)  

Posted in Bureaucracy, Federal Reserve, Interest Rates, Movie Reference, Sports, Wall Street on December 14, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “That is the answer.”

2          “They can’t raise it, they can’t maintain it, they can’t lower it.  They are not in a stalemate because they are in checkmate.”

1          “Game over?”

. . .

2          “A decision not to decide is a decision.  The Fed has been deciding not to decide and has decided to destroy the real economy since at least 2008.  If they decide to raise the rate a nominal .125 or .250 percent, they may be able to get away with it.  Anything more substantial will tip over this unreal and surreal economy of their contriving.  Interest rate derivative swaps will strain, fragile emerging markets will sag and the federal government will be forced to spend more of the budget on interest payments.”

1          “They are said to need to show that they are tough guys and gals who are trying to return to a real economy.  They are said to need to establish ‘Wall Street cred’.”

2          “They have no ‘Main Street cred’.  At least among the few dozen folks who give a cred.”

. . .

1          “So will they raise the interest rate?  Yes or no?  If they do, how much?  .125?  .250?”

2          “The question is not ‘will’ they but ‘should’ they raise the interest rate.”

. . .

1          “A betting pool.  There you go.  We might as well have fun.”

2          “No they should not.  .125 to appear to be doing something.  The effective rate now may hover near an average of .100, so they may be able to do something without doing anything.”

1          “Maybe.  .250 to feign cred.  And then be able to reverse gears.”

2          “See we shall.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at Interest Rates ‘risin (March 30, 2015).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Do.  Or do not do.  There is no try.”  Yoda

What happens when you run out of altitude, airspeed and ideas all at the same time?

Otter:  “I think this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part.”

Bluto:  “We’re just the guys to do it.”

                                                    “Animal House” movie (1978)

Fed up yet?

“In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.”  Isaac Asimov

Schooling The Apparatchiks For The Kleptocrats (December 7, 2015)

Posted in Bureaucracy, Education, Kleptocracy, O'Bama, Schooling, Wall Street on December 7, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “Harvard and Yale are in business to make a profit and provide the foot soldiers to protect those making a profit.  Columbia has stepped up its game.  Both Eric Holder and Lonny Breuer each bagged a pair of degrees from Columbia and dutifully served Wall Street while on the public pay roll.  First Covington & Burling, then time in the Department of Justice (?), and then back to C & B to protect the Owners.  They did their time in government, but they did not encourage the criminal banksters to do their time in government custody.”

K          “I have said for some time that Morningside Heights is in business to protect its friends down the road in Manhattan.  Once Wall Street took a controlling stake in O’Bama, Inc., it was game over.  The game was over on or before January 20, 2009, yet it did not make that night’s sports highlights.” 

J          “The grand irony is that rather than quash any and all prosecutions of Wall Street fraud, Holder and Breuer could have aided and abetted their past and future colleagues by allowing them to get rich quashing government subpoenas.” 

K          “And then toss in Glenn Hubbard, a deceptive and dishonest errand boy for the banks and corporations.  Where is he proselytizing and propagandizing?”

. . .   

K          “On the other hand, Columbia also provides a haven for Joseph Stiglitz and James Hansen.”

J          “And William Kunstler did not toil and moil for C & B.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at America’s Fraud Factories (October 18, 2010)On Merit and the Meritocracy (January 11, 2010)Close the Harvard Business School (February 23, 2009) and Higher Education Tomorrow (November 27, 2006).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Politicians should dress like race car drivers.  At least we would know who their corporate sponsors are.

74 years today.

Chelsea And Ed:  Time For “Con” “dign” Treatment (November 30, 2015)  

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Bureaucracy, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, O'Bama, PATRIOT Act, Privacy, Profile In Courage Award, Supreme Court on November 30, 2015 by e-commentary.org

 

. . .

K          “Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Edward Snowden’s receipt, along with  several standing ovations in the Swedish parliament, of the Right Livelihood award for his revelations of the scale of government surveillance and monitoring.  And a fortnight ago O’Bama announced the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and forgot to mention Edward.  And right after he released Edward Pollard, a spy who pedaled state secrets for money.”

J          “He released the wrong Ed.  He’s a busy guy.”

K          “The absurdity and the insanity and the dishonesty and the hypocrisy continue in overdrive.”

. . .

K          “For two individuals who did so much to protect our liberty and freedom, neither of them should lose a moment’s freedom or liberty.  Require them each to do one thousand hours of community service.  To send a message that actions have consequences.” 

. . .

K          “The FISA Amendments Act (FAA) is the unconstitutional law that allows the government to wiretap Americans who are communicating with people overseas.  Under the FAA, the government can conduct this surveillance without naming individuals and without a traditional warrant based on a showing of probable cause.”

J          “Despite the Fourth Amendment that requires a warrant.”

K          “Yup.  Despite the Fourth Amendment that requires a warrant.  When the Supreme Court addressed whether the unconstitutional law is unconstitutional the Supreme Court did not address the constitutionality of the law itself and instead ruled that the plaintiffs could not prove the surveillance was ‘certainly impending’.”

J          “We suffer because of the ignorance and intentional naiveté and dishonesty of the Supreme Court.  Goes to show.”

K          “They are only running show trials.  The plaintiffs were held not to have the ‘standing’ necessary to sue.  They were just a group of lawyers, journalists, and human rights advocates who regularly communicate with likely ‘targets’ of FAA wiretapping.”

J          “Seems like a ‘stand up’ group of individuals to me.”

K          “Since the ‘stand up’ group of Americans did not have definitive proof that they were being surveilled under the FAA, they cannot challenge the constitutionality of the unconstitutional statute.”

J          “And the government nearly always keeps its surveillance activities secret.”

K          “But you always knew they were illegally surveilling.”

J          “Sure.”

. . .

K          “‘Condign punishment’ is the ideal punishment that balances the rights and responsibilities of the individual and the society.  ‘Con’ means ‘with’ and ‘dign’ means ‘dignity’ so that condign means to provide ‘with dignity’.”

. . .

K          “Both should be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  They have made great personal sacrifices for our freedom.”

. . . 

[President O’Bama failed to name Edward Snowden as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Again.  https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom.  He cannot.  Yet he could pardon Ed and Chelsea on the way out.]

[See the e-commentary at Hero or Traitor? (June 10, 2013), Profile In Cowardice Award (May 12, 2014) and Profile in Courage Award, 2015 (May 11, 2015).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“For especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”  Presidential Medal of Freedom

And Edward Pollard, a spy who pedaled secrets for money, gets released.

Do Your Job Or Quit Your Job (September 14, 2015)

Posted in Bureaucracy, Gay Politics, Society on September 14, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “Transfer to the Department of Fish and Game and issue fishing licenses.”

K          “What if she is a committed member of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and is opposed to issuing licenses to allow one to snag and snare smallmouth bass?”

J          “Transfer to the Department of Motor Vehicles and issue driving licenses.”

K          “What if she is a dedicated member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and is opposed to issuing licenses to citizens who have a ‘driving while intoxicated’ conviction?”

J          “Transfer to the Department of . . . .”

. . . 

K          “Call me a curmudgeon or an old school conservative.  She should do her job or quit her job.”

. . .

[Kim Davis should do her job or quit her job.  And Cliven Bundy should pay his grazing fees or get off the public land.  See the e-commentary at Pay Your Bills, Bundy! (April 28, 2014).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Do your job or quit your job

Pay your grazing fees or get off the public land

“You Can’t Be Smarter” (August 10, 2015)

Posted in Bureaucracy, Courts, Entertainment, Journalism, Judges, Judicial Arrogance, Law, Law School, Newspapers, Personal Stories Series, Personal Story, Press/Media, Television on August 10, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

P          “You might as well leave law school with some useful insight.  When you begin practice, ferret out the longest serving person at the firm.  That person likely will be female and the secretary for a senior partner.  Take her to lunch.  Ask for advice.  Listen carefully.”

. . .

SS          “Your biggest challenge?  You must accept that you can’t be smarter than the judge.  That will vex a person like you.  And don’t expect much civility or any humility from the bench.  Good luck.  You will need it.”

. . .

YL          “So it is like law school but with consequence.  It is like high school writ large.”

SS          “And I am downstream from the bullying and arrogance of the judges and the senior partner.”

. . .

YL          “Looking back, I realize that professors were and judges now are the greatest impediments to advancing sound ideas.”

SS          “They don’t teach you much in law school.”

. . .

[Jon Stewart left The Daily Show recently.  See the e-commentary at Brian, Jon And Journalism Today (February 16, 2015).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Better to know the judge than the law

Ebola: The Halcyon Days Of The Panic-demic In A “Peak” Health Care-less System (October 13, 2014)

Posted in Book Reference, Bureaucracy, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Ebola, Health Care, Military, Pogo Plight, Population, Privacy, Public Health on October 13, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “Who can you trust?  Events are moving so quickly.  Fraud and deception work effectively in finance and politics, but Mother Nature is indifferent to and immune from the shenanigans and machinations of mortals.”

2          “The government and the public are still mired at Stage 1.  The government is denying the threat because it has no plan.  The public is denying the threat because it has no idea.”

1          “I am collecting the quotations of the major players to document the response in real time.  Dr. Frieden with the CDCE and Dr. Fauci with NIAID/NIH are not prepared and have not been candid.  A test patient, Dr. Nancy Snyderman with NBC, agrees to a voluntary quarantine and then brazenly violates the quarantine, refuses to accept responsibility and escapes accountability.”

2          “We as a society need to move through the stages from denial to anger to bargaining to depression to acceptance of a plan more quickly than the virus is moving.”

1          “The health care-less system will peak after it fills the nineteen available beds.”

. . .

2          “Easy to say that everything reasonable must be done to contain and eliminate the menace in West Africa.”

. . .

2          “Viewers of Fox tv are yelling at the tube for the government to do something.  The Republicans who advertise on the network cut funding to the CDCE and other programs.”

1          “If the Democrats had provided an additional five billion dollars in funding to the CDCE, what would have happened?”

2          “The CDCE would have lobbied for another five billion dollars.”

1          “Or ten.  And yet the Democrats cut funding, as if any amount of funding matters.  Some researcher who sent repeated e-mails to those in power warning of the dangers of Ebola is not happy.”

2          “I can forward some of the e-mails.”

. . .

2          “A communicable disease is communicated by public transportation.  Even if the disease is not transmitted at this time via air, the public is transmitted via air.  Ebola is small enough to fit in a ‘carry on’ bag.  Ebola will hitchhike and stow away.  Air travel must be purposefully restricted.  Restrictions are costly, but the costs of limiting air travel must be weighed against the costs of not limiting air travel.”

1          “All costs should be calculated.  We need to address the resulting deprivations of privacy and limitations on constitutional rights before the public is too terrified to think.”

. . .

2          “One of the bench marks will be bleach sales.”

1          “Or overflow patients camping in tents in parking lots.”

. . .

1          “The female RNs are underpaid to do the work while the male MBAs who make the decisions take almost all the profits.  The RNs are underpaid to care for the sick and the dying and are not paid anything to get sick and to die in the process.  When a nurse is called in to care for someone sick with Ebola at an institution unprepared for the challenge, she or he should in good conscience call in sick.”

2          “She or he will get there and then be blamed for the negligence of the hospital.”

1          “The American military personnel being deployed to Africa are not being provided combat pay.  The ‘charge of the blight brigade’ should occasion charges against those giving the orders.”

2          “No one gets it.”

1          “Everyone will get it unless all of us get it.”

. . .

[See http://prosperouswaydown.com/category/subtopics/healthcare-subsystems/ebola-healthcare-subsystems/  Five stages of grief and five stages of collapse in a dire scenario.  http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2014/10/ebola-and-five-stages-of-collapse.html#more.  Consider Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Be clean

Get a flu shot

Wash your hands

Take your kids to the park

Prepare to hunker down

Be calm and panic (but do so with poise and dignity)

Go East, Young Person (August 25, 2014)

Posted in Bureaucracy, Collapse, Education, Military on August 25, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A          “Horace Greeley advised the young man to go West seeking land and opportunity.  Today the sage advice is to leave the sagebrush and go East.  All the power and all the money is absorbed and consumed by the contemporary Rome, the black hole known as Washington.  Most of the remaining high paying jobs with pensions and health care are at the epicenter of the Empire.”

B          “Town after town after town after town after town after town are now vacant shells with breathing zombies struggling to survive the day.  Those with limited schooling have no recourse except to enroll in the military and fight resource wars for the bankers.  Those with the chance to get some schooling flee and enlist in some institution of higher learning to get certified and credentialed.  They might get a gig with a corporation, yet they will not get a pension or many other benefits.”

A          “I advise kids who have the connections, the moxie and some good luck to get a plum job with the federal government and ride it out.”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

The violin is more sonorous and the fires distant