Trumpfoolery

It's April Fool's Day, and from the wonderful world of English comes a word about fooling: Trumpery, which Merriam-Webster defines as "worthless nonsense; a trivial or useless article," and the Oxford English Dictionary further expands as "Superficially or visually appealing but [having] little real value or worth."

It's a perfect word to describe the current administration, isn't it? All smiles, beauty, charm and not a hint of substance.

Then of course there's "trumped-up," which the OED defines as "Invented as an excuse or a false accusation," and unquestionably describes how the Great Pretender finds his way through tight spots.

Diogenes proposes renaming April 1 Trumpfoolery Day for as long as the Fool-in-chief is in office.

--Richard Brown

Privacy, schmivacy!

Diogenes is a very private person. He doesn't advertise his whereabouts, what he's been up to besides writing this blog, and he certainly would never think of publicizing the nature of his meals. So imagine his outrage at seeing this headline from yesterday's online Washington Post: "The House just voted to wipe away the FCC’s landmark Internet privacy protections." You really should read this. Here's the link: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/03/28/the-house-just-voted-to-wipe-out-the-fccs-landmark-internet-privacy-protections/?utm_term=.283df2f8db45&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-econ%252Bpolitics%252Bnation&wpmk=1

Yeah, it's insanely long, so cut and paste. The story includes a short video on ways to protect you and your devices.

And just in case you're sure you have some unalienable right to privacy, you don't. Dio doesn't often turn to Wikipedia for information, but here's the link to an excellent article on the legal status of privacy:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_privacy

The House has voted, and the Great Pretender will no doubt rubber stamp it, a measure that will, according to the Post, [free]  "Internet service providers such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast of protections approved just last year that had sought to limit what companies could do with information such as customer browsing habits, app usage history, location data and Social Security numbers. The rules also had required providers to strengthen safeguards for customer data against hackers and thieves."

This means that your Internet service provider will be able to collect and sell, if they desire, your browsing habits and whatever other personal information may be embedded, which could include your Social Security number, bank card number and other sensitive information..

Diogenes says again: "Contact your senators and representatives to let them know you find actions such as these unacceptable, and insist that they take some action to rein in this irresponsible president and his minions." Do it now, do it tomorrow and the next day, flood mailboxes and email in their offices until they hear you. Do it if you value your privacy. Do it!

--Richard Brown

Business as Usual?

We've all probably heard someone say that government should be run more like a business. Be careful what you wish for, because we could be right on the cusp.

When Diogenes heard that the Great Pretender had appointed his billionaire son-in-law Jared Kushner to head his new White House Office of American Innovation, his only comment was, "What took him so long?" The OAI, as it will no doubt be called, will be generally charged with fixing "government stagnation," and will be staffed mostly with fat-cat corporate types.

Anyone who was pleased with the Supreme Court's risible Citizens United decision will be turning cartwheels of joy over this breach in the dike of federal regulation. It remains to be seen how this new office, which may be given virtually unlimited power over the structure of government, will function, but you can be sure a lot of agencies will get pink-slipped and that the DC unemployment lines will grow longer.

The federal government has always viewed American big business with an uneasy eye. True, Calvin Coolidge famously said, "The business of America is business," but he tempered that by pointing out that he was referring to the general industriousness of the American people.

Other presidents have been less charitable, from Thomas Jefferson, who said, "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country," to Dwight Eisenhower, who warned, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

Because of these concerns the federal government has developed agencies whose business is to regulate business. Not because government automatically distrusts all business, but because, as Barack Obama pointed out, "In the absence of sound oversight, responsible businesses are forced to compete against unscrupulous and underhanded businesses, who are unencumbered by any restrictions on activities that might harm the environment, or take advantage of middle-class families, or threaten to bring down the entire financial system."

And Don John and his pal Jared are about to let the foxes run the henhouse.

--Richard Brown