February 7

We have in-and-out sun and on-and-off snow. Thankfully it isn't sub-zero cold. I have begun to take a look at my seeds and planning when to start them under the grow lights upstairs. Target date for starting that process is the second week of March.

Watching the Iowa situation and its failed app for delivering the vote tallies I suddenly had a semi-deja vu moment. It reminded me of the Boeing 737 Max failure: software no one tested thoroughly and inadequate training of the people who would be using it. At least Iowa wasn't a lethal failure. But in the back of my mind I can't help thinking that those failures are more significant and, evidently Ives Smith at Naked Capitalism thinks so also:

On one level, this is an illustration of America’s descent into banana republic status. Pundits and the media keep reinforcing American exceptionalist fantasies, our brand fumes of vaunted democracy, yet we can’t even run elections competently. Is is just the grifting, that introducing more tech creates more opportunities for vendor enrichment? Or is it yet more proof that a lot of people in charge really hate democracy and are at best indifferent to doing things right?

She labels the syndrome "elite incompetence." But it seems to permeate our society and economy. I suggest you read accounts of the problems with the F-35 which is the most complex and most expensive weapons system in history and doesn't adequately do any of the functions the military wanted it to do. Or the new Littoral Combat Ship line which has been a gold-plated problem from the beginning. Tom Englehardt recently posted a piece by William Astore which argues the Pentagon's real success is getting increasing funding in spite of a record of failure. I think he might be right. In the meantime our infrastructure is falling apart.