short takes

Orwellian response 101 -

“The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile.” It’s not supposed to be the states’ stockpiles that they then use.” Jared Kushner

Jared Kushner took a lot of flack in the media last night for claiming that the Strategic National Stockpile's reserves are the property of the federal government, not the states. People were rightly wondering, well then who exactly are they for? The royal plutocracy? Mar-a-lago? In fact the DHS text characterizes them as the "nation's largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out."

Well, wouldn't you know it. Today the old text was scrubbed and replaced on all germane federal websites. The new description describes the role of the National Stockpile as "to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Many states have products stockpiled, as well. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available.” Horrible conceptually and grammatically as well, especially the second truncated sentence. It all seems like a quickly and poorly worded cover your ass add on.

George Orwell said that he who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past. This type of instant literary sleight of hand and doublespeak on the part of our leaders is not reassuring.




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Commodore Pellew - Hornblower

Navy Captain Brett Crozier was summarily dismissed from his command of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt today. 

He briskly walked down the gangway and saluted his troops, who cheered mightily for him. 

But he had the audacity to call a spade a spade, and not respect the chain of command. 

You see the higher ups were doing nothing for his men and those men he commanded were being quickly lost to an on board plague of Covid 19 virus in a horrible battle of attrition. Career, poof...

I was not there but I am betting that if this man had not spoken and become a squeaky wheel, nothing would have been done for his charges. They would still be sitting out there in the middle of the drink infected. So he did something. He made sure that their voices were heard. Made the Acting Navy Secretary and the admirals look bad. But the people on board that vessel know what he did for them and also know that this man sacrificed his whole career for their lives. I'd give him a medal. He acted for something bigger than himself. Why don't you ask them? My bet is that they will be grateful until the day they die.