Something to Know - 30 June

1.  Hindsight is a great tool to review what went wrong.  It provides guidance to set policy for the future.  Case in point - Blackwater contract security in Iraq.   The  Bush-Cheney mindset of contracting out services in the war zone is the subject.  From K.P duty, catering, transport of logistical supplies, to many other services is open to question.  In this article, it is James Risen who is opening up the festering pus of a contractor-gone-wild.  Overcharging, a culture of war-minded zealots, and creating a harmful image of US policy is what we got.  Do we learn from this?:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/us/before-shooting-in-iraq-warning-on-blackwater.html?emc=edit_th_20140630&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=2318049&_r=0

2.  New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, seems to be infested with a layer of sleaze at his every turn.  Try as he may to improve his public image, he looms large as a carrier of questionable ethics:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/opinion/gov-christies-money-trail.html?emc=eta1

3.  Hindsight comes up again.  Ideology is a great theme to work by in the pursuit of making things better.  ALEC is an ideology for the rigid conservatives to change all levels of governance.  Paul Krugman questions the purveyors of ALEC, and has proof that it all comes to no good for everyone:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/opinion/paul-krugman-charlatans-cranks-and-kansas.html?emc=eta1

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Juan
 

 

Starbucks says they are going to start putting religious quotes on cups. The very first one will say, 'Jesus! This cup is expensive!'

-- Conan O'Brien