Be Careful Of Your Sources

by capper

In an column written by Eugene Kane, he discusses the late night hours which recently ended at the House Of Corrections. In his article, he has some quotes from Richard Cox, the former superintendent of the HOC. From my understanding, Mr. Cox was a well-respected administrator at HOC and a lot of officers were sad to see him leave that position. However, Mr. Cox has been out of the system for the better part of a decade, and it would seem that a lot of things have changed since then.

An example would be that Mr. Cox is quoted as saying there is only 29 individual cells. That is not accurate. There are about three times that number of individual cells. The column also has this:

"It's a dormitory-style facility," Cox said. When the lights go out, he said, it doesn't make a difference if the inmates are in their beds or congregating among themselves.

I can personally testify that is not true. I have spoken to a friend that still works at HOC and he said that there is a greatly noticeable difference since the late nights have stopped. There are less fights and less disturbances. The inmates that are less prone to want to stay up are also calmer because now they can sleep at night.

Perhaps it is due to the length of time of Mr. Cox's absence from HOC, or the probably longer time since he actually worked a dorm, but the nature of the inmates have changed over the past ten years. They are younger, meaner and more prone to bad decisions. The change in late nights helps the beleaguered officers maintain better control of their dorms and increases safety for the inmates and officers alike.

In a similar fashion, MSJ also has a story about Jack L. Hohrein, the Milwaukee County retirement manager. Mr. Hohrein has filed for the race for County Executive, and states that he feels that County Executive Scott Walker has gone as far as interfering with a criminal investigation by putting the brakes on an independent investigation of the latest pension scandal.

When I first heard this story, I followed up on it eagerly. As anyone who has read most of my postings knows, I am know fan of Scott Walker, and I wondered what kind of stunt Walker was trying to pull now.

However, at this time, I am not going to cover this story, outside of this post. Not because I suddenly like the Tosa Ranger, but because I cannot trust the source of the information. While Mr. Hohrein may be telling the truth, or at least believes he is, he is not a credible source at this time.

The article goes on and informs us that Mr. Hohrein is currently on paid suspension, pending the outcome of an investigation into a complaint of harassment. He also states that he "expects to be fired for speaking out" and that he feels he was only suspended due to comments he made about the investigation. This makes his motivation suspect and makes one wonder if he is coming out with this as an attempt to cover his problems and protect his position with the county.

Like I said earlier, he may be very well telling the truth, but without collaborating evidence, I cannot find him a credible source of information, and will only take his allegations about a cover-up with a grain of salt. But I will continue to follow this story just in case that grain of salt turns into a kernel of truth.

Refrigerator Magnet Witticism.

by capper

I feel like I'm angle-parked in a parallel universe.

Our Condolences To Tom McMahon And His Family

It is never easy to lose one's mother. We are sorry, Tom, to hear of your loss.

Walker Officially Breaks Another Promise

by capper

Remember earlier this year, when the conservatives made such a big deal about a pledge that Governor Jim Doyle made several years ago about not raising taxes. They kept repeating the "No Tax" thing ad nauseum. When confronted on the fact that the statement was from years ago, they said that it did not matter, a promise is a promise. An example would be such high thinking would be from Jessica McBride, in an exchange with Tim Rock:

Other Side said...
The quote you are using is from Governor Doyle's State of the State address back in February 2003 and was made in reference to to digging ourselves out of the Thompson/McCallum fiscal mess.

As a journalism professional, you might try to get all the facts and report them rather than just parrot talk radio. Your students expect more from you.
October 28, 2007 9:45 AM

Jessica McBride said...
Other Side, Your typical gratuitious(sic) nastiness aside, who cares when he promised it? He promised it. He made similar comments since then, as you well know, anyway.
October 28, 2007 11:11 AM

I would bet a lot of money that they will be changing their stance on this issue real soon.

Scott Walker has now officially declared that he will be seeking re-election for Milwaukee County Executive. This is in spite of the fact that he promised, not to run for a second full term as county executive. And before Fraley, Owen, Sykes and the other Walker supporters go into full denial mode, he did indeed promise. In fact, when you look at those campaign promises, he has broken many of those. He also appears to be in the hooks of special interests, when CRG (Corrupt Republican Goons) can make their own platform for Walker.

And before all the Walker lemmings get into line with their one-plank platform about holding the line of taxes, let's not forget that this year, even with the Milwaukee County Board doing their best to correct Walker's inept budget, it still blew up in record time. How much are all these inquests (and I'm certain there will be a lawsuit coming), faulty budgets, and broken promises really going to cost? I bet it's going to add up to a lot more than the six dollar tax increase in the 2008 county tax.

Yet Another Problem At The House Of Correction

by capper

Friday's paper had an article about an inmate that was found dead at the Milwaukee County House of Correction on Thanksgiving Day morning. This adds to the compounding trouble that has been occurring at the House of Correction and Community Correctional Center for the past several months.

This time the story is of an inmate, with a history of drug abuse issues, apparently taking an overdose of prescribed medication. As I have stated before, there is a systematic problem with the correctional system in Milwaukee County. There is poor leadership among top administrators that don't know what's is going on in their own departments. There is also a crisis of overcrowded prisoners and a severe shortage of correctional officers.

Instead of actually dealing with the root of these problems, County Executive Scott Walker originally chose to scapegoat some officers, blaming them for the errors in the system. He did this despite the fact that these problems had been called to that attention of administrators, who, in turn, dismissed those concerns. Based on Friday's article, Walker will have a hard time to do his scapegoating again (emphasis mine):

District Attorney John Chisholm said the death was being investigated as likely related to prescription drugs. He said his initial review had not turned up evidence of wrongdoing on the part of correctional officers. Prosecutors want to find out how enough drugs to kill Orlowski could have been hoarded and who supplied him with prescription pills, Chisholm said.

The article also asks for comments from HOC administrators. Ron Malone, superintendent of HOC, who didn't even have a clue about the late night issues at HOC, then lied about them, had this reported about him and the inquest:

Ron Malone, superintendent of the House of Correction, declined to comment.

Thanks for the insight, Mr. Malone, that was very helpful. Of course, Walker had nothing to say either. He can't be bothered to actually do his job, he has a campaign to run.

Let's Play Politics -- With Terror

By Keith Schmitz

For those you who can't see to understand why we are not quite on board with the way TeamBush is "fighting terror" let's follow the money -- or the planned lack of it.

Turns out that Bush is proposing to slash $23 billion in security funding to already overburdened state and local governments for stuff like police and port protection.

For an administration that never fails to wave around the terror threat to keep people in line, to silence political opposition, to win elections, to beat on the press, are now telling us the problem is well in hand at it is time to reel up the ladder.

Somebody better tell the eight (or whatever number of) dwarfs running for the GOP presidential nod. As Bob Herbert put it in this morning's NY Times, these guys are acting like adolescent boys to put across who would be the most violent in going after perceived terror threats.

Guess what folks. Doing the business of war on terror at some point will call for spending money. But of course this is not the first disconnect to reality heard on the stages of these debates.

Let's be clear. Anyone who thinks that Democrats and all but the most fringy liberals are against dealing with world-wide terror are not merely mistaken. They are just treating their readers, friends and listeners like rubes. They know what they are doing and that is rather than finding ways for us to coexist in fighting this challenge they are driving divisions for cheap political points. Locally we have John McAdams, a man with a mean streak as wide as a super highway, and Charlie Sykes carrying that water.

And anyone who thinks that the Bush administration cares about us because they insist they are protecting us, that tax cuts for the wealthy don't come first, have $23 billion worth of evidence of what counts in their minds. It ain't you.

We believe there are terrorists out there and something prudent, rational and effective has to be done. The Bush administration seems not to think so.

We can Coexist, you know

by folkbum

Casper and Aaron are right. This is kind of fun.



(But Charlie Sykes is still a hypocrite, though.)

He Saw The Writing On The Wall

by capper

JSOnline is reporting that Sheriff David Clarke is not going to run against Mayor Tom Barrett. Their political blog has this quote from Clarke (emphasis mine):

I want to be smart about this and not make a decision based on emotion, but one based on reality. I weighed a number of things ... There's been no outcry from residents for change. It's hard to beat an incumbent unless there is a huge outcry for change. I was hoping some legitimate candidate would step up.

Gee, could the reality be that he lost the only plank in his platform, being tough on crime, when Barrett got the Fire and Police Commission to hire Edward Flynn? After that, even his best mouth piece, Charlie Sykes stopped mentioning Clarke.

It could also be that he is a pathetic flop as Sheriff. Clarke has managed to reinstate the park patrols after he eliminated them, misused public funds for grandstanding (GRIP), alienated the rank and file, and earned at least a half a dozen federal lawsuits filed against him. Not to mention that he is losing these lawsuits faster than the Miami Dolphins are losing football games.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Ken Mobile has more on Clarke's less-than-stellar record. For those of you that have some extra time, Pundit Nation has enough material to write a book on Clarke's absenteeism, lack of leadership, and overall whininess.

But for all his faults, at least Clarke knew how to read the writing on the wall and realized he didn't stand a chance in a race against Barrett.

Picture Perfect Prediction

by capper

Since Jay appears to be a little confused, probably stemming from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (get it? post? trauma?), I thought I'd help out by giving my prediction for Thursday night's game, in a way that even the most devout Dallas Convict Cowboy fan can understand.

Green Bay

Dallas

What's this about a football game?

by folkbum

I follow the news pretty closely, you know, I have been hearing rumors for some days now about some sort of Important Sporting Contest that, I think, is taking place tomorrow. It is, I believe, football, and the way people are talking about it, it must be something like Brazil vs. Portugal--real powerhouse teams battling it out on the pitch.

For my part, I think the smart money would be on Brazil. But it will be a low scoring game, perhaps 1-0.

I may be wrong of course. Portugal could pull it out.

What?

How Did Canada Get Single Payer Health Care?

By Keith Schmitz

Here's your opportunity to find out.

James Clancy, president of Canada's National Union of Public and General Employees with be speaking tonight, November 28th, at North Shore Presbyterian Church in Shorewood (click here for map).

Focus of his talk will be how their health care system came about, with implications on how Wisconsin could lead the way.

As you know by now, Canada is able to deliver better health care to a greater percentage of their people at a lower cost than the way we do this in the US. Plus, Canadians don't go broke paying for health care at this time of great stress.

Pundits tell us it is politically impossible to make the change, but no doubt Canadian reformers heard the same thing when they started to fix their system.

The event starts at 7:00 pm. doors open at 6:30, and enter NSPC through the northeast door.

Click here for more info.

Hey, fellow Mac and Blogger Users

by folkbum

Is Blogger.com crashing your Safari, too?

For the past couple of days, Blogger's been crashing Safari. I ran a software update last week, but I successfully posted from Blogger in Safari a couple of times after that update. It seems to be just since Sunday that Blogger's been causing the crash.

Relevant info:
Mac OSX 10.4.11
Safari Version 3.0.4 (523.12)

Any ideas?

Who's Running This Joint?

by capper

Last week, I wrote about a couple of stories that appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel which dealt with the House of Correction and the Community Correctional Center. This morning we see a third story. Predictably, the powers that be chose to eliminate the late night hours that were traditionally allowed to inmates at HOC and CCC. This was a move long overdue.

But the odd thing in this story is the way the management is handling the issue. It's like watching an old Three Stooges or Abbott and Costello routine. First, we have the official position from last week:

Assistant Superintendent Willie Brisco said last week that the late hours worked as a good management tool for corrections officers, who could revoke the privilege for rule violations.

Apparently someone was not happy with Brisco's statements. He's not talking, but not we have acting Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Mayer:

Canceling the late inmate hours will help avoid the possibility of fights breaking out, said Jeffrey Mayer, acting assistant superintendent. And if that happened, staffing could be compromised, he said.

And let us not forget Superintendent Ron Malone, who, as previously reported didn't even know what the policy at HOC was. He chimes in with:

On Monday, Malone said the change was made in part because of the article but also had been under consideration and would likely have been made by January in any case.

He decided to put the change into effect immediately, even though advance notice of work changes normally are given, Malone said.

"After the publicity of it, I just said, 'Let's do it,' " Malone said. "It had come up before. It was something we were already looking at," he said.:

Well, this is news to a lot of people. From today's article

The practice was subject of a grievance in summer by correctional officers, who complained the late-night socializing by inmates jeopardized officers' safety. But officials rejected the complaint.

and

Kevin Schoofs, president of the correctional officers union, said Monday that the change was welcome but overdue. He said he had not been given any inkling that Malone was considering doing away with the late-night hours for inmates. In fact, Malone told him he was adamantly opposed to changing the policy during a recent meeting with the union, Schoofs said.

Something tells me some heads are going to roll. We already know that Walker doesn't like to look bad, and will take any scapegoat he can get. Ironically, during all this, Walker did not have anything to say. He had a spokesperson say he agrees with the plan, but otherwise is suspiciously quiet. (And no, I don't expect Walker to micromanage every department in the County, but after a series of articles, I would expect some sort of statement.)

I guess he is to busy trying to figure out how to spin the fact that he is about to break his promise not to run for another term as County Executive, by announcing his campaign kick-off, maybe as soon as this week.

Romney, Quotas, Atheists

by folkbum

Via Kevin Drum, I see that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may well believe in quotas:

I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including qualified Americans of the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters, given his position that "jihadism" is the principal foreign policy threat facing America today. He answered, "…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration."

Kevin Drum adds,

What's really telling about this is that you can almost see the gears turning in his brain when he came up with this answer. Obviously he had to say "no," because he knows that the Republican base would go nuts over the idea of a Muslim in his cabinet. But he can't just say that, can he? So his Bain-trained analytic mind went searching for a plausible excuse and the first thing that popped out of the wetware was a numerical explanation: (a) minorities deserve cabinet positions in proportion to their population, (b) one cabinet position is 5% of all cabinet positions, (c) therefore only groups with at least 15 million members are "justified" in getting one, (d) Muslims aren't even close to that, so (e) no dice. However, since they do make up about 2% of the population, they certainly qualify for 2% of all the lower level positions.

This naturally led me to wonder about Romney myself. There are between 20 million and 30 million people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or otherwise unaffiliated with any faith in this country, depending on whose estimates you believe. That means Mitt Romney, with his apparent religious quota system, ought to appoint one or two cabinet officials who claim no faith.

Do you think that would ever happen? Of course not--Romney is probably less likely to put an atheist in the cabinet than he is to appoint a Muslim. And that's not just because Romney is who he is--the same is likely true for pretty much all the Republicans, and, for that matter, most of the Democrats. Remember, atheist was at the very, very bottom of a presidential preference poll--people would be more likely to vote for a 72-year-old black gay Jewish woman than they would an atheist. (Note: That Gallup survey seems to have not included Muslims. Why is that?)

Which brings me back around the inevitable question raised every time this subject comes up. What is it with people of no or indeterminate faith that kills our chances with the American people? I could never win an election not because I'm a fat, bald liberal, but because I won't end every speech with "God bless America" or take my oath of office on a Bible.

So how about it, readers: Would it take a quota system for you to put an atheist in your cabinet? And be honest: Would you vote atheist over Christian (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc.)? And please explain your answers. Complete sentences preferred.

Ohio

by folkbum

Some random observations after a weekend with my family in, as you might have presumed from the title of this post, Ohio.

• For all the whinging in the TaxHellOsphere about Wisconsin's gas taxes, I paid $2.94 a gallon in Ohio, for the cheap stuff. (I paid $2.99 in Milwaukee before I left, and both $2.99 and $2.95 in Indiana.)
  
  
• My Father: "Do you think people will vote for Hillary thinking Bill will really be in charge?"
  Me: "Well, didn't people vote against Bill thinking Hillary would really be in charge?"
  
  
• Not only is my parents' house just minutes away from the world's largest half-Jesus (someone who lacked the proper reverence made a YouTube), but on this trip we were encouraged to visit the most popular tourist attraction in nearby Butler County.
  
  Said attraction turns out to be a grocery store, Jungle Jim's International Market. Jungle Jim's proudly advertises that it has the best restrooms in America, as judged by bestrestrooms.com. As a frequent user of public restrooms (I have the world's smallest bladder--they've done studies!), I have to say I've seen better.
  
  I was, however, impressed by the monorail. Yes, the monorail.

Regular(ish) blogging should resume this week(ish).

Will Health Care Matter In 2008?

by capper

Anyone who dabbles in politics has heard of John Zogby and his firm, Zogby International. Some people like his work, some don't. Either way, it is hard to deny that his polls can and do have some influence on elections and political matters across the country.

One would also have to presume that he has a sense of what way the country trends in regards to political opinions and social issues. That is why I found myself reading an article he wrote, which appeared in the Waupaca County Post. His article starts out with a very brief study of the situation the country was in when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his first election as the President. He also compares this to when Ronald Reagan first became President. His point was that the people felt that the country "had gone haywire" and needed a change.

Zogby then goes on about the situation the country finds itself in today and what it might import (emphasis mine):

When Americans identify the issues they consider most important, they talk about Iraq, but that may be less of an issue next year than the combination of the economy and health care. Health care is the number one economic issue in the country today and health insurance is what separates many Americans between middle-class status and near poverty. In the past, Americans have not voted with a sense of urgency about health care. In 2008, with one in three voters who presently have employer-based insurance afraid of losing some or all of it, they will vote for universal health coverage.

There are other issues. Immigration is very intense. So is science -- in the form of global warming and stem cell research. But overriding all of these issues will be the question of whether government can restore confidence. Can it get people to believe that it’s up to the task of insuring safety and security and meeting human needs?

This flies in the face of what many conservative pundits and bloggers would have you believe. The current health care system is not working, no matter how much they would have us believe otherwise. If nothing is done, and status quo is maintained, there will be an economic impact greater than anything felt recently. And there is the obvious personal impact. What extremes will people be willing to go to, if it means the life and health of themselves and/or their loved ones?

It would seem so obvious that the writing is on the wall, but instead of accepting the inevitable and trying to influence to be result to have the greatest impact for all, the conservatives continue to shut their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and scream, "This isn't happening." As if this would make the problem go away. That plan stopped working in 2006. It sure isn't going to work any better in 2008.

I haven't bought anything yet today

by folkbum

Sleeping in helped. Who gets up at 4 AM? I mean, to do anything besides blog? Happy day after Thanksgiving. Enjoy the weekend!

Gift Suggestion

by capper

For those of you who, like me, hate the crowds of shoppers that will be out tomorrow, there is an online suggestion.

For the computer geek in your life, whether they use PC or Apple, there is the automated monitor cleaner.

The best part is that it's free. Free is good.

What's The Story Of These Two Stories? Part II

by capper

As I pointed out in my previous post, there are two stories in this morning's paper that piqued my interest. In the other post, I spoke of some seeming inconsistencies in the articles. Now, I would like to point out the ramifications of the articles.

I have already commented on then three, now four, correctional officers that have been targeted by Scott Walker as scapegoats for an escaped inmate who killed someone. The officers that have been charged have defended themselves by stating that there was no incompetence or lack of discipline, but they were following established protocol and are working under severe conditions due to the extreme understaffing at HOC and CCC. It should also be noted that the union has also raised concerns about the conditions at CCC, but these concerns were always ignored. Walker dismissed these reasons and the officers are suspended without pay until they go before a panel of Walker appointees, who will most likely fire them arbitrarily.

As a disclaimer, I would point out that I personally knew and worked with three of the four officers that have been suspended so far. I believe them to be honest and dedicated officers.

Now for the two articles from today's paper.

One deals with another inmate that escaped from CCC and was arrested by a sheriff's deputy. Milwaukee County Sheriff Clarke criticized CCC and HOC for allowing this inmate to have work release privileges in the first place, given his felony record. For the record, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Clarke.

It would make sense that the officers that are remaining at HOC and CCC are going to be busting their butts to toe the line while they know that the public and Walker is going to be scrutinizing them more closely for a while. This is just human nature. (Oh, I know, some on the right will automatically figure it's just another case of inept county workers, but those same people tend to not to want to show a lot of thought before opening their mouths anyway.) What this would indicate is that there is something systematically wrong with the program to have these many escapes.

The second article discusses the fact that inmates are allowed to stay up until 3:30 a.m. on holidays and weekends. It was this way when I worked there years ago, and that is when many fights would happen. I thought it was the norm across the state, until I read the article. The article points out that the state norm is much earlier, at either 10 or 11 p.m.

The article also points out that the union tried to fight this late night policy and it was rebuffed:

(President of the correctional officers union Kevin) Schoofs filed a grievance last summer over the practice, saying House of Correction and work-release inmates should have mandatory bedtimes of no later than 10 p.m. The complaint was dismissed by the department managers, who called the late weekend and holiday hours a useful motivational tool.

The same as with the situation at CCC. But there's more:

Assistant Superintendent Willie Brisco said the late weekend hours practice goes back many years and probably has its roots in the days of the old county workhouse.

County officials apparently feel that workers are not supposed to follow established practice, but they can use it for their own defense. This makes them almost hypocritical enough for Jay's Thanksgiving Parade.

And as far as the leadership of these facilities, well, here is what the articles say about Superintendent Ron Malone, in the article about the escaped convict:

Ron Malone, superintendent of the work-release center, couldn’t be reached.

and in the late nights article:

Ron Malone, superintendent of the House of Correction and the work-release center at 1004 N. 10th St., declined to comment, saying he wasn't familiar with inmate hours.

So the superintendent is either missing in action or doesn't know what is going on in his own facilities? And yet they blame the workers, who are trying to do the best that they can, with what they have to work with, which isn't much.

I would hope that Scott Walker, who has been silent during these new events, will now stop doing the politically convenient, but dishonest thing. After all, even the internal investigator couldn't state that she comprehensively investigated the matter due to the arbitrary deadline put forth by Walker. I would hope that he recognizes the systematic flaws created by poor administration and understaffing, and address those issues in a responsible manner, and reinstate the fired officers that he has scapegoated, with back pay and an apology.

But I won't hold my breath for him to do it.

What's The Story Of These Two Stories? Part I

by capper

In today's MSJ, there are two articles, both written by Steve Schultze, and both dealing with the Milwaukee County House of Correction (HOC) and the Community Correctional Center (CCC) where they house the work release inmates. Both are in the main news section. One article is titled " Lights out for inmates is 3:30". This one was located on the front page and continued on the inside, on page 18. The second article is also on page 18. This article is titled "Clarke rips release plan after arrest".

Both articles caught my eye, due to the fact that I used to work there. I have also been following the story of the four corrections officers who were targeted by Scott Walker for termination. As I read both articles, I found that there were two areas of interest. One was the implications of the story, which I will cover in my next post. The other area was some of the inconsistencies in the two stories.

The main story was about how inmates at HOC and CCC are allowed to stay up until 3:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays, which apparently is unique to the state. All other correctional facilities have lights out at 10 p.m. The part I want to point out is when Mr. Schultze speaks to he superintendent of the HOC and CCC, Ron Malone:

Ron Malone, superintendent of the House of Correction and the work-release center at 1004 N. 10th St., declined to comment, saying he wasn't familiar with inmate hours.

While in the second article, which is about another escaped inmate from CCC, we see this:

Ron Malone, superintendent of the work-release center, couldn't be reached.

Did he speak to Malone, or didn't he? Or did he speak to Malone on one occasion and tried to make contact again? If this is the case, why wasn't that point clarified?

Also in the body of the second article, we have another seeming contradiction. First, Mr. Schultze writes:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. criticized the county’s work-release program after deputies arrested a man Tuesday night who had left the downtown Community Correctional Center without authorization. Clarke said 41-year-old Kenneth D. Glenn should have been excluded from the work-release program based on his history of six felony convictions.

Note the verbs criticized and said. As Jay would teach us, those are action verbs, which would indicated that Clarke was present during these actions, or at least in direct contact with the reporter. But the last sentence of the same article reads:

Clarke was not available for comment Wednesday, said spokeswoman Kim Brooks.

Now, I realize Clarke probably did the original criticism through a press release. But I can't but think that it would make the article seem less self-contradictory if this was mentioned. But since it wasn't, and being right next to the first article, it would make it seem like sloppy journalism, or sloppy editing.

By no means should this critique be construed as maligning Mr. Schultze's personal or journalistic integrity, but I must point out that the inconsistencies between the two stories and in the same story, makes it more suspect to skepticism. I recognize that there may be some logical rationale on why these articles appear this way, but without knowing that rationale, one can only wonder, and be wary.

Another odd part to this whole thing is that when I went to write this post, I had to dig around in the archives to find the second story, even though it was just published today.