It’s cold out, so watch where you put your tongue.
https://youtu.be/d7_qSdp3jss
Good frosty morning to ya’. It is 4:30 AM EST as we start looking at the news this morning. We have a wind chill of 15° as we let the dog out. I was careful to warn him to not stick his tongue against the fence post, which raises the question whether dogs, or any animal for that matter, have the same danger when they stick their tongue against metal as humans do. I’ve never seen a dog’s tongue stuck to a flagpole.
Either way, this is our first attempt at gathering news and comment in the morning. I’ll admit that my model here is the late Paul Harvey, whose morning news and comment on the radio was a staple of our mornings when I was a child. I hated having to watch television news with Poppa, but I enjoyed Paul Harvey. Not that we’ll actually emulate the master. I’m not that witty, nor that friendly, actually. What we want to do is make sure you have the facts with just a touch of opinion. We’ll include our sources and you can take it from there.
First up, the CIA has confirmed Russia interfered in the election to help Trump win
We’ve been reading since October about allegations the Russians were behind hacks into the DNC servers resulting in sometimes damaging information being published on Wikileaks. What we’re finding out now, according to a story in the Washington Post 1 is that the CIA believes Russians also hacked the RNC but held on to the information in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election. Outside influence of a national election is kind of a big deal, so it’s getting a lot of attention.
However, this isn’t the first time that the issue has come up. In announcing an investigation of foreign hacking of US elections, President Obama said they would be looking at the 2014 elections as well2 because of allegations that China was behind hacks to both the major parties during the off-year elections. Lisa Monaco, White House homeland security advisor, said on Friday:
“It is incumbent upon us to take stock of that, to review, to conduct some after action, to understand what this means, what has happened and to impart those lessons learned, and that’s what we’re going to go about doing.”
There’s no question that this is new ground and it is highly possible that laws concerning this sort of spying and influence are insufficient to actually support any real retaliation should the incoming administration and/or Congress actually have the guts to do anything about it.
However, the signs are that neither the president-elect nor Republican leadership in Congress is quite ready to blame Russia for anything. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell questioned the accuracy of the CIA report3 as did the Trump transition team who tweeted the statement: “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction”. Granted, the CIA still has egg on its face from that massive foul-up. But that was 15 years ago. Methods of investigation have improved and this is a very different field of operation.
Nothing any investigation finds changes the outcome of the election. Influenced or not, you are still responsible for casting your own vote and we all have to live with the outcome.
1. Washington Post: “Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House” Obama Orders Sweeping Review Of International Hacking Tied To U.S. Elections“ By Tamara Keith December 9, 2016
3. Business Insider: “The top Senate Republican had a defiant response to intelligence on Russia’s alleged involvement in the election” By Bryan Logan December 10
Meanwhile, killing people peacefully apparently isn’t easy
Robert Bert Smith, Jr. was convicted of brutally murdering an Alabama store clerk in 1994. There’s no question about that and no one is challenging that conviction. Smith was sentenced to death and after all the necessary appeals that sentence was carried out this past Thursday at 11:00 PM. However, things didn’t go as smoothly as everyone would have liked. According to a report from the Associated Press1, 13 minutes into the process Smith coughed and heaved his chest. His arms then appeared to move twice after two tests.
This is a problem and there’s going to be a lot of arguing about it. The eighth amendment of the Constitution specifically states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” That is why the method of execution has changed so often over the years. Our definition of “cruel and unusual punishment” has changed along with our understanding of how people die. We want people, even those convicted of horrendous crimes, to die quickly and painlessly. In Mr. Smith’s case, that does not seem to be what happened.
At the center of the controversy is a drug called midazolam which has been called into question in other states. Part of a three-drug cocktail, midazolam is supposed to render a person unconscious so that they don’t feel anything through the rest of the process. However, multiple incidents like this one question the drug’s effectiveness.
Where we ultimately end up, though, yet again, is questioning whether the death penalty is a valid punishment for capital crimes. There are plenty of arguments on both sides of the question2, 3 and the topic quickly becomes very emotional when the families of victims are questioned on the matter. The frequency with which these incidents are happening, though, demand that we take a hard look at a subject that forces us to assess our entire philosophy of crime and punishment.
1. Associated Press: “CRITICS: ALABAMA EXECUTION HELPS CASE AGAINST SEDATIVE“ By Kim Chandler Dec 9, 5:41 PM EST
2. Internet Journal of Criminology: Reasons for Supporting and Opposing Capital Punishment in the USA: A Preliminary Study By ERIC G. LAMBERT, ALAN CLARKE & JANET LAMBERT, 2004
3. “The Impact of Incentives on Human Behavior: Can We Make It Disappear? The Case of the Death Penalty,” The Economics of Crime: Lessons For and From Latin America, 2010” By H. Naci Mocan, Professor and Chair of Economics at Louisiana State University
What are you drinking this morning?
Whether you’re drinking coffee, tea, juice, or bottled water, chances run pretty high that the Coca-Cola company had something to do with it. They are the most diverse beverage company in the world with holdings and products in every conceivable form of beverage that can possibly be marketed. So, when Coke CEO Muhtar Kent says he’s resigning1, it’s a rather big deal. Not only could this affect your morning beverage, but everything else you drink throughout the day.
Taking Kent’s place is chief operating officer James Quincey. Quincey has been an executive with Coke for a very long time so there’s little question he knows the business. What’s important is that Quincey is a strong advocate for cutting the company’s dependence on sugary drinks. He was the power behind the recent plan to reduce in the amount of sugar in soft drinks. More importantly, it is his strategy to put more emphasis behind “still” drinks, which is anything not carbonated, that is seen as the company’s best move forward.
Why is Coke moving away from soda? Because it’s not profitable. Soda sales are flat, at best, and have been declining over recent years. Meanwhile, last quarter Coca-Cola’s still beverages rose 3% mainly on higher bottled water and sports drinks volumes2. If this is where the profit is, be sure that Coke is going to emphasize those products more.
This doesn’t mean we’ll stop seeing soda on store shelves anytime soon, but with cities imposing taxes on sugary drinks and doctors warning of health implications, there’s little question we need to consider better alternatives.
1. Reuters: “Coke CEO Muhtar Kent hands reins to Quincey in widely expected move” By Siddharth Cavale and Sruthi Ramakrishnan Dec 9,2016, 1:58pm EST
2. Market Realist: “Coca-Cola’s Growth Strategy for Soda and Still Beverages” By
Have you tried getting tickets to a concert lately?
There’s no question that concert tickets, even for relatively minor and unknown acts, are expensive. As long as Live Nation and Ticketmaster hold the ticketing rights to the vast majority of concert venues across the United States, that little detail is only going to get worse. Ticketmaster has already had to pay out a $400 million settlement two years ago and there’s absolutely no sign that they’ve learned their lesson. This is what a monopoly does to prices, folks. We need more players in the game.
At the same time, though, it’s difficult to get tickets to some concerts at all when they sell out within minutes, or even seconds, of those tickets becoming available. How the hell does that happen?
Bots. Unscrupulous scalpers use special software to get around ticket limits and buy up as many tickets as they possibly can. Then, they sell those tickets to you at even higher prices than Live Nation or Ticketmaster was offering them. If you want to go to the show, you have to buy your ticket through a scalper.
However, that practice is now illegal. Congress passed what is known as the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 this week1 and it seems certain the president will sign the bill. The new law makes it illegal to try and get around set limits on ticket sales or to sell tickets obtained by such means. While no one expects the use of bots to stop overnight, this gives law enforcement new clout in going after resellers who don’t play by the rules.
While this still doesn’t change the monopoly on venue rights, it should make a difference in how much one actually pays for concerts. Unfortunately, even at list price, most concerts are still priced out of reach for the average person.
1. National Public Radio: “Bots-B-Gone? Congress Bans Ticket-Scalpers’ Tool Blamed For Quick Sell-Outs” By Bill Chappell December 8, 2016, 1:27 PM ET
Finally, A Bit Of Good News
H.W. Good Elementary School in Herminie, Pennsylvania had a visit from a Secret Santa this week. An anonymous donor decided to pay all the outstanding meal charges for all the students with overdue accounts1. There is no mention as to exactly how much the generous donor paid to settle the accounts, nor how many of the school’s students were affected. I’m sure, however, that this gift put smiles on the faces of a lot of parents who struggle to keep their children fed.
School meal programs are especially critical in a number of towns and cities across the United States. Indianapolis is fortunate in that the school system here has resolved the problem by providing free meals, both breakfast and lunch, to all its students2. However, there is always some jackass who just doesn’t get it and wants to end or reduce the program3. They don’t seem to understand that the quality of our educational system is directly linked to student nutrition. Moreover, theses same elected jackasses are so out of touch they don’t realize that for many of these students their school meals are the only food they get all day.4
So, when someone steps up and gives to students like this, it is a gift of unparalleled reward. We can only wish that every school had a secret Santa like this.
1. Associated Press: “‘SECRET SANTA’ PAYS OFF MEAL ACCOUNTS AT PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL“ Dec 9, 9:06 AM EST
2. WFYI: “IPS Offering Free Meals” By SAM KLEMET MAY 28, 2014
3. Indianapolis Star: “Rep. Todd Rokita wants to restrict free school lunches”
That’s all we’ve got for this morning. Please do us a favor and subscribe to all our posts. This undertaking is a huge effort involving several hours of research and writing. Knowing that we have your support helps keep my coffee warm. You’ll see the place to add your email just below this article if you’re on a mobile device, or at the top of the right hand column if you’re old like me and still use a desktop computer.
Here’s hoping your day is a good one.
Stop believing everything you read on the Internet. 
Don’t rely on the computer to help you make friends.
Do something you’ve never done before.
Vote the bums out.
Read something longer than a damn list.
12/13/2016: 5 Things You Need To Know
Ready Or Not, Here Comes Winter
https://youtu.be/eGn8i6W1AYI
Hey there! I hope you’re ready for some white stuff falling from the sky today. The jet stream has dipped and not only are we going to see snow across most the Northern states, the temperatures over the next few days are going to get dangerously low. Those of you who have pets will want to be especially careful to limit the amount of time they spend outside. Be sure to check paws and get them nice and dry when they come in.
This is one of those days where we’re waiting to see how things develop before getting too involved in stories such as who might possibly be the next Secretary of State and just how serious the Russian hacking scandal is. We don’t want to get involved in speculation and end up delivering wrong information. We do have 5 things we’re sure about, though, so let’s take a look at those.
1. One Step Closer
This painfully long election cycle came one step closer to being over yesterday as the whole vote recount situation came to an end in all three states.1 While the numbers in Wisconsin shifted ever so slightly, the outcome remains unchanged. Efforts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were effectively blocked by federal court judges, clearing the way now for the final step of the electoral college vote next week.
Yes, there have been some rumors of rogue electors possibly changing their vote, but don’t expect much from that hullabaloo, either. First of all, it is illegal in most states for electors to change their vote. Secondly, it would require a massive defection of more than 70 electors to align the electoral college vote with the popular vote. That’s never happened in our country’s history and I’m not seeing anyone with any authority suggesting it can happen now.
The bottom line is we’re tired of this whole election process and whether we like the outcome or not we all want it to be over. The electoral college votes on Monday and that should end this election for good.
2. Death Comes Quickly
Republican members of Congress campaigned long and hard that they would overturn and replace the Affordable Care Act as quickly as they could under the new administration. That issue alone has had a number of low-income families worried about the status of their health care going into the new year. I tried making an appointment with my own doctor yesterday and was told they’re full until mid-March except for emergencies. Everyone is trying to get care in before they lose whatever coverage they may have.
Initially, Republican leadership said they would replace the ACA as they dismantle it. However, comments yesterday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicate that the replacement might not come as quickly as initially promised2. Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, is expressing some concern that the system could collapse if a replacement doesn’t accompany any repeal. He told NPR: “I don’t think the Republicans have come to grips yet that it’s going to be their responsibility to keep the wheels on Obamacare.”
America’s Health Insurance Plans — the trade group that represents health insurance companies— seems to agree. Last week they circulated a statement saying, “Making sudden, significant changes now, or mid-year, will jeopardize the coverage [those insured] depend on.”
Any move Congress makes could potentially leave upwards of 20 million Americans uninsured. Let’s hope they use the upcoming winter break to think through this matter a bit more.
3. Bickering In The Fashion World
We typically don’t get a lot of serious fashion news this time of year because everyone is focused on getting the most out of holiday sales as possible and ending the year on a high note. However, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) reported yesterday that there seems to be a kerfluffle between Italian powerhouse Dolce & Gabbana and German designer Philipp Plein3. Plein posted a copy of a letter he received from Dolce & Gabbana’s attornies to his Instagram account on Sunday. In the letter, D&G accuses Plein of trying to “steal” at least ten Dolce & Gabbana sales associates from the label’s flagship store in Milan.
Timing is part of the issue here. Phillip Plein is opening his own new store in Milan before the end of the year. Understandably, he would want sales associates who are well connected with luxury buyers in the city. Plein already has two former D&G employees working for him and the accusation is that they have approached their former colleagues about jumping ship.
Plein said on his Instagram post: “This is a free country and everybody can choose by themselves who they want to work for!!” To a large extent, we expect he’s correct. Unless Plein’s employees are trying to solicit Dolce & Gabbana employees inside the D&G store, there’s not a lot D&G can do to stop the employees from leaving unless there is already a non-compete claus in their employment contracts.
Nothing like a little drama to end the year.
4. Golden Globe Nominations Are Out
Nominees for the diverse Golden Globe awards were announced in Beverly Hills yesterday4 and, unsurprisingly, Hollywood is all abuzz with talk about who’s in and who’s out. Best actor in a drama nods went to Casey Affleck, Joel Edgerton, Andrew Garfield, Viggo Mortensen, and Denzel Washington. Meanwhile, Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga, and Natalie Portman took the nominations on the women’s side.
Of course, with every list of nominations comes the talk about who didn’t make it5. This time, it’s Hollywood legends Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Warren Beatty who get to sit this one out. There was, apparently, expectations that all three would get nominations for their directing efforts this year, but they didn’t and that makes all their fans very sad.
What we need to remember is that the Golden Globes are “feel good” awards. Many of their categories are divided between drama and musical/comedy so that the two disparate forms don’t have to compete with each other. The list of awards and nominees is long and while some pundits like to claim these awards might be an indicator of who gets the Oscar nods early next year, there’s no real evidence to support that theory. The Oscars have their own idiosyncracies that no one actually understands.
Still, the nominations remind us that there were some really fantastic films released this year and I didn’t see most of them. Let’s hope they make it to Netflix quickly.
5. And Finally …
Speaking of largely useless lists, AdWeek has released their list of the top 10 ads for 20166. Again, this has been a good year for some very creative ad work. I’ve been very impressed with the social messages that many companies have put into their ads. Not only are the ads encouraging us to buy a product, but they’re also forcing us, in many cases, to stop and think about what we’re buying and why.
While there is plenty of reason to comment on all the ads in the list, it’s Under Amour’s ad featuring Michael Phelps that takes the top honors. The quality of the filmography plays a lot into the decision and it’s difficult to argue against such a powerful 90 seconds. The ad ran frequently throughout the Olympics and well represents the struggle, the pain, and the training athletes go through to be the best. Here’s a look at the winning ad [Note: due to player limitations, the video may not play well on some mobile devices]:
You can take a look at all ten of the winning ads on AdWeek’s website.
That’s all we’ve got for today. If you must go out, please bundle up and be extremely cautious. Don’t forget to subscribe to our posts and the videos on YouTube. Take care. We hope the rest of your day is enjoyable.
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