Google Donkey Mystery Solved [Updated]

    There is a tremendous kerfuffle over accusations that a Google Street View vehicle ran over a donkey in Botswana.  If you've not heard of this before, here's the short version from the LA Times:

A scene captured by a Google Street View vehicle in Kweneng, Botswana, that went viral Monday seems to show the car hitting and possibly killing a donkey on the road.
The scene is still visible on Google Street View: The Google vehicle appears to come up upon a standing donkey before knocking it over.
But Google has a different version of the incident and insists the animal is fine.
"Our Street View teams take the safety of people and donkeys very seriously," Google said in a statement. "A review of our imagery confirms that we did not cause any harm to the donkey."

    Given that vehicles in Botswana drive on the left, here are some screen shots that prove Google's version.  These scenes are available by hitting the down arrow on the original image.  As the other vehicle approaches, the donkey is visible next to it on the left, standing up.  As the Google vehicle approaches and the dust clears from the other vehicle, there is the donkey rolling in the dirt, as donkeys are wont to do.  You can even see the marks in the dirt where the donkey has been rolling:

    And then the "after" shot.

    The donkey is fine.  Google's "Do Not Evil" is intact.  At least as far as the donkey is concerned.


UPDATE:  Good grief.  As if I haven't wasted enough time already, there's an even easier way to see what nonsense this story is.  Start here with the "dead donkey" picture, click the up/forward arrow once, and then pan to the left:

    Voilà! Here is the donkey, standing on the side of the road next to the Google vehicle.  If this donkey was hit, then he threw himself under the bus... so to speak.

House of Representatives Moves to Reverse President's Executive Order

    On December 28, I broke the story about President Obama's executive order lifting the federal pay freeze that had been in effect for two years. The Washington Examiner is reporting that the House Republicans introduced a bill today to reverse the effects of that order:

House Republicans proposed a bill today that would cut the pay of Vice President Joe Biden and other federal officials, noting that the executive order that President Obama signed to raise their pay costs $11 billion in new spending. 

“The President has once again demonstrated his penchant for unrestrained spending by giving federal employees an across the board pay hike and sticking the rest of us with the $11 billion bill,” Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., the lead sponsor on the bill, said in a statement today. “At a time when the average federal worker compensation is nearly double the median U.S. household income, and attrition from the federal workforce is already at an all-time low, we simply cannot afford this unnecessary and unilateral action by the President.” 

Obama’s executive order raises Biden’s salary $225,521 to $231,900. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, would see an $1,100 raise while the Senate majority and minority leaders would get paid an extra $1,000, according to Fox. “The House and Senate, however, voted down the congressional pay increase earlier this year,” the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee notes.

     Results!

Presidential Memo Expands the Definition of "Federal Law Enforcement Agencies"

    As part of the president's 23 "executive actions" on gun violence, a presidential memo was issued regarding firearms tracing in connection with criminal investigations.  The memo instructs that:

Federal law enforcement agencies shall ensure that all firearms recovered after the date of this memorandum in the course of criminal investigations and taken into Federal custody are traced through ATF at the earliest time practicable. Federal law enforcement agencies, as well as other executive departments and agencies, are encouraged, to the extent practicable, to take steps to ensure that firearms recovered prior to the date of this memorandum in the course of criminal investigations and taken into Federal custody are traced through ATF.

    However, another provision defines which agencies are included in "Federal law enforcement agencies":

(e) For purposes of this memorandum, "Federal law enforcement agencies" means the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, and such other agencies and offices that regularly recover firearms in the course of their criminal investigations as the President may designate.

     This is a pretty sweeping definition compared to the Justice Department's definition:

A federal law enforcement agency is an organizational unit, or subunit, of the federal government with the principle functions of prevention, detection, and investigation of crime and the apprehension of alleged offenders.  Examples of federal law enforcement agencies include the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). 

     Since the memo also addressed "other executive departments and agencies," it is unclear what this partial deputizing of other agencies as "law enforcement" means.  Perhaps further examination of other executive actions on gun violence will make this more clear.

Planned Parenthood: A Few Choice Words

    Anna North of BuzzFeed created a stir recently with her report that Planned Parenthood would be "moving away" from "pro-choice" terminology that has been the euphemism of choice for abortion rights advocates for decades:

"It's a complicated topic and one in which labels don't reflect the complexity," said Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards at a press briefing Wednesday. But, she said, the group's polling showed most Americans could get behind a more nuanced statement of principles: "It is important that women make their own decisions about pregnancy, and that politicians do not."
Planned Parenthood Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens said the word "choice" itself might be causing problems. "When 'choice' got assigned," she explained, "women didn't have as many choices" in any area of their lives. Now that women have more rights and freedoms, she said, maybe "'choice' as word sounds frivolous."

    As if on cue, the statement issued on January 11th accompanying its 2011-2012 annual report does not mention "choice" at all. Remarkably, for a report that includes a record number of abortions last year, one would hardly know Planned Parenthood even offered the procedure:

“The Planned Parenthood annual report for 2010-2011 shows that Planned Parenthood affiliates remain one of the nation’s leading providers of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people. Planned Parenthood health centers provide nearly three million patients a year with a wide range of preventive health care, including lifesaving cervical cancer screenings, breast exams, Pap tests, STD testing, and birth control. More than 90 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services are preventive care, such as cancer screenings and birth control, and like any other health care provider Planned Parenthood health centers are reimbursed by the government for providing specific preventive services to low-income patients. As has been the case for decades, federal funds are not and cannot be used to provide abortion.” 

The Planned Parenthood 2010-2011 annual report shows that more than 750 Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide provided nearly 11 million services to nearly three million people during the year, including:

• birth control information and services to two million patients;
• 585,000 Pap tests, which identified about 82,000 women at risk of developing cervical cancer;
• 640,000 breast exams; and 
• nearly 4.5 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV tests.

    The only abortion mention in the statement is in the negative: "federal funds are not and cannot be used to provide abortion." In the body of the annual report, "abortion" appears in only three places, once on a graphic and twice in a list of total services offered in 2011-12. Although the graphic portrays abortion as representing only 3% of its services, I have seen estimates that abortion provides anywhere from 15% to 50% of Planned Parenthood's annual revenue.

    But old habits die hard. On January 14th, this press release appeared from Planned Parenthood:

Planned Parenthood Welcomes Ilyse Hogue as NARAL President; Thanks Nancy Keenan for Years of Service to the Fight for Women’s Health 

WASHINGTON, DC — Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards released the following statement welcoming NARAL Pro-Choice America’s announcement that Ilyse Hogue will replace Nancy Keenan as President.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ilyse Hogue as the new president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. She brings fresh perspective and energy to the fight for access to safe and legal abortion as we mark the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and face continued battles in many states across the country. We look forward to our continued close partnership with NARAL Pro-Choice America under her leadership, especially as we work to cultivate the next generation of leaders...

    When your soul-mate organization calls itself "NARAL Pro-Choice America," shedding the "choice" language may be harder than it first seemed.

Presidential Memorandum: First Come, First Served? [Updated again]

    The White House just released a presidential memorandum Tuesday afternoon:

For Immediate Release January 15, 2013
Presidential Memorandum -- Delegation of Certain Functions Under Section 6 of Public Law 112-150
SUBJECT: Delegation of Certain Functions Under Section 6 of Public Law 112-150
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to you all functions conferred upon the President by subsections (a) and (b) of section 6 of Public Law 112-150. You will exercise these functions in coordination with the Secretary of Defense.
You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA

    The odd thing is, it does not identify "you."  Is this a bearer memo?  If so, I've got dibs.

    In case you are wondering, Public Law 112-150 is the "UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ENHANCED 

SECURITY COOPERATION ACT OF 2012."  Section 6 reads as follows:

SEC. 6. REPORTS REQUIRED.
(a) REPORT ON ISRAEL’S QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE (QME).—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
a report on the status of Israel’s qualitative military edge
in light of current trends and instability in the region.
(2) SUBSTITUTION FOR QUADRENNIAL REPORT.—If submitted
within one year of the date that the first quadrennial report
required by section 201(c)(2) of the Naval Vessel Transfer Act
of 2008 (Public Law 110–429; 22 U.S.C. 2776 note) is due
to be submitted, the report required by paragraph (1) may
substitute for such quadrennial report.
(b) REPORTS ON OTHER MATTERS.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on
each of the following matters:
President.
22 USC 8604.
VerDate Mar 15 2010 01:20 Aug 11, 2012 Jkt 019139 PO 00150 Frm 00004 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL150.112 GPO1 PsN: PUBL150
anorris on DSK9Q6SHH1PROD with PUBLIC LAWSPUBLIC LAW 112–150—JULY 27, 2012  126 STAT. 1149
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2165 (H.R. 4133):
SENATE REPORTS: No. 112–179 (Comm. on Foreign Relations).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 158 (2012):
June 29, considered and passed Senate.
July 17, considered and passed House.
DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2012):
July 27, Presidential remarks.
Æ
(1) Taking into account the Government of Israel’s urgent
requirement for F–35 aircraft, actions to improve the process
relating to its purchase of F–35 aircraft, particularly with
respect to cost efficiency and timely delivery.
(2) Efforts to expand cooperation between the United States
and Israel in homeland security, counter-terrorism, maritime
security, energy, cyber-security, and other related areas.
(3) Actions to integrate Israel into the defense of the
Eastern Mediterranean. 

    I'll update this post if "you" steps forward.

UPDATE:  Based on this previous similar presidential memo, "you"might be the Secretary of State.  But for now, it's still up for grabs.

UPDATE: It took a day, but the White House has now added "MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE" to the memo. But just for the record, a screenshot of the original:

Guns and Executive Action

    Politico is reporting that Joe Biden's task force on gun violence has 19 "executive actions" queued up for consideration by President Obama.  Since an executive action is a unilateral action by the president, the administration will have to walk a fine line in the presentation and implementation of these ideas.  By leaking the number, the issuance of less than 19 will result in speculation about which actions were deemed too extreme to implement or too weak to bother with.  Also, since any of these actions could have been taken at any point in the previous four years, the administration will open itself up to questions about why nothing was done sooner.

    While "executive action" is a rather broad term, the history of "executive orders" and gun control is quite narrow.  The only executive order specifically addressing gun control that my research turn up was issued by Dwight Eisenhower on February 16, 1960:

Executive Order 10863--Authorizing the Attorney General to seize arms and munitions of war, and other articles, pursuant to section 1 of title VI of the act of June 15, 1917, as amended...
Section 1. The Attorney General is hereby designated under section 1 of Title VI of the act of June 15, 1917, as amended by section 1 of the act of August 13, 1953, as a person duly authorized to seize and detain arms or munitions of war or other articles, and to seize and detain any vessel, vehicle, or aircraft containing such items or which has been, or is being, used in exporting or attempting to export such arms or munitions of war or other articles, whenever an attempt is made to export or ship from or take out of the United States such arms or munitions of war or other articles in violation of law, or whenever it is known, or there is probable cause to believe, that such arms or munitions of war or other articles are intended to be, or are being or have been, exported or removed from the United States in violation of law.

     Even this order did not establish a new executive power, but simply designated the attorney general as an authorized person under a previously existing law to seize arms or munitions being illegally imported or exported from the country.  It seems likely that any executive action or order by President Obama would be in the same vein.  On the other hand, for an administration whose previous "executive actions" included allowing illegal guns to end up in the hands of Mexican drug gangs (Fast and Furious,) the president may welcome this opportunity to show he can be tough on guns, even if it means that legal gun owners in the United States bear the brunt of the new sanctions.

The War on Betsy Ross!

    Despite the sensational title of this post, I do not harbor delusions of conspiracy or lack of patriotism in supporters of President Obama.  However, as I noted this summer during the campaign, there was a curious aversion to traditional representations of the American flag in the items available in the America for Obama campaign store (two of the designs are pictured on the right.)  This fondness for the avant-garde has carried over to the online store of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) website.

    Just as the Obama campaign store offered a Runway To Win line of designer fashions, the 2013 PIC enlisted a number of famous designers to augment their online offerings.  Several of these have incorporated the American flag into their designs.  But these are not your (founding) fathers' flags:

    This bag by Rachel Roy is the most faithful to the original designer, but the colors have been scrapped in favor of a monochromatic look.  

    Here is the obligatory hoodie (Yigal Azrouël) which restores the colors, but drops several of the original colonies and a boatload of current states in its design.

    However, I saved the best for last:

    This Prabal Gurung print on a plain t-shirt is described as "featuring a kaleidoscope-inspired American flag design."  It makes Betsy Ross's original design seem rather pedestrian by comparison.

    As a traditionalist, I find these designs not deeply subversive, but frankly just kind of annoying.  The flag's original design was purposeful and says much about the ideals, the history, and the principles of the United States of America.  Like the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, or the Star Spangled Banner, some things just don't need improving.