The Writer’s Section was agog at the Fire Pit this morning. Well, that is a bit of a euphemism, since we tend to be “gog” most mornings, at least until the Chock Full O’ Nuts kicks in. But the crux of the matter was the detention of one of those media figures who we find as irritating as the old water problems at Camp Lejeune. If you are not subject to the information stream that features advertising from a variety of law firms about the matter, it should not be particularly surprising.
The drinking water at the rural military installation was discovered to be contaminated with a toxic mixture of contaminants. Both active-duty Marines and the people who supported them, civilian employees and families, drank it for years.
The results were a significant number of cancer cases for those concerned. The initial cadre of the afflicted were the Marines who served there, since they had an established health network in which to press claims. That would be the Veteran’s Administration, an institution that attempted to minimize the dramatic impact of the sheer number of claims. If you have dealt with them, you know the nature of their inexorable approach.
According to the advertising, a lawyer who became concerned with the situation successfully ran for Congress to represent the District and fought to pass legislation establishing the right of all those concerned to press suits for damage against the Federal Government.
The ripple effect of the new law is dramatic, and demonstrates some of the related social changes. Advertising aimed at those who are old enough, or were associated with the military, is just one of them. The old information stovepipes maintained by the three-letter networks no longer function the way they did. Data can now be focused in means analogous to the advertising that follows us in digital footprints. The old framework still exists, so it appears that there is continuity in our institutions. But the change has already occurred. We noticed that when one of the younger members of the group was excited about a new PodCast that contained some revelations about current affairs.
None of the older staff knew how to access the source.
That simple issue became the basis of some controversy about the nature of generational change and the nature of its impact. Just this morning, we had two minor events that validated some of the previous observations. The first was the report that an attorney had passed away at the age of “76 years.”
That was the element of information that came first in consideration since all of us approaching the “average life expectancy” of American citizens have an interest in that figure for personal planning purposes. As a number, it is a little low for what was common before the pandemic era. We thought it was a couple years higher, maybe 78, so the death of Mr. Ken Starr had some controversy not associated with the legal matters that brought him his moment of fame on the national stage. And the emergence of extended and expensive private legal proceedings as part of the political process.
We needn’t go into that matter, though we have discussed it with some unobtrusive vigor in attempting to understand some of the other generational changes. We date many of them to the Presidency that brought Mr. Starr to public attention in his five-year investigation of a sitting Chief Executive. We need not mention them, since they included matters as mundane as real estate and personal misconduct, but also may have ventured into some with legal implications more significant and fundamental.
Those were under public discussion recently in a different context. The Chairman had sent a text message to DeMille, in his role as the group coordinator. Due to increased overhead costs imposed by inflationary pressures, the need for increased resources by the Legal Section was clear. In addition to hiring additional attorneys, some editorial discretion was felt to be necessary to minimize the possibility of legal action against Socotra House.
That concern was reinforced by another minor information note this morning. There is a fellow who sells sleep accessories whose presence is nearly as irritating in frequency as the reports about Camp Lejeune’s water. He started selling pillows a few years ago, but has expanded his inventory to include all sorts of merchandise, including percale sheets. He also apparently became concerned with the manner of succession in the national government of a prominent nation. To a degree, we feel some of those concerns are worthy of discussion, but given the Chairman’s guidance about avoiding controversy, have stayed away from the subject.
The Pillow Guy? It actually is a little surreal. He has a podcast, not that any of us know how to find it. Reports that we could find indicate he claimed he was stopped by agents of that three-letter Agency we are not supposed to mention in The Daily while he was going through the drive-through of a Hardee’s restaurant in Mankato, Minnesota. They had a warrant, from what he said, and took his phone.
There was some fairly agitated conversation about the generational change that has occurred between the active professional lives of Mr. Starr and The Pillow Guy, but DeMille told us to keep that out by the Fire Ring.
The Chairman doesn’t pay us enough to maintain our own legal staffs, and has protected the company by categorizing us as “independent contractors.” As such, there was some laughter induced by generational change, and then we decided to go to lunch over at Belmont Farms, where we could get a decent drink to go with the pulled-pork sandwiches.
That is a matter both Public and Personal.
Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
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