Conspiracy #330
By Hank Silverberg
Here we go again with nonsense conspiracy theories. First, there was the release of more documents from the Kennedy assassination and the absolute certainty from some that the documents would detail some kind of conspiracy beyond Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone. The CIA? J. Edgar Hoover's FBI? Castro? We have heard this nonsense for decades, and so far no one has found any smoking gun.
Then came Signalgate, as some have started to call it. The screw up by Trump's security experts that allowed battle plans for an attack on the Houthi rebels in Yemen to be discussed on an unsecured chat site where a reporter was mysteriously allowed to watch as it happened (see below).
And then there are the Epstein documents, most of which are still being kept secret. What's in them? Evidence of more of our well-known leaders visiting Epstein island? How many times does the name Donald Trump appear? Conspiracy theories abound.
But I am disturbed that no one has ever tried to get to the bottom of a real conspiracy that we have all had to deal with at the supermarket. No, not the price of eggs. There are substantial reasons for that, like the bird flu.
I'm talking about the biggest conspiracy of them all. Why do hot dogs come in packages of six, while hot dog buns come in packages of eight?
The 117th Congress has been horrific at doing their job so far this year, so maybe they can finally get to the bottom of this.
Okay. Enough sarcasm. The Congress does need to get to the bottom of how that Pentagon battle plan against the Houthis ended up in an unsecured chat room in real time while it was being discussed, while it was taking place, and who let a journalist into the room. That person is incompetent and should not be handling classified material or any discussions of military engagements.
But here I want to talk about the reporter. My regular readers know that was my profession for over 40 years, and that in my semi-retirement I am still reporting for a small newspaper here in Virginia.
Two of the things you learn as a reporter is to avoid all contact with a juror while you are covering a trial, even incidental contact, and never ever, ever report on the movement of American troops or plans for battle until after it is over, even if you are there when it is happening. Under no circumstances would you want anything you say or report to jeopardize the lives of American troops in the field by letting the enemy know what is going to happen, or is happening.
Lost in all the hoopla, backstabbing, pontificating and politics over the last week about this event, is the ethics of Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffery Goldberg.
There he was, watching the whole thing, at a loss for why he was in the chat room. At first he thought someone was trying to set him up with false information. Then as he sat in a parking lot, he saw specifics of the battle in action--detailing units involved, weapons used, and targets.
Did he rush to report all this? No. He waited until the event was over and the Pentagon had announced some details of the bombing attack, before he went public with the disturbing breach of security.
But Goldberg didn't report the details at first because they appeared to be the kind of information that is usually labeled "classified". It was only after those involved and the White House said it was not classified, that he reported the details. And he heeded a CIA request that he not use the operative's name, the one exposed in the chat, to protect him from harm.
I hope the public notices the ethics and patriotism by the reporter and the disharmony, backstabbing and incompetence in the current national security apparatus. But some other diversion will come up very soon.
Despite what some people think, real journalists do have a strict code of ethics. You can check them out at these links. https://www.rtdna.org/ethics and https://www.spj.org/spj-code-of-ethics/
One Man, One Vote!
Registering to vote, and therefore voting itself, could become much harder because of another Executive Order signed by President Trump. That's if it holds up to scrutiny in the courts.
The new EO would require proof of citizenship for registration, which is currently in place in most states. But it would also require all mail-in or absentee ballots to be returned to the Board of Elections by election day. Right now, many states simply require it to be POSTMARKED by election day.
The Trump administration says the changes are required to secure U.S. elections from voter fraud. But election fraud is extremely rare.
It's not the requirements themselves that are the biggest issue, though. Trump is threatening to withhold federal money from states that don't comply.
Here's why it will quickly be challenged. Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution says it is the states which determine the "times, places and manner" of how elections are run.
The so-called "elections clause" does give Congress the power to make or alter election regulations, but only for federal elections. So if there is a nationwide problem with voting in any form, it would be the job of Congress to fix it. The president does not have the power. This presents yet another potential constitutional crises that will likely end up in the Supreme Court.
The Economic Value of Museums!
I noted with some dismay this past week that the Institute of Library and Museum Services, an independent agency of the federal government, has been gutted by DOGE. The agency's director was fired and replaced by an interim director whose job it is to dismantle the agency as much as possible.
A report conducted in 2019 for the American Alliance of Museums by Oxford Economics, shows museums contribute about $50 billion to the Gross Domestic Product of the United States each year, providing over 760,000 jobs, and contributing $12 billion in federal, state and local taxes each year.
Add to that the approximately 850 million visits made to museums each year and you can see the side effects.
Here's a better breakdown from the report:
Of that $50 billion figure, $34 billion comes from supply chain and consumer spending activities, $11.9 billion in financial services, $6 billion in trade, transportation and utilities.
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Dumbest Quote of The Week !
This week's dumbest quote comes from Vice- President JD Vance while on his trip to Greenland this past week. The trip itself was nothing more than intimidation of a free people. Danish Vikings first settled in Greenland in the 10th century, and it has been officially part of Denmark since 1953. Most of the 56,609 people (85% in a recent poll) who live there have made it clear they do not want to become part of the United States. But that didn't stop Vance, who never met with anyone official while on the island. He said this:
"Our message to Denmark is very simple, you have not done a god job by the people of Greenland, and have underinvested in the security architecture. That is why President Trump's policy in Greenland is what it is."
The President's policy: Annex Greenland. And he has not ruled out using force. His "security" excuse for wanting Greenland sounds very similar to Vladimir Putin's reasons for invading Ukraine.
(My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at: HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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Thanks, Hank.
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