DISCOURAGING: Antitrust actions led to a major breakup in 1984 and tremendous economic losses

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

https://cordcuttersnews.com/att-marks-150th-anniversary/

AT&T Marks 150th Anniversary as It Shuts Down the Traditional Phone Lines That Made It What It Is Today
By Luke Bouma
on February 25, 2026

*** begin quote ***

Government intervention shaped AT&T’s trajectory in the mid-20th century. Antitrust actions led to a major breakup in 1984, dividing the company into regional operating companies known as the Baby Bells, while AT&T retained long-distance services and equipment manufacturing. Over the subsequent decades, the company navigated deregulation and competition, reacquiring several of its former subsidiaries and expanding into wireless and broadband. Notable developments included the first satellite telephone call in 1962, the implementation of the 911 emergency system in 1968, and the historic call to astronauts on the moon in 1969. In the 1970s, AT&T pioneered fiber-optic cables using advanced lasers and glass fibers, setting the stage for high-speed data transmission.

*** end quote ***

Silently, Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats transformed the old MaBell from a “widows and orphans” stock into a national disaster.  

Maybe it was due for an overhaul but the social and economic cost were staggering. 

Personally, I did ok but I lost a “career” and my Mom lost millions in her stock and savings.  

Many old folks beleived the company’s paternalistic promises to their own detriment. 

Saddest of all was the loss of Bell Labs.  It was a scientific miracle for America.  It was shattered by politicians and bureaucrats who could not see its value to the nation.

So sad.

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RANT: Three US service members killed

Monday, March 2, 2026

https://nypost.com/2026/03/01/world-news/three-us-service-members-killed-5-seriously-wounded-in-operation-epic-fury/?lctg=6080ba40747925275a09dcd3

Three US service members killed, 5 seriously wounded in Operation Epic Fury
By Patrick Reilly
Published March 1, 2026, 10:12 a.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

It’s not clear where the service members were killed.

Iran has attacked US bases across the Middle East in response to the strikes that wiped out much of the Iranian leadership — including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

*** end quote ***

I’m waiting for details.

I hope someone will supply a really <synonym for the act of procreation in real time> good reason why three souls had to die.

And, it better not be because Israel needs “leadership change” in Iran.

I’ve yet to see a bad guy “replaced” with a better guy.

Better the devil you know than the one you don’t.

The Israel lobby seems to dictate to the USA.  That has to stop!

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INSPIRATIONAL: Women’s History Month 2026?

Sunday, March 1, 2026

When Is Women’s History Month 2026?

Women’s History Month has been celebrated every March since it was officially recognized by U.S. Congress in 1987. This date coincides with International Women’s Day, which falls on Saturday, March 8, 2026.

Women’s History Month 2026 will begin on Sunday, March 1st, and conclude on Tuesday, March 31st.

What Are 5 Facts About Women’s History Month?

  1. It started as a single day: Women’s History Month originated as a single Women’s History Day in 1978 in Sonoma County, California, before expanding into a week and eventually a month.
  2. The first official Women’s History Month was in 1987: After years of advocacy, Congress declared March as Women’s History Month in 1987.
  3. Women’s History Month has inspired similar initiatives worldwide: While it began in the United States, countries like Canada and the UK now celebrate their own versions, highlighting the global importance of recognizing women’s contributions.
  4. The month highlights women from all walks of life: Women’s History Month doesn’t only honor well-known female figures – it also celebrates everyday women who have made meaningful contributions to their communities and industries.
  5. Presidents issue annual proclamations: Since 1988, every U.S. president has issued a proclamation recognizing Women’s History Month and its significance.

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ECONOMICS: A great example of “mal-investment”!

Saturday, February 28, 2026

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-15587165/inside-eerie-abandoned-hotel-spain-millions-demolish.html

Inside the eerie abandoned hotel in Spain that will now take millions to demolish – and the scary story behind it
By JOWENA RILEY, TRAVEL WRITER
Published: 20:15 EST, 24 February 2026 | Updated: 20:15 EST, 24 February 2026

*** begin quote ***

A beachfront hotel in Spain that has been lying in ruin for over 50 years has been earmarked for demolition – a project that is expected to cost taxpayers €2.3 million (£2 million).

Hotel Añaza – known locally as the ‘Ghost Hotel’ – has stood as an urban eyesore for over five decades on the coast of Acorán, just south of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The 22-storey Y-shaped structure, first constructed in 1973, is one of the most notorious abandoned landmarks in the Canary Islands – not just for its haunting appearance, but for the dark history of five lives lost within its walls.

*** end quote ***

I have no idea of the total cost of the loss.  Aside from the demolition and construction, all the costs should include the hopes and dreams of the local population.   The investors take a hair cut; no sympathy there.  But where are the insurers and performance bonds?  Of course, the Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats pay no price.  If anything they claim “successful” regualtion for getting rid of an eyesore and hazard.

Wonder how this will become DJT’s fault?

Argh!

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SECURITY: The old style secondary security authorization questions are dumb

Friday, February 27, 2026

I’ve often heard people struggle with the old style secondary security authorization questions.  You know: “What’s your favoite color”, or pets name, or school street.

I, long ago, decided that it was a “stupid control”.  So, in my passwrd manager, I’d record the questions and give absurd answers.  So, “what’s your favorite color”, became red158, pet’s name, red247, and street, red532.

Solved that problem.  

I still object to 2FA that rely on an SMS message and prefer Google Authenticator.  

But what do I know.

And, I don’t care for PASSKEYS either.  Not good for sites where I may have multiple ids or different Users.

Argh!

I also don’t like using my email for a User id.

Argh!

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Individual responsibility with profit motives can more correctly ensure that capital infrastructure gets maintained

Thursday, February 26, 2026

https://51st.news/potomac-spill-dc-trump-emergency-disaster/

After the massive sewage spill into the Potomac, a shitload of questions remain

  • Meanwhile, Trump has waded into the debate, and Bowser asked to declare it a presidential emergency disaster.

Martin Austermuhle
February 19 2026 12:43 PM

*** begin quote ***

It was a month ago that a massive pipe running from the Virginia suburbs to the Blue Plains Advanced Water Treatment Plant in D.C. ruptured, resulting in a massive discharge of raw sewage into the Potomac River.

The spill itself has been largely contained, but the political shitstorm has just started. Questions are flying about what D.C. Water knew about the condition of the aging sewage pipe, what the agency and local jurisdictions could have done to better notify the public, how long the repairs will take, and what the ultimate impact on the river might be.

*** end quote ***

As usual, the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.

Aging infrastructure and conflicting jurisdictions makes for great political headlines but does nothing, less than nothing, to get to the root of the problem.

Bottom line: Privitization at least demonstrates that individual responsibility with profit motives can more correctly ensure that capital infrastructure gets maintained.

Hopefully, “We, The Sheeple” will recognize the villians in this drama.

One can complain about HOAs but for the most part they seem to —  for the most part —  can manage their infrastructure.  Imagine it is the “solution” to Gooferment boondoggles?

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Time to shutdown the FBI

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Report: The FBI Bent Its Own Rules To Spy on 1,100 ‘Sensitive’ Targets
Opening investigations requires evidence, so the feds created “assessments.”
J.D. Tuccille | 2.16.2026 7:00 AM

*** begin quote ***

The FBI has frequently been caught spying on Americans. It’s obvious the feds are dedicated to continued domestic snooping, even if that requires working around restrictions on their activities.

*** end quote ***

What else needs to be said?

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INTERESTING: About preventing an American totalitarianism?

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

https://www.malone.news/p/book-review-22-cells-in-nuremberg?publication_id=583200&post_id=188831026&isFreemail=true&r=3snn7d&triedRedirect=true

Book Review: 22 Cells In Nuremberg A Psychiatrist Examines the Nazi Criminals
Dr. Douglas M. Kelly’s psychological analysis that drives Sony Pictures’ Groundbreaking Docudrama
Dr. Robert W. Malone
Feb 23, 2026

*** begin quote ***

His four prescriptions for preventing an American totalitarianism are: universal and unrestricted voting rights; maximal voter participation; refusal to vote for politicians who exploit racial and religious divisions; and fundamental educational reform aimed at producing citizens capable of critical thought rather than emotional susceptibility. He acknowledges that these are simple to describe and extraordinarily difficult to achieve. His final note is not optimistic so much as it is unsentimental: the choice belongs to citizens, individually, and the alternative to making it wisely is visible in the rubble of Europe.

*** end quote ***

I am going to watch that Nuremberg Netflix movie and it may induce me to read the book.

Not that I have any way of influencing the future.  Maybe this post will encourage others.

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ConspiracyTheories: “Operation Sea-Spray” tested germ warfare on San Fran?

Monday, February 23, 2026

FROM TWITTER / X

.<>

VisionaryVoid
@VisionaryVoid
·

*** begin quote ***

In 1950, the United States government launched a secret biological attack on its own citizens—and for 20 years, they didn’t tell a soul.

It was a crisp September morning in San Francisco when a US Navy ship began spraying a massive, invisible cloud of bacteria into the fog just outside the Golden Gate Bridge.

This wasn’t a foreign enemy; it was the US military. Over the course of six days, they released Serratia marcescens and Bacillus globigii—two pathogens chosen specifically because they were thought to be “harmless.” The goal was to track how a biological weapon would spread through a major American city.

The experiment was a terrifying success. The bacteria swept through the city’s microclimates, infiltrating every neighborhood, school, and hospital.

By the end of the week, nearly all of San Francisco’s 800,000 residents had inhaled millions of bacterial spores. The military monitored the spread using 43 sampling stations, proving that a single release could effectively infect an entire metropolitan area.

But there was a problem with the “harmless” theory. Within days of the spraying, a local hospital saw an unprecedented outbreak of rare urinary tract infections.

Eleven people were hospitalized with serious complications. One man, Edward Nevin, a retired pipefitter recovering from surgery, died three weeks later after the bacteria reached his heart.

The military kept the data classified, and the public remained completely unaware that they had been used as lab rats in a simulated doomsday scenario.

It wasn’t until 1976, during a Senate subcommittee hearing, that the truth of “Operation Sea-Spray” finally emerged, forever shattering the illusion of domestic safety during the Cold War.

*** end quote ***

I never heard of this one BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), I’m not surprised. Are you?

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SECURITY: “Wo sind Ihre Papiere?” – Make the universal identifier to NOTHING!

Sunday, February 22, 2026

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/all-u-s-social-security-numbers-may-need-to-be-changed-following-a-massive-breach-that-is-already-being-investigated-as-a-national-threat/27158/?utm_source=tldrinfosec

By ECONEWS
Published On: February 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM

All US Social Security numbers may need to be changed following a massive breach that is already being investigated as a national threat (4 minute read)

*** begin quote ***

A whistleblower alleges a federal tech team improperly cloned the master Social Security database into a poorly governed cloud, potentially exposing rich identity data on 300+ million Americans and enabling long‑term fraud. Lawmakers have demanded criminal investigations. Officials insist that core systems remain secure.

*** end quote ***

Might be a blessing in disguise.  Time to change from SSN as the universal identifier to NOTHING!

Anything that uses SSN should be eliminated.  

We don’t need a Gooferment controlled registry.  Maybe I’ve watched too many Nazis in movies demanding “Wo sind Ihre Papiere?”  “Where is your papers?” There doesn’t seem to be a over whelming Gooferment “need” for such!

Maybe this is a perfect opportunity to end social security number, Social Security Insurance itself, and ALL the Gooferment welfare programs that hang off of it.

Time to cut the Gordian Knot!

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