Is The 3-Day Weekend in Danger?

It's Memorial Day weekend, and time to consider the traditional opening of summer.  For the most part, schools are out, many Americans are laying-back and enjoying the privileges and comforts of life, but for many of us, it's just another day, or three days, depending on your perspective.  Police, firefighters, medical personnel, soldiers and sailors, they're all standing the line.  As are the guys who work at the myriad businesses that stay open, increasingly, on a 24/7 basis.

Meanwhile, government data from 2011 says 35 percent of us work on weekends, and those who do average five hours of labor, often without compensation—or even a thank you. The other 65 percent were probably too busy to answer surveyors' questions.

And, for those of us who are ostensibly "off work" this weekend, there is always that leash that ties us to our employer, the smartphone.  This device tugs at our belt, keeps us connected to the outside world, hampers our free time, and intrudes on our personal lives in ways that we don't often realize.

 "It's like an arms race … everything is an emergency," said Tanya Schevitz, spokeswoman for Reboot, an organization trying help people unplug more often. "We have created an expectation in society that people will respond immediately to everything with no delay. It's unhealthy, and it's unproductive, and we can't keep going on like this."

Like most of us, my smartphone is at my side almost constantly.  The convenience of having it on my belt is also a hindrance, because people can get in touch with me.  In our increasingly connected lives, finding time to decompress is increasingly difficult, because we're always connected.  Many companies and agencies buy smartphones for their employees, with the expectation that the employee will answer the phone if called.  That's a burden.  I'm fortunate that I don't have an agency phone.  I don't want the burden of being that  closely connected to the office.  Lots of folks don't have that choice.

The Rot is General

Via Instapundit, we come to this cheerful tale about the rot in our Government.

 In December 2010 the FBI came to ask about a person who'd attended a King Street Patriots function. In January 2011 the FBI had more questions. The same month the IRS audited her business tax returns. In May 2011 the FBI called again for a general inquiry about King Street Patriots. In June 2011 Engelbrecht's personal tax returns were audited and the FBI called again. In October 2011 a round of questions on True the Vote. In November 2011 another call from the FBI. The next month, more questions from the FBI. In February 2012 a third round of IRS questions on True the Vote. In February 2012 a first round of questions on King Street Patriots. The same month the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms did an unscheduled audit of her business. (It had a license to make firearms but didn't make them.) In July 2012 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration did an unscheduled audit. In November 2012 more IRS questions on True the Vote. In March 2013, more questions. In April 2013 a second ATF audit.

All this because she requested tax-exempt status for a local conservative group and for one that registers voters and tries to get dead people off the rolls. Her attorney, Cleta Mitchell, who provided the timeline above, told me: "These people, they are just regular Americans. They try to get dead people off the voter rolls, you would think that they are serial killers."

Take a look at the agencies here.  FBI, IRS, ATF, OSHA, all harassing the same folks.  It's easy to connect the dots when the dots connect themselves.  When we find that a building is rotted from the rafters to the sills, it's time to demolish the building and build anew.  Perhaps it's time to try that with our government.

If they took oaths, hold them individually liable.  Each person is accountable to his/her oath. Not just the agency, the individual agent.  As a law-enforcement officer with 30 years service, I know that I am accountable to my oath.

Did Holder Lie to Congress?

Hot Air asks the question, if Holder lied to Congress when asked about the scandals of the AP and Fox news.  It appears that Holder told Congress that he didn't have anything to do with that.  Then we learn he signed the order for the subpoena of the Fox reporter.

 Looks like a wide bipartisan consensus has formed for Holder’s resignation. The Huffington Post wants him gone, as does Esquire. A resignation at this point is probably not enough, either, if the House decides that further action is required after this false representation on a key issue.

As an old police lieutenant used to say, when talking about the interview of a suspect.  "Of course he was lying.  His lips were moving."

Fabulous Friday

The Friday before Memorial Day is normally the day we put the school year to bed, and this year is no different.  I just left the school-house for the last time before I return in late August.  The school year is officially done, my desk is clear, and the radio that I normally carry on my belt while at school is put away for the summer.

That's a good feeling.

I owe the Sheriff's office about two weeks before I can start burning the K-time that I've accumulated during the school year.  I don't know yet what I'll be doing for the next two weeks, but they have nothing to do with the high school.  It'll be a break, of sorts, something different, something that I don't normally do.  I'm looking forward to it.

Lerner Signed Letters

It seems that Lois Lerner, having recently said that she didn't do anything wrong, actually signed cover letters to conservative organizations asking for more information.

Lerner, the director of the IRS exempt organizations office in Washington, D.C., signed cover letters to 15 conservative organizations currently represented by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) between in March and April of 2012. The letters, such as this one sent to the Ohio Liberty Council on March 16, 2012, informed the groups applying for tax-exempt status that the IRS was “unable to make a final determination on your exempt status without additional information,” and included a list of detailed questions of the kind that a Treasury inspector general’s audit found to be inappropriate. Some of the groups to which Lerner sent letters are still awaiting approval.

Yeah, she didn't know what was going on, but she was asking questions.

It also looks as if the IRS wants to fire her.  

Sen. Grassley stmt: "My understanding is the new acting IRS commissioner asked for Ms. Lerner’s resignation, and she refused to resign."

So, she's on administrative leave, pending God Knows What.

Also, there's some question that the White House knew about the targeting of conservative organizations long before they admit they knew.  So, what did Ruemmler know, and when did she know it? It's questions like this that brought down the Nixon administration.

Mail Order

I remember, as a child, saving box tops from cereal boxes, saving them for some trinket.  When I'd saved enough box tops, I 'd put them in an envelope and send them off to Battle Creek, Michigan, then wait breathlessly for the mailman every day until my package arrived.

I imagined some guy in Battle Creek looking at my envelope, counting the box tops then addressing a small package to a small kid in Louisiana, like that was the only thing in the world that he had to do that day.  It might have been the only thing he was tasked with doing.  I remember feeling very special that someone in Michigan actually knew my name, and completed my order with care and effeciency.

Fast forward to the computer age, where we regularly buy stuff online.  For example, I recently ordered some ammo from Buffalo Bore.  In short order, they sent me an email that my package was enroute, and they sent a link so that I could track the process.  It started out in Missoula, MT, then went to Salt Lake City, from there it landed in Commerce City, CO.  Those folks sent it to Vernon, TX, thence to Dallas, TX, and for some reason they shipped it to Mesquite, TX.   That box has been wandering around Texas for two days, but tomorrow they're supposed to deliver it to my house in Pineville, LA. 

I'm still waiting expectantly for my package, but these days it's a heck of a lot easier to track it.  And yes, I'm still amazed at the efficiency with which the UPS and FedEx move packages.  It's amazing to me that they manage to get everything heading in the correct direction.

Lerner to Invoke

According to Instapundit, Lois Lerner, the IRS official who apologized about harrassing patriots will invoke the 5th amendment in her testimony to Congress tomorrow. Really.

WASHINGTON — A top IRS official in the division that reviews nonprofit groups will invoke the 5th Amendment and refuse to answer questions before a House committee investigating the agency’s improper screening of conservative nonprofit groups.
Lois Lerner, the head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS, won’t answer questions about what she knew about the improper screening — or why she didn’t disclose it to Congress, according to a letter from her defense lawyer, William W. Taylor III. Lerner was scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

Her lawyer says that she hasn't violated any laws, but that DOJ had launched a criminal investigation, so she's not comfortable answering questions.

I'm no lawyer, but I've testified before lots of courts, and being uncomfortable is not a reason to invoke the 5th.  There should be a law that any civil servant who invokes the 5th Amendment is immediately fired and forfeits all pension contributions.  You certainly have a concrete right to invoke the 5th Amendment, but you shouldn't expect to be allowed back in the building afterwards, and any contributions you made toward your own security should be forfeit.

We look forward to seeing how the Democrats spin this.  Lerner takes the 5th, I'm sure it's Bush's fault.

Aggravating!

Last week I was mowing grass.  I've got a little 22" push mower that I use for trim work, mowing ditches, that sort of thing.  When I finished mowing, I turned off the mower and it went CLUNK!  Not a good clunk, so I bent down and grabbed the engine, and the deck is rotted.  The motor is held on with three bolts. Two of them are holding, but barely so.  I put out a call for a mower deck and second son responded with one he's kept in the grass behind his shop.

So far, so good.

Today, I went out to try to take the engine off the bad deck and put it on the good deck.  I got the blade off, easy-peasy, then hosed the two bolts holding the engine with penetrating oil.  Got out the wrenches.  No joy.  Sprayed everything down with penetrating oil.  Poured myself a drink.  Got out the impact wrench.  Sprayed some more penetrating oil, talked to Milady about my day and hers, then went back out to the garage to remove those bolts.  The first one came out just like it was supposed to.  The second one was a bit more reticent.

Sprayed some more penetrating oil, gave everything a rest. Poured myself another bourbon. Then went back to it after a half-hour or so.  Rounded that sonofabitch off.  Damn, damn, double-damn.  I put everything away before I lost my religion.  Sprayed some more penetrating oil, maybe that bolt will be loose enough to remove tomorrow.  Poured my self another drink, then pushed the mower into the front yard.  Said the hell with it.

Maybe somebody will steal the sonofabitch.  It'll serve them right.

Graduation

Just in from commencement ceremonies, and we had about 102 walk across the stage tonight.  They're off on an all-night party right now, properly chaperoned, pampered, and with activities planned for the whole evening.  They're not really adults yet, and no longer children.  After the festivities tonight, they'll sleep for a while tomorrow, then the realization will set in.  They're through with high school and it's time to do something with their lives.  And it starts today.  Many of them will try to postpone the reckoning with college, some of them will slump into laggardly habits, some of them will chose vocations.

It was different when I graduated.  The various service recruiters were salivating at the prospect of a new group of high school graduates.  The draft was still in full force, Vietnam had another four years before we left with our tails tucked between our legs, and young boys were dieing over there every day.  Many of my classmates took a senior trip to Saigon.  Of course in those days we were expected to grow up fast.  We had all the privileges of adulthood at age 18.  We could drink, we could smoke, we could vote and start families.  We could be called into the service to get our young butts shot up in some foreign land, but we had all the privileges of adulthood.

Somehow, in the intervening years, adulthood has become something that you work your way into.  It takes several years to gain all the privileges of full adulthood.  We never bothered with any of that because we were expected to grow up quickly and begin fulfilling our destiny.  We were expected to act like adults and assume the responsibilities of adulthood, and I believe that we did that just fine.  If someone had suggested, on the night that I graduated from high school, that I get on a bus and go on a safe, pampered, chaperoned trip, I would have laughed in his face.  I had a date with a cocktail waitress.  A little redheaded gal as I recall.

I really don't think any of those kids who got on that bus tonight are ready for adulthood.  They haven't earned it.

Sunday Morning Dawg

The Sunday Dog is a little late this morning.  It's been a busy week and I didn't get all done.  In another couple of hours I'll pull on my boots and go back to the school house for Baccalaureate.  We graduate the senior class tomorrow night and all the extra activities at the school will come to a screeching halt.

Still, I sent the dog out to look for the morning paper this morning.

No joy on the paper.

I'm sure it will be here before too long.  Y'all have a great Sunday.