January 6 and Mike Pence

I am blessed to have a few cross-over readers who tolerate my political BS in return for the other content I publish. Civil discourse has become so polarized that cross-overs, from whichever side seem to be a rarity in the social media universe.

Thanks for reading the blog, all 1.7 of you and I want to talk obliquely about January 6 by way of an analogy.

Suppose...

Suppose you had been able to get a job checking the strength of concrete used in civil-works projects like roads.

Furthermore, suppose you had a new bridge being constructed that connected your subdivision with "town". Not only would you be using the bridge almost everyday but your children and grandchildren would, too. Bridges last a long time.

Now suppose your job entailed cutting core samples with a bore-saw out of test-plaques that were cast integrally with the load-bearing spans and were to take them back to the laboratory and put them into a machine that crushed them.

Your job was to sign-off that the crush strength was consistent with 5000 psi concrete, the strength level that had been specified for the bridge.

Would you crush the specimens? Would you even take them?

After all, the project manager assured you that they followed the guidelines for type of aggregate, the cleanliness of the sand and water, the proper proportions of portland cement powder and the other ingredients. He even hands you a stack of papers that are initialed that attest to that claim.

You thumb through the papers and many of the initials are smudged and unreadable but the project manager brushes off you pointing that out. "That happens with every bridge. Some of the initials aren't that clear."

Then you look out the window and you see somebody pumping muddy water into the cement mixer. "Isn't that supposed to be clean water. You said these pages document that clean water is used" you protest.

"Well, there is clean water and there is sort-of clean water. We always did it this way and none of our bridges ever fell down. That means it is clean enough" the project manager explains.

Item-by-item you look at the job site and you see shortcuts being taken and bad-practices. For example, a quick squall blows through and the crew stops pouring concrete and takes cover. You see that silt and clay washed over the top of the previous pour and the crew returns to the site after the rain stopped and continued the pour even though there is a layer of contamination.

The project manager badgers you. "We gotta time-table"

Do you rubber-stamp the work and not cut and test the samples?

Mike Pense didn't cut and test the samples. He accepted the word of people with vested interests in the face of evidence that there were "anomalies". He chose to interpret his job as a quality inspector was to tot-up the totals in the Electoral College (something a 3rd grader could do) and not interpret it as a professional who is charged with ensuring the integrity of the election.

Your mileage will vary. I hope you guys and gals still pop in and read the blog even if our opinions are different about some things.