[AmericanThinker] On August 25, 2023, the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) will convene its annual members meeting to re-elect the CEO and Board of Directors. For over 100 years, USAA has provided insurance and banking services to the military community and relied heavily on this symbiotic relationship to promote its business model. But since 2020, when Wayne Peacock became USAA's only non-veteran CEO, the corporation has embraced diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environment, social, and government (ESG) programs.
Soon after Mr. Peacock's appointment as CEO, USAA renewed its exclusive sponsorship with the National Football League, disregarding pushback from many of its members, who objected vehemently to players taking knee during the playing of the National Anthem. USAA executives dismissed these concerns, framing the disrespectful display as a freedom of speech issue. The implication was that USAA's financial support of unpatriotic, controversial behavior is compatible with the company's mission.
USAA is regarded as one of the world's most admired companies, but further inspection reveals that the company may be treading on past laurels. Employee morale and customer service are sagging, as the company faces class action lawsuits and a tarnished reputation as a result of substantial fines levied for lying to regulators. Mr. Peacock's leadership style and priorities are serious concerns for the membership, who question the appropriateness of his $4.8-million 2022 compensation package for performance.
USAA's extreme emphasis on DIE, CSR, and ESG metrics comes as a surprise and to the dismay of many of its loyal customers. The company's departure from its fiduciary responsibilities and foray into the realm of politics contributed to the first non-profitable year in 2022, the first in its 100-year history.
Effective leadership requires open communication and consideration of the needs of those under one's charge. As General Colin Powell noted, "leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you problems is the day you stop leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." USAA's departure from this fundamental element of leadership is a sign that the company has drifted away from its core values — service, honesty, and integrity.
[RedState] New York City, a bastion of gun control, has reportedly been experiencing a sharp rise in stabbings and slashings over the past four years. Despite having some of the strictest gun control laws, the city remains quite dangerous for many residents.
While the Supreme Court's decision in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen has made it harder for states with anti-gun governments, places like New York are still finding ways to restrict the right to keep and bear arms. Unfortunately, it does not appear these laws are truly keeping people safe:
Stabbings and slashings are surging this year across New York City – skyrocketing 26% since 2019, according to disturbing new NYPD data obtained by The Post.
Since Jan. 1 through Aug. 13, the city has seen 3,365 nonfatal stabbings, compared to 2,666 four years ago. The number is also up 5% from the same period last year, which saw 3,208 nonfatal incidents of knife violence.
So far this year, 53 people have died by blade — a shocking 29% increase from 41 in 2019. The tally is down 23% from 2022, which saw 69 people killed by knives.
It is worth mentioning that the rate of gun violence has dropped in the Big Apple even after it became easier for New Yorkers to purchase and carry firearms:
For the month of March 2023, New York City saw a 26.1% drop in shooting incidents compared to March 2022 (85 v. 115), extending the 23.2% drop in shooting incidents citywide through the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year (222 v. 289). Additionally, homicides fell by 11.4% (31 v. 35) for the month of March, extending the 12.7% decrease in homicides over the first three months of 2023 (89 v. 102).
These numbers would signify a welcome development if New Yorkers were not becoming more susceptible to being victimized by criminals with knives. One officer said more people are carrying knives because they are "simply easier and cheaper to get than a gun — and far less risky."
He added:
You stop [someone with a knife] and they say, ‘I carry it for work.’ It’s probably a bullsh-t answer. . . . It’s like they know what to say to avoid being arrested. And they know even if you do arrest them, it’s a summons. . . . They know no one’s going to jail for that.
Other officers indicated that criminals favor bladed weapons because they are easier to hide, which makes for smoother ambushes of unsuspecting, and unarmed, citizens.
New York City still has a serious problem with crime. The anti-gunner lobby, combined with far-leftist prosecutors who do not like to prosecute violent offenders is further compounding the problem.
Of course, it is important to realize that if more responsible New Yorkers were armed, the prevalence of knives would not be as much of an issue. If would-be assailants knew there was a decent chance a potential target was packing heat, they might not be as gung-ho about trying to victimize them. Even criminals know it's a bad idea to bring a knife to a potential gunfight.
#5
I think the answer is mandatory handcuffs behind the back in American cities on the streets and in transport. It would also reduce time within the booking process. I considered making knives mandatory or forcing everybody to carry two five gallon pails of sand. Handcuffs are best because you can’t complain that the cops put them on too tight.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/22/2023 8:47 Comments ||
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#6
Nearly 40 Shot During Weekend in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Chicago
#1
I did not find anything logically wrong in what he said here. I can see some instances where McGregor might be wrong, but everything he says about the present has a factual basis.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/22/2023 8:51 Comments ||
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#2
He's not liked by some because of his matter-of-fact approach and manner. He didn't make general officer for a reason. That's probably the reason.
#3
Assuming a person is all on the up and up because they said something you agreed with once or twice is a bad approach.
See: Kid Rock drinking a Bud Light a couple days ago.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/22/2023 9:12 Comments ||
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#4
I recall a term from CGSC called a "Logistical Culminating Point". We are there both in terms of industrial production volume, transportation capability, allied support and cost. Biden has exhausted even critical war stockage levels in some critical areas I suspect, his days in the Oval Office are seen by everyone with any situational awareness and an IQ above room temp as virtually over, and Congress is no longer going to give him more big money.
#5
I’m not looking for someone that agrees with me. I’m looking for someone who tells me stuff that has a rational basis. The spring offensive stuff hype did not seem rational to me. It seemed like it would be Passchendaele or the outpost campaign part of Korea. McGregor’s viewpoint on the situation matches reality with regard to Ukraine. I don’t really care if he swills Zima or whisky sours.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/22/2023 12:49 Comments ||
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#6
One thing that is missed in this discussion is that the longer the war goes on the better and stronger the Russian Army will be.
The analog for me is the Japanese forces in WWII. When allied forces finally began to fight the Japanese they already had five years of combat experience. They had a head start, just as the Russians do now. The battles on southern Malaysia and the Dutch East Indies, as well as the early parts of the Guadalcanal are proof of how readiness affects combat forces.
If you want to stop the Russians you have to come to terms with them and address their security concerns, as they have been begging (and now demanding) for years.
#7
Talk to me about logistics and then talk to me about the Vietnamese and Taliban. The Russians and the Ukrainians have a serious problem. This is a grudge match. Everyone talks about $$$. Just keep in mind that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are in NATO and are next on Putin's menu. This is a hellofva cheaper than a thermonuclear exchange.
[ZeroHedge] President Biden accuses China, Germany, and Canada of dumping steel used to package canned goods. The result will be higher prices for everything canned including soup, sauces, and vegetables.
NEW TARIFFS ON FOOD-CAN METAL FROM CHINA, GERMANY AND CANADA
Please expect the price of all canned goods to rise due to New Tariffs on Food-Can Metal From China, Germany and Canada.
The Biden administration on Thursday announced new tariffs on can-making metal imported from China, Germany and Canada, a move that food companies say could lead to higher prices for some canned foods.
Chinese products would be subject to the highest tariffs of the three countries—a levy of 122.52% of their import value. That rate partly reflects Chinese companies’ refusal to cooperate with the investigation to prove their independence from the Chinese Communist Party, an administration official said.
The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group representing companies such as Campbell Soup and Fresh Del Monte Produce, estimated new tariffs, if applied aggressively, could raise the prices of canned food by up to 30%.
[Liberty Sentinel] The U.S. healthcare system including a new permanent "pandemic" office at the White House is being weaponized to bring the population under control. What can you do about it?
The U.S. healthcare system including a new permanent "pandemic" office at the White House is being weaponized to bring the population under control, warned Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom chief Twila Brase in this interview on Conversations That Matter. Bureaucrats, the Left, and the Marxists are hoping to use healthcare, fear, and pandemics to expand their power, she said. In addition, Brase explains why health insurance premiums are rising as benefits decrease—and what you can do about it.
Watch the episode at Liberty Sentinel.
FEMA region 'Pandemic' field offices will be established. Agents will be armed and have extrajudicial authority.
#3
Even at the height of the first round of Covid they did not open FEMA field offices with arresting authority — they relied on state-level initiatives and local authorities.
On the other hand, my mother’s retirement home locked down its residents yesterday following the first confirmed Covid infection of the season, so once again federal intervention is not needed.
[Breitbart] Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger(R-IL), now a CNN contributor, said Monday on CNN’s "The Situation Room" that former President Donald Trump was "scared to death" to debate his Republican primary rival, former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ).
Kinzinger said, "If he was the incumbent running for reelection— you know if this was 2020, like I get that, but he lost. He lost for the Republicans, the presidency. The Republicans have done nothing but lose since Donald Trump, and so I think if he’s going to ask for their vote he needs to come in front of them again and explain why this time, instead of being a loser, he’ll be a winner. But he’s not going to do it." Adam would know about being a loser
He continued, "I’m sure, you know, some political consultants — and they may be right from a textbook perspective — would say, you know, ’Don’t go to the debate, there’s no benefit in it,’ but honest to goodness, Wolf, Donald Trump is a coward. He’s scared to death of Chris Christie because I think Chris Christie is going to wipe the floor with him and I think that’s what he’s afraid of."
Kinzinger added, "So what will be interesting in this debate is watching everybody kind of try to show their bona fides and pretend like they’re tough by attacking everybody else on that stage and staying quiet, with a few exceptions, on Donald Trump. So I guess from his perspective, he can sit back and watch them all tear each other up, but I think Chris Christie’s going to really kind of bring the show and point out the cowardice of Donald Trump."
#6
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), now a CNN contributor,... Yep, 100% credibility there. One of the 10 who voted to impeach Trump and then was smart enough, barely, to 'not seek re-election'. Yep, totally unbiased source there ...a RINO's RINO.
#7
Chris Christie is intellectually and physically lazy. On the soccer field, he’s the unathletic kid that they are trying to hide on the back line that you can exploit.
Intellectually, he has adopted positions based on donors that aren’t thought through or defensible. In the debate, Christie will get exposed and lose his temper. Vivek will be the one who triggers him, most likely, or Haley might. I don’t think it will be any of the other donor sandwich board guys.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/22/2023 9:05 Comments ||
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#8
If Christie is intellectually lazy, I hate to think of how his donors rate on that scale.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/22/2023 9:06 Comments ||
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#10
Christie is undoubtedly funded as a wrecking ball, and frankly, needs the work. Campaign funded never-ending buffet can be a huge draw, and who knows, maybe there is a Golden Corral Directorship in the mix!
#11
They really should never have legalized the stuff. No one put up by the GOPe can be elected as the population that seriously backs Trump will view it as nothing less than another round of Unity Party choices.
#12
GOPe was going to implode anyway, Trump just hastened it. Like old time Reds hating Reagan for precipitating the collapse of the USSR, the NRO "conservatives" will never forgive Trump for flushing their punch bowl.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/22/2023 16:39 Comments ||
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#13
^ "Who's up for a Weekly Standard Cruise with Bill Kristol and Stephen Hayes? We'll transit the Black Sea and Straits of Hormuz!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2023 18:20 Comments ||
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#14
I guess that idiot Jonah Goldberg actually wrote a column saying that small doners are what's wrong with the GOP.
YJCMTSU. Really, you can't...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/22/2023 18:29 Comments ||
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#15
donors, not doners. I know nobody wants a small kebab.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/22/2023 18:29 Comments ||
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#16
^ Jonah G.: "I'll take 40!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2023 18:35 Comments ||
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#17
Jonah does to have the fat and stupid parts of Dean Wormer's admonition covered.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/22/2023 19:25 Comments ||
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[NYP] "There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them."
Those words from Inspector Jacques Clouseau may have to be emblazoned across the hearing room of the House Oversight Committee. It was a month ago that House Democratic members mocked the testimony of two whistleblowers who testified about the rigged investigation to protect Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden.
Now it appears that the controversial "sweetheart deal" was not the first choice of US Attorney David Weiss. He actually was planning to let Hunter walk without even a misdemeanor charge despite massive unpaid taxes, gun violations, and work as an unregistered foreign agent, among other alleged crimes.
The reason for his change at Justice, according to the New York Times? Those pesky whistleblowers.
One of the most insulting moments for the respected IRS agents came from ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who mocked the allegations as part of "this Inspector Clouseau-style quest for something that doesn’t exist [that] has turned our committee into a theater of the absurd, an exercise in futility and embarrassment."
Raskin assured the public that these "disagreements" are "routine" matters in investigations (a position echoed by his junior colleague, Rep. Dan Goldman of New York). The IRS agents tried to object that they had never seen anything like what happened in this case.
[Twitter/X] Revisiting old enemies: Mr. Harp, esq — Rolling Stone contributing editor (whatever that means) and Iraq vet, per his X bio. Looking through his X feed, it looks like jihad at home and abroad is his beat, some of it follow-up on old stories
A stunning admission.
JSOC analysts targeted 100,000 or more Iraqis for death without ever understanding a word of Arabic.
It was all based on cellular metadata, pseudoscientific “nodal analysis,” and arbitrary guesswork. pic.twitter.com/6q0Sf6muRS
And from the same poster last week, as he reads a book published in 2013:
The craziest thing about this guy is that after he was finally convicted of terrorism, instead of being sentenced he simply disappeared. He’s supposedly in US custody but nobody knows where. pic.twitter.com/Zx7XZOb661
[Jpost] Jordan faces severe water scarcity, which has been exacerbated by drought and scorching heat.
Last week, Israel and Jordan signed a letter of intent in Abu Dhabi for a so-called “water-for-energy” project, under which Jordan will build a massive solar farm in the desert that will generate clean energy to be sold to Israel in return for desalinated water.
“This is going to be the flagship example of bilateral relations and also of the Israeli integration into the region,” said Oded Eran, a senior research fellow at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies and former Israeli ambassador to Jordan.
The idea was first announced in 2021 when Jordan planned to export 600 megawatts of solar power from its southern desert to Israel. In return, Israel would provide the water-scarce kingdom with 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water from the Mediterranean.
“This clearly makes use of the energy advantages of Jordan and Israel in the sense of the proximity of quantities of water that can be made available by desalination on the Israeli side, and the large areas that can be used in Jordan to produce solar energy,” Eran explained.
It is expected that the agreement will be signed during the COP28 climate conference, which will be held in Dubai at the end of the year. The project will be funded by the United Arab Emirates.
“I think it’s absolutely necessary in order to secure the financial source for such a project to have the UAE involved to ensure its success,” Eran said.
The project has been harshly criticized by water and energy experts in Jordan as well as political activists.
Water expert Dr. Duraid al-Mahasneh told The Media Line that Jordan is facing an “existential challenge, and this understanding or agreement will help alleviate the problem of a water crisis in Jordan, but it is not the solution.”
Jordan, 75% of which is arid desert, faces an acute water deficit. The kingdom ranks as the second most water-poor country worldwide, where water per capita is 88% below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters annually.
“Jordan suffers from water scarcity, and the water currently available in it is only enough for 2 million people, while the population of Jordan is now about 11 million,” Mahasneh said.
According to the UN Development Program, Jordan has just 147 cubic meters of water per person per year, while renewable water resources are less than 130 cubic meters per person per year.
Jordan’s water crisis is exacerbated by the fact that it is also home to millions of refugees.
“With the displacement of the Palestinians to Jordan twice, in the years 1948 and 1967, and after that the displacement of the Iraqis, followed by more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees in Jordan—that put a great burden and pressure on the water resources in Jordan. Where will you get water from for all these people?” Mahasneh wondered.
To help alleviate the water crisis, Mahasneh says the refugee problem must be addressed.
“The responsibility for providing water is an international responsibility, and the international community must shoulder the responsibility,” he said.
A deal to supply natural gas from Israel to Jordan has been in place for more than 15 years. Delivery of the gas began in 2021, causing a backlash from the public and political parties over the kingdom’s increased dependency on Israel.
Jordan is also already dependent on Israel for water. Under the 1994 peace treaty, Jordan receives 50 million cubic meters of water annually from Israel, which “has major repercussions on the issue of water security,” according to Mahasneh.
Mahasneh explained this is not the first time that such an initiative has been discussed between the two countries and questions the wisdom of the project. Jordan already has a surplus of renewable energy that can be used to power a desalination station in the Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, he said.
“We don’t need to buy desalinated water from Israel,” he said.
In 2013, Jordan and Israel signed an agreement to join forces in building a canal that would carry seawater from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. This project would generate electricity that would be used to desalinate water while dumping brine into the Dead Sea, helping to stabilize the rapidly shrinking sea. That ambitious project has been shelved for now, but Mahasneh says it is the ideal solution for the water problem and to preserve the Dead Sea, whose surface level drops by more than a meter every year.
“A water desalination plant in Aqaba, where saline water is pumped into the Dead Sea and drinking water delivered to Amman is what’s needed,” he said. “This project will have a benefit in providing the Palestinians and Israelis with drinking water as well.”
JORDAN'S LIMITED WATER SOURCES ARE DRYING UP
Jordan’s vital sources of water—rain, and wells—are drying up. This is caused by prolonged effects of climate change, namely drought and above-normal scorching temperatures, which are putting Jordan’s population and agricultural sector at risk. This, Mahasneh explains, is a regional issue.
“Water resources originally in Jordan depend on transboundary waters, as we share waters coming from Al-Wehda Dam on the al-Yarmouk River on the Syrian side. We are supposed to get about 400 million cubic meters from the Yarmouk Basin. But last year we did not get 30 million cubic meters,” Mahasneh said.
#1
Foreign water experts have visited Jordan and for years have been frustrated by government corruption and its stifling control over domestic drilling. Israel must be aware of that situation and will likely keep a hand on its wallet.
#2
I imagine Israel would also be happy to have a lever to influence Jordanian behaviour, Jerens Black9355, and to keep a fraught situation from exploding in their direction. They’ve been trying to make deals to help supply Jordan for years — water, oil, gas, probably electricity — but Jew-hating Jordanian pride among politicians and common folk results in good deals being repeatedly rejected.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/22/2023 9:25 Comments ||
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#2
Mostly before vaccinations were common; no actual, reported vax status. Mostly military, mostly male. I see some limitations to this study; more research will be required.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/22/2023 10:45 Comments ||
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#4
Get ready. COVID reruns planned. Excessive death rates all ages across the board. First do no harm is no longer in the pledge. Rather they are saying
it was never in the oath. "Primum non nocere – first do no harm – was in fact not included in the original Hippocratic oath as is often presumed, but as Medicine advances it becomes increasingly relevant. To first do no self-harm can be equated to the DRS ABCD(4) used in Adult Life Support training. The first D is a reminder to move the patient away from anything which is dangerous to them or the practitioner. In this context we could first consider danger to the practitioner'.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Breitbart] Former Rep. 
[NYP] "There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them."
[Jpost] Jordan faces severe water scarcity, which has been exacerbated by drought and scorching heat.
