I live near a military base that I visit frequently. Over the past year, a wide range of changing COVID restrictions have been in place.
You can find different requirements at different buildings and facilities all on the same base, in the same day.
Military exchange
Over the past 12 months, every possible combination of closing one or most entrances to the building and channelling shoppers into and out of one door. Next visit, a different combination of entrance/exits closed is in place. Ask anyone who works or shops there, they would be able to verify. Never have understood how COVID risk is minimized by changing up the building entrances and exits. Masks are always required.
Military commissary
Overt the past 12 months: count shopping carts so that a limited number of shoppers can be in the facility. Check ID cards before entry. Later, no more checking cards or counting shoppers. Masks are always required.
Other base facilities have required a temperature check before entry. Some have required a face covering. Some have required a cloth face covering.
Walmart
Whoever designed the building did so by code/permit. Size of building dictates number of exits/entrances and how large the space is where people are able to move shopping carts, enter with their family, etc.
COVID brings on restricted store entrances and exits. To enter the store, the normal access is restricted and made more narrow, forcing people to bunch up in order to get into the store. What is the medical advantage of this?
If terrorists are trying to kill us, and REAL ID matters, why are drug cartels able to move product into all 50 states?
Love to see newspeople interview the US Dept. of Homeland Security & ask:
Are passports/enhanced/REAL IDs effective in keeping cartel drugs out of the US?
Standard driver’s licenses have not been accepted at the border since 2009.
If sending US troops to Afghanistan and creating a $49.8 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security was meant to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things, why are drug cartels able to move product into all 50 states?
“There are currently 33 HIDTAs, and HIDTA-designated counties are located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.”
Look for newspeople to ask zero questions in this area.
Alternative media continues to ask questions.
30:35
Joe Biden is wearing a mask on a zoom call-when he has been vaccinated:
The family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks are more welcome to do interviews related to public policy. Unfortunately, they seem to have moved away from asking questions.
If enhanced background checks reduce gun crimes, why does the Puget Sound area press avoid reporting or providing updates on enhanced background checks, years after they have been put in place?
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs personnel during Operation Macho Swagger-a ride-along to let us know what is being done to keep the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from B.C. incursions: Operation Macho Swagger & Port Angeles Heroin
Both Whidbey papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.
Various newspapers in the Puget Sound area have gone with this trend.
Newspapers are suppressing online comment sections, getting away from asking questions related to public policy and telling us they need more support from subscription and advertising sales.
Got it.
The press release style of news reporting means that a statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest drug bust/federal grant money award, etc. Newspeople post this statement as is.
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
Throw in social media restrictions and it’s time to ask if we live in a free and honest society.
A big election season has ended. A major cultural shift in politics has taken hold.
As the weeks go by, we can see that there is a list of things the government is not very good at. Is this list bigger than a list of the things government does well?
Alternative media is OK with asking these sorts of questions. Mainstream media seems to avoid reporting on various topics.
Do the best ideas take hold through voluntary action and an honest demand for services?
Why is the force of government required to spread ideas if those ideas make the best sense?
An old favorite:
0:51
“Well, if it made a lot of sense, we wouldn’t need to subsidize it or mandate its consumption.”
The family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks are more welcome to do interviews related to public policy. Unfortunately, they seem to have moved away from asking questions. Instead of waiting on the mainstream press, people go out & ask their own questions:
Sending US Troops to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, etc., is somehow defending the constitution?
What becomes of American rights and freedoms and the constitution when the US returns from distant lands without a victory?
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals Re: lessons learned on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
2:30
In 8 conflict areas.
Never met an enemy of the US Constitution:
1:14
Both major parties are good with undeclared/unwon wars that never end.
The Department of Defense track record for winning undeclared wars goes back to 1949.
Think of a list of things the government is not very good at. Is this list bigger than a list of the things government does well?
Alternative media is OK with asking these sorts of questions. Mainstream media seems to avoid reporting on various topics.
A big election season has ended. A major cultural shift in politics has taken hold.
As the weeks go by, we can see that there is a list of things the government is not very good at. Is this list bigger than a list of the things government does well?
Alternative media is OK with asking these sorts of questions. Mainstream media seems to avoid reporting on various topics.
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20. Can elected officials of any party or any member of the press help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
1967
Did the Joint Chiefs of Staff send The Troops to safeguard American freedoms?
Was it the Viet Cong that set up laws in 16 US states to prohibit interracial marriage?
If a right to vote has always been protected by the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, how come women were not allowed full voting rights at the end of WWI?
Why the need for a 1965 Voting Rights Act if overseas military operations somehow secured voting rights?
If a right to vote is protected by the US Armed Forces, what becomes of that right when the US leaves Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc., without a victory?
Newspeople avoid asking questions, so we’ll ask a few here.
Sending US Troops to Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, etc., is somehow defending the constitution?
What becomes of American rights and freedoms and the constitution when the US returns from distant lands without a victory?
Whatever happened to the formal congressional declaration of war?
This would be the time to hear from elected leaders and top generals Re: lessons learned on all the issues that have doomed the Department of Defense track record for winning wars since DOD was established in 1949.
The formal congressional declaration of war would also be the time for a careful review of important issues such as: PTSD, suicide, GTMO/torture, use of contractors, war crimes, a $6.4 trillion price tag, lies about freedom, propaganda, dressing women to look like men, exit strategy, mission creep, nation building, reduction of traditional military benefits offered when people signed up to stay on for multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, who should register for the draft, planning ticker-tape parades and joyous celebrations, etc.
If the purity of the water the plant releases into Puget Sound saves shellfish and salmon, why are local beaches closed all year long for recreational shellfish harvest because of sewage treatment outfall?
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
In the 60s & 70s I never attended a Veterans Day assembly at school.
There were none.
Probably enough veterans around to remove most of the mystique, or maybe those veterans thought it was all just an average thing and did not want to be seen as a separate part of American society, or get head of the line parking spots over at the grocery store.
Each November, school teachers across America host Veterans Day assemblies– and promote the idea to children that The Troops are in distant lands-fighting for American rights and freedoms-as if the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization.
In Washington State, these assemblies are mandatory.
Love to see a student ask: If The Troops fight for your right to sit, stand, kneel, etc.-why were black people still riding at the back of the bus after the big WWII victory?
Love to see a student ask: If the wars aren’t won-how can they protect our freedom?
Love to see a student ask: Whatever happened to lessons about Armistice Day?
Mainstream
One of the nation’s largest, oldest and most respected veterans organizations:
It turns out The Troops were in no hurry to enable all adults to act on their right to vote.
US Military operations conducted in the 1940s, 50s & 60s didn’t get the job done.
It wasn’t until July of 1971 that 18 year old adults could take delivery on one of the freedoms we hear so much about.
Mainstream Media And The Drug War
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
Are newspeople forbidden to ask questions related to Homeland Security funding and performance?
What We Have Now
A $49.8 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security that fails to keep cartel product from showing up all over the US.
Billions of dollars spent every 12 months to keep bad people from coming here to do bad things.
Newspeople ask zero questions in this area.
The press release style of news reporting means that a statement is prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest drug bust/federal grant money award, etc. Newspeople post this statement as is.
Instead of waiting for school teachers to teach about individual rights and limited government authority, waiting on the press to ask questions or courts to handle cases, these guys go out and update us with a quick reality check:
I think people could reject alternative media and be totally good with mainstream media, but it would require the family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks to try harder.
We are fans of alternative media here at Oak Bay Starfish.
Are the people who took steps to discover that new evidence conspiracy theorists?
Apply this same curiosity and desire for knowledge to some controversial topics and you’ll be labeled a conspiracy theorist.
Why the effort to suppress questions?
The culture of the Marine Corps includes taking a careful look at things that may have gone wrong in order to prevent them from happening again in the future:
People go to alternative media because the family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks have moved away from asking questions.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local newspaper subscription if there was more in the way of newspeople asking questions.
Both Whidbey papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.
Various newspapers in the Puget Sound area have gone with this trend.
Elimination of reader comments works against the idea of paying for an online subscription.
Several Whidbey beaches remain closed all year long for recreational shellfish harvest because of sewage treatment outfall.
Sewage treatment outfall. Not stormwater.
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
View the Washington State Department of Health beach list here.
Living on an Island near Puget Sound, there seems to be great concern for salmon, orca, eagles, recreational shellfish and clean water.
Underreported news stories are curious.
Maybe the press should be better about asking questions if they are going to line up for federal bailout cash.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
I will purchase a subscription to any Puget Sound area newspaper working to inform us on Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls.
“Funding for the boat was issued through the Homeland Security Grant Program under Operation Stonegarden.”
Took a quick look on the web to see if there is a post 911 history of maritime “cross-border activity” on Whidbey & could not find anything. If anyone has info, please post in comments.
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been involved in any arrest or seizure related in any way to the US/Canada border?
Were US troops sent to Vietnam so that Americans could be free to send letters to the editor?
Is there any case in which the US Armed Forces have been sent to distant lands on a mission to protect freedom of speech?
Is protecting freedom of speech even part of training scenarios?
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
Why do we pretend that the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization?
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms- The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
Not asking about the oath of enlistment. Asking about what happens after the oath has been taken.
The family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks are more welcome to do interviews related to public policy. Unfortunately, they seem to have moved away from asking questions.
Newspeople are cheerleaders for telling everybody to get out and vote
People could do a better job of voting if they were better informed.
Newspapers are suppressing online comment sections, getting away from asking questions related to public policy and telling us they need more support from subscription and advertising sales.
Got it.
The Press Is Weak
People go to alternative media because the family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks have moved away from asking questions.
Living on an Island near Puget Sound, there seems to be great concern for salmon, orca, eagles, recreational shellfish and clean water.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Several Whidbey beaches remain closed all year long for recreational shellfish harvest because of sewage treatment outfall.
Sewage treatment outfall. Not stormwater.
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
Coupeville – just west of Captain Thomas Coupe Park
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
The press release style of news reporting means that statements are prepared by whatever agency was involved in the latest bust/federal grant money award, news conference, etc. Newspeople post these statements without asking any questions.
“Local journalism has been the policeman on the beat against misinformation,” Cantwell said in an interview Tuesday. “Keeping local news is too important to let these unfair market practices continue.”
Several Whidbey beaches remain closed all year long for recreational shellfish harvest because of sewage treatment outfall.
Sewage treatment outfall. Not stormwater.
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Coupeville – just west of Captain Thomas Coupe Park
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
“Local journalism has been the policeman on the beat against misinformation,” Cantwell said in an interview Tuesday. “Keeping local news is too important to let these unfair market practices continue.”
Misinformation or just avoiding reports on various topics?
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Coupeville – just west of Captain Thomas Coupe Park
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
“Local journalism has been the policeman on the beat against misinformation,” Cantwell said in an interview Tuesday. “Keeping local news is too important to let these unfair market practices continue.”
“Broadcasting is facing similar losses, with advertising revenues down more than 40% in the past two decades.”
The Press Is Weak
People go to alternative media because the family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks have moved away from asking questions.
The press is also good for telling everybody to get out and vote.
People could do a better job of voting if they were better informed.
Both Whidbey papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.
Various newspapers in the Puget Sound area have gone with this trend.
Newspapers are suppressing online comment sections, getting away from asking questions related to public policy and telling us they need more support from subscription and advertising sales.
We are big fans of Independent/alternative media here at Oak Bay Starfish.
The family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks are more welcome to do interviews related to public policy. Unfortunately, they seem to have moved away from asking questions.
Alternative media is also good about keeping an active comment section up & running. There’s always something to learn or think about from the points others make in the comment section.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Coupeville – just west of Captain Thomas Coupe Park
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs personnel during Operation Macho Swagger–a ride-along to let us know what is being done to keep the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from B.C. incursions: Operation Macho Swagger & Port Angeles Heroin
We are big fans of Independent/alternative media here at Oak Bay Starfish.
The family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks are more welcome to do interviews related to public policy. Unfortunately, they seem to have moved away from asking questions.
Here is a small independent media team out asking questions.
At 10:03 we see that a mesh stunt mask is OK for entry into the facility.
A chance to respond with honesty is met with:
I’m not going to argue with you.
Alternative media is also good about keeping an active comment section up & running. There’s always something to learn or think about from the points others make in the comment section.
It looks like both Whidbey papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.
Various newspapers in the Puget Sound area have gone with this trend.
Ever see a pro football coach or quarterback refer reporters to his press secretary for answers? Presidents do so on a daily basis. Professionals are hired to provide only the desired version of answers to questions.
Ever see a pro football coach or quarterback refer reporters to a public information officer for answers to questions?
The open attitude about sports reporting does not cross over to stories about the US Dept. of Homeland Security, big drug busts, The Troops, the War on Terror or local water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls.
JFK speaks about the role of the press in a free society:
In a general sense- I get the feeling these folks are not about to question the drug war, war on terror, homeland security police state, etc.
A couple examples:
Video promoting the drug war:
Serious subject matter- covered like an elementary school field trip down to the fire station- except- students might come up with some intelligent or interesting questions at the fire station.
I live near a military base that I visit frequently. Over the past year, a wide range of changing COVID restrictions have been in place.
