When I heard that our congress critters are taking an extended vacation for all of August and part of September, I had two incongruous reactions: Anger… and gratitude.
Gratitude, because their vacation gives us a five-week break from the spectacle of right-wing mad dogs in the House yapping, foaming at the mouth, and running around in circles. “Kill the minimum wage,” they howl, “repeal Obamacare, deport immigrant children, re-invade Iraq, impeach Obama”… and yada-yada-yada.
Yet, nutty as they are, it’s also infuriating that these pampered politicos feel entitled to such a vacation. It’s another sign of their total disconnect from the hard realities of the workaday majority they’re supposed to serve. EARTH TO CONGRESS CRITTERS: Most American families are being hosed out of the middle class, having to work harder and longer for less pay, no benefits, and not even two weeks off, much less a five-week getaway.

In the spirit of fairness, though, I should concede that the current do-nothing House has been setting an eight-year performance record in one category of congressional activity: Junkateering. Yes, not only does this bunch love to vacation, but it also tiptoes around the ethics rules so lobbyists can pay for their trips. Not since the sleaze days of pay-to-play uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff have House members taken as many junkets, financed by corporate interests.

Oh, excuse me, they’re called “fact-finding missions,” not junkets. By whatever name, nearly 1,900 of the free trips were enjoyed last year by lawmakers, their spouses, and staff

– paid for by private entities seeking legislative favors.
Adding to the disgust, House leaders very quietly axed an ethics requirement this year that lawmakers must disclose these travel freebies in their personal financial reports. Yet they wonder why their public approval rating is in the ditch.

“House Job, Comes With Free Travel,” The New York Times, July 5, 2014.

“Tax credits not enough for middle class,” Austin American Statesman, July 15, 2014.

Wall Street thieves should be ashamed… and shamed

When Wall Street wrongdoer Citigroup accepted what the media hailed as a whopping $7-billion penalty for defrauding its own investors and wrecking our economy, the bank’s CEO just shrugged, saying: “We believe that this settlement is in the best interest of our shareholders and allows us to move forward and to focus on the future.”
Note the lack of any regret, apology, or shame for the bankers’ wrongdoings that’ll cost Citigroup shareholders a sizeable chunk of change. And note especially the total absence of any pledge that the bankers won’t do it again. So much for a $7 billion penalty being a deterrent to Wall Street finagling.

One reason he could be so blasé is that our Justice Department’s prosecutors filed no criminal charges in Citigroup’s blatant, gargantuan theft – not against the bank itself, nor against any of the bankers who plotted, executed, and profited from the theft. They certainly had evidence of criminal fraud – in one internal email, a Citigroup executive essentially admitted that the package of loans sold to investors as solid, were in fact crap: “[I] think we should start praying,” he wrote to his higher ups, “I would not be surprised if half of these loans went down.” But the bank peddled the packages anyway.
Another reason the chief wasn’t fazed by the government’s big fine is that neither he – nor any Citigrouper – would personally pay a penny of it. Rather, the tab would be handed to the bank’s shareholders.

Justice Department honchos proudly held a press conference announcing their “punishment” of Citigroup. Missing entirely from the picture, however, was Citigroup’s CEO or any of the bank’s executives who participated in the fraud. If they don’t go to jail and don’t pay a dime – shouldn’t they at least have to show up and have their pictures in the paper and on TV? At minimum, let’s start publicly shaming these Wall Street thieves.

“Citigroup reaches $7 billion deal with feds,” www.politico.com, July 14, 2014.

“Did Citigroup Get Off Easy With $7 Billion Penalty?” www.motherjones.com, July 14, 2014.

Is it smart to connect smart phones to smart homes?

In my unstinting effort to keep you up-to-the-moment in the digital world of “what’s happening next?”, allow me to introduce you to two terms you might not have encountered in your own busy world.

First comes the “Internet of Things.” This refers to the bundle of smart phones, smart cars, smart watches, smart homes, smart clothes, and smart everythings that supposedly are smarter than you and are supposed to make your life easier. Next is “connectivity,” which refers to the brave new world in which we humanoids connect to our products and they connect to each other.

Both terms were buzzing around a recent conference at which Apple, the giant of gizmos, announced a new software package called “Home Kit” that puts your iPhone in charge of your house. For example, when you’re headed home from work, this phone will unlock your door, open the garage, turn on the lights, adjust the thermostat, start the oven, fire up the barbecue, and get the daiquiri blender going. How handy is that?

However, aside from the fact that none of these tasks seem burdensome enough to warrant internet intervention, my question is, “handy” for whom? Thieves would surely appreciate the convenience of hacking into your Home Kit system to have it unlock your doors for them. And NSA, the FBI, and other snoops will gladly rig your toaster to spy on you. Perhaps the worst perversion of smart technology, however, is one already being contemplated by Google: Using the connectivity of thermostats, ovens, light fixtures, etc. to transmit digital ads directly into our homes. Oh, the horror!

Before we connect the privacy of our homes to the Internet of Things, let’s ponder what other “things” come with this “gee whiz” technology. Before we connect the privacy of our homes to the Internet of Things, let’s ponder what other “things” come with this “gee whiz” technology. To learn more, connect with the Electronic Privacy Information Center: www.epic.org.