Amidst all the other excitement we missed this detail that apparently Dear Leader—although the story is not fully corroborated despite respectable circulation, modelling his plans off of the military extravaganzas of Pyongyang and Moscow, had requested that the Army to parade tanks and missile launchers down Pennsylvania Avenue.
So as not to appear insubordinate, military chiefs explained the streets of Washington, DC could not bear the weight of combat vehicles. It would have been rather Red Square indeed. What do you think? It certainly seems like a plausible request and suggests a health precedence for the relationship between the Commander-in-Chief and his armies that the favour might be rebuffed, but believing in things without a tether to objective reality is what got us into this mess to begin with. I am wondering if our friends in the UK are feeling as uncomfortable over their caretaker government’s chumminess with the US regime as the American people do over the apparent closeness with the Russian leader. Another demonstration of might, a fly-over of five jets representing each of the branches of armed service, was scheduled for certain but subsequently cancelled due to poor weather conditions and would have been the first time post-9/11 that the air-space restriction over the capital was lifted. Had these alternate courses of action took place, there is still no accurate projection of how the spectacle would have impacted attendance.
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
alt-truths or i love a parade
doping or spider-sense
Via Marginal Revolution, we are invited to entertain the notion that we could—and are currently, could tune our bodies not just with exercise or fad diets or self-medication but with more sophisticated forms of gene therapy, whose advocates and early-adopters encourage one to try at home.
One experimental method that smacks a little of Frankenstein involves temporarily stimulating cells to produce certain proteins through electro-currents purported to stimulate longevity and overall health—but not anchored in one’s chromosomes and genetic makeup permanently and the effects only last weeks to months before a re-charge is needed. This sort of gene-regulation is radical enough in itself—especially as a DIY project, but as the technology behind gene and DNA editing called CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), think of the potential for individuals to understand and successful tweak their biochemistry and mutate themselves to attain super-human abilities.
Tuesday, 24 January 2017
emoluments or tldr;
Although the president of the United States is exempt to an extent to the conflict of interest clauses that most other public officials are beholden to, the president cannot recluse himself and declare himself to be above the law and de facto de-conflicted.
It’s important and not something to just roll over for and submit to as part of the new normal or alternative truths because there’s significantly more invested in Dear Leader’s failure to divest himself of his business operations than him merely enriching his own coffers through rank-hypocrisy. Limiting my points to just a pair as this is obviously a difficult concept to grasp, firstly such a branding properties, both foreign and domestic, with the presidential label is a taunt to terrorists and thus commits all of America fiduciarily and militarily, not mentioning how it puts all tenants and guests at risk. Secondly, inasmuch as some find a target for destruction in this product line, visiting and lingering and loitering dignitaries find something to patronise and will gravitate out of obsequiousness or corporate patriotism or defeatism, others find something to patronise—and that invites lawsuit on the part of competitors side-lined because of accorded prestige. In other words, any other hotel within the beltway and beyond is at a serious disadvantage when comes to hostelling anyone. That’s not only a disservice to those expected to pony up immediately but also for the tax-paying population entire. Multi-tasking ought to have never been romanticised and these are not responsibilities that one can juggle. With those sorts of distractions weighing heavily on one’s mind, how could one be expected to run the country?
Sunday, 22 January 2017
with malice towards none
It took some time for Dear Leader’s anointing speech to resolve into context, as one might be forgiven how words at this juncture are actually tone-setting rather than writ on sand, but this consequence did eventually reveal itself, showing the incumbent being little different than the candidate.
Only addressing his electoral base, Dear Leader made very little concession to reconciliation and the monologue careened towards the ahistorical. Those not already in his constituency were given little solace. All those former presidents and present wardens of government that shared the dais with the speaker were not just put on notice but moreover denounced and disparaged as failures that led to his elevation and mandate. Only addressing the audience assembled before him, there was no message of unity or sacrifice that credits those thinking differently or those who sacrificed before. What do you think? Read those speeches of resounding significance from Lincoln and Kennedy and the Roosevelts where the quotable lines come from—even those intermediaries or under-studies acknowledged who came before. Surely any reign without milieu cannot be judged favourably by history, which is I think another bugbear tossed out there for one’s consideration and trepidation.
fare-zone or metro-link
