End of Bloomeroo ’23!

Gotcha! This piece isn’t about Cobbler treats, delicious as they were though we do have an article with a recipe we were holding for the Refuge Farm Cookbook. The memo from Legal was the first thing on the agenda this morning. They were apparently planning on a Friday with loose compliance for in-person duty and their last memo yesterday thus became our first to deal with today. The memo told us to stay away from the account of the arrest of a young IT worker for the National Security leaks. Our lawyer and “their” three para-legal assistants told us some of this didn’t make a great deal of sense.

The alleged culprit is reportedly a serving member of a National Guard unit in a northeastern state. We assume there is something not being explained in all this, since the narrative is still being rolled out with differing vectors of intent. Observing that process in the information war is always interesting. We were participants in that trade in a small way, so we try to keep track. In this information string, sensitive matters were discussed in a high-level document series intended for senior staff distribution only.

These were then apparently purloined to provide “advantageous ground truth” for use of a cyber-gaming group of young men. The alleged perp and another member we have seen are young, white and male. Some learned colleagues in wider forums then extrapolated actual involvement in distribution by a couple Russian cyber-crime cartels.

Maybe that is true. Certainly parts of it are, anyway. The way the system works is one component of the challenge. Transmission of sensitive information requires establishment of security protocols to prevent inadvertent disclosure. There is a small class of Information Technology specialists who maintain the transmission capability. Which is to say that the current event will devolve to blaming the Comcast Cable Installation Tech for the aberrant content of the global- maybe interstellar- internet.

We have mentioned it before, but there are several timelines ticking madly away on this. The American election cycle appears to be related to the next series of events. We are already tired of it, and this is as quiet as it is likely to be until November of 2024. Much aid has been promised, but it will take months for production to ramp up. That means current supplies are being taken from existing war reserves. Like the Strategic Petroleum Reserve we already flushed.

The flash of news about the indictment of a former Senior Official will simmer along in direct relation to the campaign against his campaign. What is interesting is that the current legal mess about jurisdiction, time lines and category has a broader implication. One that could apply to those who are currently managing the process.

You can see the potential vulnerability that could directly affect how this campaign will play out. Electoral defeat may now carry a legal aspect that could put you in personal jeopardy. The arrest yesterday helps us refine our proposal for a new National Holiday: “Bloomeroo!”

We did not anticipate an ending date so soon for the new holiday. We declared it originally on April 2nd, still reeling from the events of April Fools Day and this first post-pandemic Spring. Yesterday, the arrest of a young man termed The Leaker was followed by some other minor fireworks. It is part of a “whole of government” approach to celebrate Bloomeroo. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) put out a new circular (OMB-4) revising Regulatory Process of the Federal Government.

The whole government approach to our current crisis was immediately validated. The Environmental Protection Agency put out a short note telling 100 million gas-powered auto-owners they would have to replace them in seven years with more expensive electric ones. Stuff like that used to have vigorous discussion in a thing called “Congress.” But that oversight has all been outsourced as well and compiled in stupendously large bills on timelines that would not permit a full reading nor any question. Another Executive Order was flying around to accomplish something important- we are not sure what, exactly- without discussion.

So, we appreciate a nice manageable boundary for Bloomeroo: April Fools to 13 April. The closing Date is associated with the above changes in the Republic. It used to be known as “National Peach Cobbler Day.” We think the new name makes that holiday relevant and much more inclusive. We will be much better prepared for Bloomeroo ’24!

Copyright 2023 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com