Black Lives Matter? Not in NYC

The New York City Department of Health recently published a study which showed the outcomes of pregnancies, by racial groups, in 2013.  What it showed was that more black babies are being aborted than born.

Seriously:

You really care about #blacklivesmatter?  If so, you may want to start breaking down those institutions (and let's be clear, they truly are institutions) that are killing off more black babies than are being allowed to be born.

Chattanooga and Cowardice

Our country could have reacted in a lot of different ways in the aftermath of a jihad attack on a military recruiting station last week in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Our reactions could have been virtuous, vengeful, and/or vigilant.  

Instead, we got cowardice from our "leaders."

Marine recruiters are now being told to not wear their uniforms in public.  I wish I was making this up, but you can find a good article on the subject here.

Last week, I reported on my trip to the Marine Corps Museum, where archived and displayed were example after example of selfless service and valor.  And now Marines are being told to take off their uniforms?  In our own country?

This absolutely makes me sick to my stomach.  

Lessons from the Ashley Madison Hack

Ashley Madison, the website devoted to brokering affairs for married folks, was recently hacked and their database of 37 million users laid bare to some nefarious group.  Now those 37 million are hanging out to dry, and waiting for what is next.  Will it be blackmail, embarrassment, divorce?  Who knows?  But it's coming.

Unfortunately, two big lessons were delivered in this hack.  The first of these fell on the cheaters, and that is that nothing and I mean NOTHING that you do online is safe.  Data on what you've done while connected exists somewhere, and it would actually take very little to bring it to the light of day.  Thus, if you want to leverage an online platform to ease your life of infidelity, so be it, but don't be surprised when the excrement hits the fan, as it is now.

The second lesson was to Ashley Madison themselves.  They failed to understand what they were selling.  On the surface, what they were selling was sex.  But when you dug deeper, what they were really selling was privacy and discretion.  As such, their processes and infrastructure had to be as state-of-the-art as possible, which they most certainly were not.  Now, would such a configuration been foolproof?  Hardly - anything can be hacked.  But they needed to make it as hard as possible.

They didn't.  They failed.  They've been hacked, and the "promise" they deliver to their "customers" has just been washed away.  

In the end, the company, and their customers, are all going to reap what they have sown.

What to Do about the Donald

Among presidential hopefuls for 2016, nobody has better buzz right now than Donald Trump.  His brash outspokenness, especially on immigration, have resonated with those who share his opinion and have rankled those who oppose it.  He has been a polarizing lightening rod for sure.

However, Trump is what he is, and that is an arrogant, bombastic blowhard.  It would only be a matter of time before he stepped in it, and that has come in his recent disrespect of John McCain.

I'm no McCain fan - his politics are lightweight, he ran a horrible presidential election, and has failed more than he's produced for the Republican party.  However, one simply cannot question his heroism or love of his country.

Unless you're the Donald, in which case you can't help yourself.

I know Trump's more qualified to be president than Obama was/is - by a long margin.  Regardless, he's still not qualified for the job.  Oh, he'll be around for a while (the media will ensure of that), but for the good of the election and the good of the country, he needs to go.

But if he left behind his checkbook, that'd be alright.

Saturday Song Share: Chris Squire - Lucky Seven

Chris Squire, bassist extraordinaire and one of the few constants in the multiple iterations of prog-rock super group Yes passed away recently.  He was a too young 67.

Here's some of his finest solo effort work:

Marine Corps Museum

I was fortunate to spend yesterday at the Marine Corps Museum.  Unbeknownst to me, I was doing so at the same time as 4 Marines were being murdered for being Marines.

My time at the Museum was quite emotional.  It was equal parts feelings of awe and inadequacy.  So much accomplishment and so much bravery.  Even just getting through basic training is a massive accomplishment, and when stacked against my resume, makes me wonder.

I was moved to tears a number of time during my visit there.  A couple of things that got me:

• Four Navy sailors that were camped out in front of the display of Marine Medal of Honor recipients.  Their quiet reverence was special to see.
• A Norman Rockwell painting of a Marine hero.  Is there anything or anybody like Rockwell anymore - someone who unabashedly loves this country?  How sad.
• A display of a Marine dog that served with distinction and decoration in Iraq, and who was killed in action.  Arguably that dog did more in his couple of years than I have in 50.
• A display of an I-beam from the World Trade Center
• The famous flag that was raised on Iow Jima:

I was there for four hours, and could have been there a lot longer.  If in the DC area, go see the Marine Corps Museum.  You'll not be disappointed.

Planned Parenthood Selling Aborted Fetuses for Money

Ghouls.  Undiluted evil ghouls.

Who can defend this?

What Defines You?

For a good chunk of my life, my work has been the definition that I've used for myself.  What I'm doing, who I'm doing it with, and who I'm doing it for have all been the yardstick by which I'd measure my worth.

What a mistake.

Work?  With so very much which is out of one's control?  With so much wasted activity that, twenty years from now (let alone two hundred), won't amount to anything?  That's my worth?

The more experience I've had, the more I've found that work is a lot of things outside of my control.  And what's in my control?

• How I treat others
• Making things better, not worse (or the same)
• Who I spend my time with, and how I spend it

I refuse to let crappy work circumstances define how I perceive myself.  And if others use them to define me, they're going to miss a lot.

And that's their loss.