J.P.

Disconnected.

I felt like today was a good day to start taking a break from Twitter again. Normally I can thread myself through the flames from the dumpster fire and make the experience enjoyable, especially when I concentrate on my connections with geeks and pilots, but after wading through some especially robust idiocy this morning I decided enough was enough.

I started out my Twitter experience by blocking the keyword “Trump”. but that went against my belief that if you’re going to Twitter, you should Twitter all the way. So the keyword blocking lasted for just an hour or so. During that time, the idiot in chief went ahead and said we had to build the wall before a caravan of immigrants arrived at the border, and his bots and followers all chanted yes in unabandoned idiocy, so I decided it would be best to just step away for a bit.

By the way, this post will still auto post to Twitter because I haven’t turned off that connection. I’ll be doing that after I finish this post.

I would like to think that I’m stepping away from Twitter forever, but you know and I know that won’t be the case. So I’m stepping away from Twitter for now.

At least until I have the mental capacity to deal with it again.

Exploration.

I am taking advantage of the warmer weather and out on an exploration adventure in The Second City today. I love being able to jump on the ‘L’, get off at a random stop, and start walking around to get to know other neighborhoods. I know what stops are safer than others so I’m smart about the whole process. I know many fear the city of Chicago, especially those that subscribe to the fear based leadership we have running the country these days, but Chicago is a beautiful city all year ’round and I love finding out what it has to offer.

I might walk home from my current location. That would definitely get my steps in for the day. From where I am in the West Loop, it’d take about an hour.

It’s a great day to explore.

Data.

ABC News is reporting the Trump Administration is not sure if they separated thousands of more children from their families at the southern border. They’re not sure about this because they haven’t been keeping track. There’s little in the way of records of these separations.

Heartbreaking doesn’t even to begin to describe how I feel about this.

Even if you believe that it’s right for the United States to separate families trying to immigrate here, you have to admit that the United States Government should be responsible in keeping track of who belongs to whom. I can’t get my blood drawn in my doctor’s office without citing my birth date multiple times and confirming my identity, I can’t imagine why anyone in any position of authority wouldn’t implement some sort of tracking system for these children.

I mentioned on Twitter that I would write the web application needed to do this. Since the Trump Administration has claimed that the numbers aren’t that big, then it makes sense that the database to track these individuals wouldn’t need to be very large. I could write something in a weekend to accomplish this; I’m sure teams of government IT officials could write something better and faster in the same amount of time.

The process would be quite simple:

  1. A child must wear a wrist band, much like what we wear in the hospital, at all times. The wrist band has a unique identification number on it.
  2. All of the child’s data is stored in a simple database tracking their whereabouts. It could also be used to track food or medical allergies, medicinal needs, schedule information, and psychosocial notes on the child.
  3. The guardian’s information would be entered into the same database and tied to the child’s ID number. A photo of the guardian would be entered into the database as well.
  4. The guardian would be given an official certificate with the ID number on it. Without this certificate, the guardian would not have access to the child.
  5. To regain access after whatever bureaucratic red tape was cut through, the guardian would have to present the “completion report” and the certificate, with a photo match taking place as well, for the guardian to regain custody of their child.

It’s not hard. Not difficult at all. But the gross incompetence of Homeland Security and ICE has created a mess that really should be treated like a crime against humanity. What they’ve done is just inhumane.

No child should be separated from their guardian if the child is not in harm’s way. The United States should not be putting the guardian in harm’s way. I don’t care if they’re coming from Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, France, or Venus. What the U.S. is doing is wrong.

And with just a little bit of effort, it could be a little less wrong. But there’s no interest in that when you’re part of the puffed up chest party.

It is such a dark moment in the history of this once great nation. I really hope this nightmare ends soon.

Cabin Fever.

After 52 hours of being in the house, I had to get outside. It’s still quite cold but not awful. It’s currently -3°F with a wind chill of -10°F.

My lungs hurt for the first few moments of my walk. I have ice eye upon my return. But at least I got outside.

Tomorrow it’s going to be 22°F! I hope the Regal Beagle opens up the patio.

Gazing.

Venus and Jupiter join The Moon in the predawn sky over Chicago. Taken today at 0640 CST. Embiggen to get a better peek.

Cold.

It is -15ºF with a wind chill of -37ºF during my lunch hour here in Chicago. The wind is out of the west at 15 MPH and there is zero cloud cover. I don’t need a fancy hashtag or scary sounding names like “Polar Vortex” (though I did enjoy one of those at a fast food place a couple of years ago) to relay the information that it’s cold outside. It’s very cold outside. As beautiful as the sky looks, I’m going to refrain from going for a walk today simply because it would not be enjoyable.

I like to enjoy my walks.

The CTA Brown Line is passing by our building with scheduled regularity. Folks at the CTA are working hard to keep Chicago moving. Their Twitter feed shows they’re addressing issues as they arise. CNN likes showing images of train tracks being set on fire to unfreeze frozen switches. Fire gets the attention when you’re browsing a website. It creates more web clicks.

The news outlets have been telling us about these bitterly cold temperatures for a week, so I’m sure most reasonable folks were prepared. Earl made sure we had what we needed in the cupboards and fridge. He’s good like that.

It’s cold out. It’s very cold out. But the sunshine still brings warmth and tomorrow is another day.

Don’t be hysterical. Just keep calm and carry on.

It Has Begun.

Kamala Harris at the CNN Town Hall, Monday, January 28, 2019.

Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris kicked off “town hall” season last night in Des Moines, Iowa last night. The event was broadcast on CNN. Last night’s showing drew record ratings, earning the largest numbers for a single candidate town hall in the history of the network news channel.

It was refreshing to hear someone speaking in a presidential manner on a cable news channel. This type of discussion, where she touched on policy points around immigration, health care, border security, and many other subjects, has not happened in the last two years. It was great to take a step away from the constant chaos from the idiot currently in the White House.

She made me feel hopeful. Remember what ‘hopeful’ feels like?

I like what I know about Kamala Harris. I love her confidence, I’m comfortable with the way she presents herself, and I found her ways of expressing herself to be compatible with the way I think. I’m still reading up on her ideology and where she stands on key policy points, but I was 95% with her on what she discussed during last night’s broadcast.

I’m looking forward to learning about the other candidates putting their hats in the ring. It’s important to read data from reputable sources and to learn as much as we can about our leaders. I want to feel good about them, yes, but I also want to know where they stand and how they plan to achieve the goals they have for leading the country.

The 2020 election cycle has begun. Are you ready for the ride?

John Chancellor: Peril and Promise.

I ran across this interview on YouTube today and ended up watching the entire 10 or so minutes in its entirety. I’m guessing this interview as from around 1990, as George H.W. Bush was president at the time.

John Chancellor, former anchorman for NBC Nightly News, talks about what was plaguing the U.S. at the time. I couldn’t help but think how prophetic some of his insights were, especially when it comes to campaign financing, PACs and SuperPACs, and the state of American education.

I miss hearing the optimism he has in his voice in today’s “journalists” on the cable news channels.