Irish Citizen overstayed his US visa by 3 days, spent 100 days in detention

I really enjoy reading articles like this. They make me think. There's a bit of a disconnect between the real story and the headline.  

Irish Citizen overstayed visa by 3 days, detained 100 days

At first, I thought, "Oh no! Those ICE troopers grabbed this guy and threw him in the dungeon!" As I read the story, it painted Thomas (a nickname, used fearing further consequences) as a victim of excessive immigration enforcement. Let's review his timeline.

He visited his girlfriend Malone (likely not her real name) in West Virginia in the fall of 2024, having 90 days to visit. He planned to leave in December. In October, he "badly tore his calf" and the doctor told him not to travel for 8-12 weeks. The risk of blood clots, you know. It meant he would have to stay slightly past the expiration of his visa on 08-Dec. He sent paperwork from his doctor to "the Irish and US embassies and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to seek an extension, but it was short notice and he did not hear back," the Guardian quotes him as saying. 

Somehow, they visited her family in Savannah GA (a journey of about 450 miles) without traveling (presumably the doctor meant air travel and they drove?), and there he suffered a "mental health episode" which manifested as a hotel room argument with his girlfriend.

Someone overheard the argument and called the police, who arrested Thomas for "falsely imprisoning" Malone. He was released on bond, and then picked up by ICE, presumably on 11-December 2024. He immediately volunteered for deportation to Ireland.

• Florida Atty General notices possibility that weather modification could have played a role in Texas floods.

The weather. Everybody's talking about it, but no one is really doing anything about it. --- common saying often repeated by Mark Twain

James Uthmeier is the attorney general for the state of Florida.The state has recently passed a law prohibiting cloud-seeding, weather modification, and geoengineering. Florida claims that airports are in the best position to recognize weather modification, and are required to report monthly on their observations. 

    In a letter to the operators of public use airports, Florida Atty General writes he “can’t help but notice the possibility that weather modification could have played a role” in the Texas floods. 

MY TAKE: I have no idea why airports would be in a better position than anyone else, but the conspiracy theory about "chemtrails" is that water vapor contrails are a sign of an attempt to modify weather, or introduce mind control chemicals, or to fight global warming by reflecting heat back into space. 

AA good imagination is a terrific thing, as long as we can tell the difference between what's real and what's not. One of the time-tested ways is to ask, "Do I THINK it? Do I KNOW it? Can I PROVE it?” I'm not sure it serves the public interest for government officials to spend much time on the first two. 

Yeah? Well, you know, that's just like your opinion, man.

I like to pick on Uthmeier because he's a magnet for satire. 

NOAA has debunked the claims that clouds were seeded near Kerrville TX two days before the floods. They also are adamant that there is not a way to steer hurricanes. 

General Uthmeier proposed and has overseen the development of an immigration detention center in Florida that he named, "Alligator Alcatraz." Early reports are that the place has issues with mosquitos, plumbing, and flooding. There are concerns about the impact it might have on the water supply for 8 million South Florida residents, but that's just like, you know, someone's opinion, man. 

A

Government Statistics are getting more imputed these days

We have always needed to take government statistics with a grain of salt. It's more popular these days to change definitions and methods of measurement in ways that look a great deal like bias. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates inflation numbers monthly. Where they can’t find prices for particular products in particular location, they estimate by using a comparable product or location. This guesstimate is called “different cell imputation.” [It’s too close to “amputation” for my tastes.] 

Before staffing cuts, this process was used about 10% of the time. I April it was used 30% of the time and in May 35%. One of the casualties of the federal staffing cuts is the accuracy of government statistics. 

I don’t think that the administration considers this a problem, since they like to say what’s true and what’s not. But beware of government statistics for the time being. Inflation, employment, and trade are a few examples. 

On the other hand, the government has been massaging statistics as long as I can remember. Every month they change last month’s employment numbers and sometimes the month before that. Hindsight isn't always 20/20, and foresight never is. 

23-Apr-2018

 Originally published on Facebook 23-April-2018

The News You Need

23-Apr-2018

• The Duchess of Cambridge is in hospital in the early stages of labor with her 3rd child. Prince William is a proud papa-to-be again. You royals-watchers, there’s your fix. 

• A naked man killed 4 at a Waffle House in Nashville. He was arrested at the White House last summer. If they had only executed him like Archie Bunker suggested … I would say that he is still at large but that wouldn’t be true. 

• The Aggies had a great day Saturday, what with burying former First Lady Barbara Bush and holding Muster on the same day. Us Aggies, we eat that stuff up. If you’ve never attended Muster in College Station, well, there’s nothing like it that I know of. 

• Over in Caldwell TX a house was destroyed in an explosion late Saturday night. Police think it might be gas-related. People around here roll their eyes when they hear that. “That’s no UFO, that’s swamp gas.” I’m smelling swamp gas right now. 

• I can’t say how real it is, but it looks like there might be peace in the Korean Peninsula. There are summits, and the k-pop music has been “holstered” for the time being. Please, let me be in charge of US foreign relations with North Korea for a day. I’d let them foul their own nest as much as they like if they don’t bug anyone else. When that guy from Caldwell gets out of the hospital, I’d send him over as an adviser. 

• Since our last visit, a SW Airlines plane had an engine explode. Debris broke a window and a passenger was almost pulled out the window by the air rushing out. Quick-acting passengers pulled the woman back in, though she did not live through the event. The pilot was one of the first female F-18 pilots in the Navy, and her calm professional approach was praised by all concerned.

• Remember the poop train? It’s been cleared, thankfully. In an unrelated note, the zoo in Detroil is offering free “Detroit Zoo Poo.” I think that second prize is extra poo, but I could be wrong. 

• In Singapore, a university robot assembled an Ikea chair in about 20 minutes. Bob Ray, a neighbor I totally made up, says it cheated.  

• With all the news about electric cars and solar power for the house, are we looking at a future where we actually change our impact on the environment? Nah, we’ll probably see peace in Korea first.