YoBimbo

Rotten eggs: Deregulation isn't the only problem.

On a Facebook page, someone asked, "Are food-borne illness outbreaks increasing?" and someone wrote, "YES! All of Bush's deregulation is coming back to haunt us!"

The thing is, deregulation isn't the only problem (although I agree it's part of it), but sidestepping the law time and time again is an even bigger problem. For instance, WHY hasn't Jack DeCoster been put in jail? Why is he still in business? He's a well-documented habitual offender and the latest egg recall comes directly from his sleazy operations. 

Why? Because he's rich. He bought his way out of everything from animal cruelty to unsafe working conditions to filthy factory farms to hiring illegal immigrants (and housing them like his chickens with feces-laden water to drink) to rape and sexual harassment by his managers.

He simply pays the fines or settles out of court. These fines are the cost of doing business for this guy.

And so he continues doing what he does and, to date, over 1300 people have been affected by this salmonella outbreak.

It's not the failure of regulations. The regulations are there. The problem is that the government is unable to enforce them, and the government is far too complacent. To me, the question should be, "With all these regulations in place, why is this guy still in business? Who weakened the penalties to the point where fines are simply a business expense?"

Google Jack DeCoster's name. You'll see.

dKosopedia

Teflon Chicken Don Agrees to Cruelty Plea

Wright County Egg Recall

Thank you for your fast yet useless response.

I'm moving on to my continuing adventures with the DC Government - and no, I'm not writing about Marion Barry. You'll have to check my Facebook page for that crazy shit.

No, I'm talking about the inner workings of this completely dysfunctional entity itself. Have you ever tried to get help from them? Any of them? Have you ever tried to give helpful feedback? 

Don't bother. Just slap some duct tape on whatever your problem is and move on. You'll be much better off.

---

From: Me
Subject: Problems with online form

 

Good afternoon, Mr. DC Gov (not his real name - but his real name is listed on the paper form as the person to contact if I have any problems or questions. I suspect he is unaware that his email is being published for this purpose):

 

For several months now I’ve been trying to use the online form to enter separation information, and I can never get past this point:

 

[ SCREEN SHOT ]

 

Do you have any suggestions for me?

 

Thank you,

My fancy and important-looking auto-signature

  

---

From: Mr. DC Gov
Subject: RE: Problems with online form

 

Good afternoon,

   I don’t work with these forms but what you can do is fax the form to our Central Adjudication Unit.

The number (fax) 202 xxx xxxx/xx and make it to the attention of Pxxxxxxxx Mxxxxxxx.(Supervisor) She will forward the information to the appropriate claims examiner handling the case. Have a good day. ..

---

From: Me
Subject: RE: Problems with online form

 

I end up faxing them all the time – I was hoping to cut out that part of the process and use the online form, which seems to be broken. Perhaps you could forward my email to the person who does work with these forms?

 

Thank you anyway for your fast response.

And you know PALIN isn't any better.

"Eugene Robinson - Flunking Economics - washingtonpost.com John McCain was telling the truth when he said that economics wasn't his strong suit. In response to what many economists have called the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Republican nominee has sounded -- and let's be honest here -- totally, embarrassingly and dangerously clueless." Click the op-ed title to read the entire article.

Democracy's Flaw

I found this today while getting a post of my own together. Go to http://www.scholarsandrogues.com/ to read more stuff like this.

"Are Americans smart enough to vote?

Posted on November 9, 2007 by Bonesparkle

I recently offended some people, quite unintentionally, with my modest suggestion that perhaps it wasn’t in the best interests of the nation to hand over so much decision-making power to people who aren’t informed about the issues and their own system of government. (Responses ranged from “thoughtful disagreement” to what I believe is referred to as a “galloping hissy fit.”) Honestly, I was a bit shocked by the reaction - when I penned those remarks it hardly occurred to me that I was saying something controversial. On the other hand, it seemed to me that I was merely stating common sense. Since that post I’ve been ruminating about the assumption embedded in the premise - that a goodly number of Americans aren’t intelligent enough to be safely entrusted with the vote. In order to bring a little more depth to this debate I thought I’d do some research to discover whether or not the nation’s citizens are under-informed, and if so, to what degree. I thought about pulling together a laundry list of reports comparing US students to their counterparts in other nations, but that seemed too easy (and not entirely satisfying). Instead, I decided to present some interesting poll results. After all, you can’t really assess the intellect of the average man in the street by perusing a lot of egg-headed numbers on book-learning. Likewise, it’s not fair to evaluate their media consumption habits, because a lot of what looks at a glance to be trivial is in fact in the public interest. Here’s what I discovered. Over a third of the population believes in ghosts and UFOs. This is around the same number who believe invading Iraq was a good idea.

A smaller but still substantial 23 percent say they have actually seen a ghost or believe they have been in one’s presence, with the most likely candidates for such visits including single people, Catholics and those who never attend religious services. By 31 percent to 18 percent, more liberals than conservatives report seeing a specter.

Nearly half of Americans either believe evolution is untrue or have no opinion. Two-thirds believe in “creationism,” the idea “that God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years.” (Which, I think, means that some people simultaneously believe in creationism and evolution.) “34% of college graduates surveyed believe that ‘the Biblical account of creation’ is a fact” and 62% of voters say they wouldn’t vote for an atheist candidate. One in three Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein had something to do with the attacks on the World Trade Center. 64% of those polled by CBS News and the New York Times say they “have concerns about losing civil liberties as a result of anti-terrorism measures put in place by President Bush.” However, 53% approve of warrantless spying “in order to reduce the threat of terrorism.” If that seems inconsistent, consider the LA Times/Bloomberg poll showing that only 43% approve of Bush’s performance as president, but a majority think his policies have made the nation more secure. Then there’s my favorite: nearly half of all Americans believe the Bill of Rights affords “too much freedom.” I should probably watch my tongue here since “a majority of Americans have said they would restrict public remarks that might offend people of other faiths or races.” Some of the specific findings of the AJR report are just delicious:

• More than 40 percent of those polled said newspapers should not be allowed to freely criticize the U.S. military’s strategy and performance.
• Roughly half of those surveyed said the American press has been too aggressive in asking government officials for information about the war on terrorism.
• More than four in 10 said they would limit the academic freedom of professors and bar criticism of government military policy.
• About half of those surveyed said government should be able to monitor religious groups in the interest of national security, even if that means infringing upon religious freedom.
• More than four in 10 said the government should have greater power to monitor the activities of Muslims living in the United States than it does other religious groups.

A separate poll done by Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center in 2002 showed that “over 20 percent of the respondents felt newspapers should not be allowed to publish without some type of government approval.” (Note to America: we had that already. It was called “Pravda.”) I linger on this last bit to make a point. Some of my critics on those earlier posts were rather bright-eyed about their defense of the rights and autonomy and general goodness of the noble ordinary citizen, and I’d merely ask why I should endure such abuse for suggesting that their freedoms should be curbed when they themselves are convinced they have too much freedom as it is? In any case, a portrait is painted for your consideration. And again I should note, in parting, that each of these fine people has a vote that counts as much as yours. God Bless America!"

"You don't have to be a criminal or a terrorist to be checked against the database."

Here's an interesting article from CNN. Click the link below to read the full article. My comments are in red.

FBI wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoo mapping

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia (CNN) -- The FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people's physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists.

But it's an issue that raises major privacy concerns -- what one civil liberties expert says should concern all Americans.

The bureau is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create the database that will compile an array of biometric information -- from palm prints to eye scans. Kimberly Del Greco, the FBI's Biometric Services section chief, said adding to the database is "important to protect the borders to keep the terrorists out, protect our citizens, our neighbors, our children so they can have good jobs, and have a safe country to live in." But it's unnerving to privacy experts. "It's the beginning of the surveillance society where you can be tracked anywhere, any time and all your movements, and eventually all your activities will be tracked and noted and correlated," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Technology and Liberty Project." And... I think we know which people will believe THIS line: "Critics say people are being forced to give up too much personal information. But Lawrence Hornak, the co-director of the research center at West Virginia University, said it could actually enhance people's privacy. "It allows you to project your identity as being you," said Hornak. "And it allows people to avoid identity theft, things of that nature."" And this one: " The FBI says it will protect all this personal data and only collect information on criminals and those seeking sensitive jobs." Click the article headline to read the full story.

Spies for Hire

"The Spy Who Billed Me About R J Hillhouse * Dr. Hillhouse has run Cuban rum between East and West Berlin, smuggled jewels from the Soviet Union and slipped through some of the world’s tightest borders. From Uzbekistan to Romania, she's been followed, held at gunpoint and interrogated. Foreign governments and others have pitched her for recruitment as a spy. (They failed.) A former professor and Fulbright fellow, Dr. Hillhouse earned her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Michigan. Her latest novel, OUTSOURCED (Forge Books) is about the turf wars between the Pentagon and the CIA and the privatization of national security. Dr. Hillhouse is an expert on national security outsourcing. Her controversial work has twice elicited a formal response by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence--the only times that office has ever publicly responded to the writings of a private citizen."

You'd better be nice to me.

Opposition Wins Sierra Leone Presidency - New York Times "Koroma, 54, promised to root out corruption and create economic opportunities. A former insurance company executive, he also promised to run the government with the efficiency of a business, quickly rebuilding roads and infrastructure."

Federal Trojans

"A Story About Government Malware - The Federal Trojan

The term "Federal Trojan" has been dominating media reports for several months and is currently a hot topic in almost every forum. In the following article we summarize what this is all about and explain our position as a manufacturer of security software. Let us journey back in time to Germany in the year 2005. At this time the German Secretary of the Interior, Otto Schily, was asked by Heinz Fromm (ex President for Protection of the Constitution) to create a method of spying on the computers of suspicious criminals. This resulted in a number of court decisions that, briefly put, clearly forbade the secret searching of suspects. What remains is the possibility of confiscating a PC and then examining the contents of the hard drive in detail. You may ask why such an uproar exists when online searches are forbidden. Simple: It is still undecided whether online searches are permissible for secret service purposes. In the opinion of the Department of the Interior, secret searching of PCs should be permitted for the authorities responsible for the protection of the constitution, the military counter-espionage service (MAD), and the Federal Intelligence Agency (BND). Some federal states, with Nordrhein-Westfalen leading the way, have also allowed "Investigation over the Internet" via a constitutional decision. If you live in one of these federal states and wish to take legal action against this, the Federal Constitutional Court is already occupied with a related case, which is to be decided on October 10, 2007. Amidst all the various reports, rumors and court decisions, one thing remains clear: the uncertainty as to whether the state is allowed access to our computers connected to the Internet and especially whether this is even possible. Uncertainty has also been created by the statements of some security software manufacturers saying that, in case of doubt, they are prepared to cooperate with government departments. Of course, one cannot easily gain full access to a computer. To do this, either a suitable security hole allowing smuggling of a spy program must exist on the target system, or the spy software must be manually installed online or offline. This spy program then records the relevant data and sends it to the person spying. This type of software that provides hidden access to a computer is generally referred to as a Backdoor Trojan. Basically, the term Federal Trojan is a synonym for Government Malware." Click the article title to read the whole thing.

Kip Hawley is...

"TSA Chief Battles Blogger By Tom Shoop | Monday, August 06, 2007 | 11:59 AM Give Transportation Security Administation chief Kip Hawley points for bravery: He recently agreed to go toe-to-toe with security expert and blogger Bruce Schneier. It's as tough an interview as you'll ever see, and Hawley holds up his end of the fight pretty well. My favorite exchange is right up front:

Bruce Schneier: By today's rules, I can carry on liquids in quantities of three ounces or less, unless they're in larger bottles. But I can carry on multiple three-ounce bottles. Or a single larger bottle with a non-prescription medicine label, like contact lens fluid. It all has to fit inside a one-quart plastic bag, except for that large bottle of contact lens fluid. And if you confiscate my liquids, you're going to toss them into a large pile right next to the screening station—which you would never do if anyone thought they were actually dangerous. Can you please convince me there's not an Office for Annoying Air Travelers making this sort of stuff up? Kip Hawley: Screening ideas are indeed thought up by the Office for Annoying Air Travelers and vetted through the Directorate for Confusion and Complexity, and then we review them to insure that there are sufficient unintended irritating consequences so that the blogosphere is constantly fueled. Imagine for a moment that TSA people are somewhat bright, and motivated to protect the public with the least intrusion into their lives, not to mention travel themselves. How might you engineer backwards from that premise to get to three ounces and a baggie?

(Hat tip: Danger Room)" Did everyone catch the "Kip Hawley is an idiot" episode a while back? And then there's Googlism: kip is looking for content kip is about to introduce a new service kip is touring the united states in support of the release of both the dance and his single "spiders & snakes" kip is in de afgelopen decennia een wel heel bijzondere kip is in need of a loving home in florida kip is the right person to serve his country by representing us in the state senate kip is dedicated to restoring control of education to local school districts kip is clearly associated to differentiating cell popula kip is an eighth grade student at thurston middle school where he receives a and b grades kip is the projection that contains the noun kip is considered as being one of the most successful upgrading programs worldwide kip is currently the chairman of the council for entrepreneurial development kip is veel duurder kip is completing a book on the core causes of and the fundamental solutions to poor kip is an avid long kip is a very successful demigod kip is a very solid company kip is a master of meditative sound design kip is a talented man is an understatement and does not do justice to him kip is also a former sea kayaking instructor and intercollegiate rowing coach kip is the youngest employee at aca and is without a doubt the smartest kip is your place kip is a weight equal to 1000 pounds kip is a relatively recent introduction into south florida kip is also a heart kip is geen legkip kip is from pollok school kip is another one of those guys who started surfing in ocean city kip is a sikh lieutenant kip is looking around the piano kip is on the air weeknights kip is at a snowboarding clinic kip is intended as a learning experience kip is currently involved with many museums and art education institutions kip is not a place to "save" data kip is a real go kip is finally caught stealing one morning kip is just about worthless so one dollar will get you about 7500 kip kip is a native texan who compiled a career record of 21 kip is a registered professional engineer in 36 states and has the unique expertise to design all three major disciplines kip is an indian who feels that it is right to volunteer and help the british fight the germans kip is so full of "self kip is the best coach for gonzaga kip is an adjunct professor at duke's sanford institute for public policy studies and at duke law school kip is one weighing between 15 and 25 pounds in the green salted state kip is now an assistant coach at the university of california at berkeley kip is eager to catalyze educational reforms by working with departments to define what students need and what innovations will help make mit education as kip is de vip kip is back with "songs from the ocean floor kip is good at surfing and he tries to teach henny how to surf but she is hopeless kip is a frequent speaker at seminars on topics including trial strategies and considerations for transfusion kip is married with three school age children kip is one of three major manufacturers of high kip is caught swiping his breakfast and lands in jail kip is gay kip is doing right now kip is a dynamite drummer kip is now 19 months old and showing more maturity

Don't forget about that Top Secret Clearance. That might be non-negotiable.

"Al Kamen - Making the Green Zone a Better Place - washingtonpost.com Life's a Beach, Even at Guantanamo And this job opening on Craigslist yesterday: "Reply to: -----@csc.com Great Opportunity for Student taking on-line classes or anyone who wants quiet time to read and hang out at the beach! *MUST HAVE ACTIVE TOP SECRET CLEARANCE * We are looking for a reliable and responsible person with basic office/administrative skills to TDY for 6 months in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and if all parties agree at the end of 6 months contract may be extended. Full-time position with large international company and benefits! If you can read, write, answer a phone, work a fax & basic office equipment then you are qualified. Must have active TS clearance. The work is an EASY 8 hours/day and is 6-7 days/wk. Time to read/study at work. Must show up for work on-time every day. Pay {tilde}$3500/month.""