August 2022 – If there is something

People are talking about all the times they were “quiet baked” at work, and the internet is abuzz

Quiet quitting, quiet firing, quiet hiring, it seems you can’t pick up the internet these days without reading about how the workplace is being transformed in very subtle ways by Millenials and Gen Z.

Sensing a change in attitudes about how we think and talk about work, Gen Xers are also beginning to unburden themselves regarding the unspoken practices they’ve brought to their working routine.

“I’ve been ‘quiet baked’ at work for decades,” said Roger Ambrose, a line cook at a very upscale Chicago eatery. “I used to wait until my shift was over to fire up a bowl, but eventually I just said, ‘fuck that.’ I need to establish a more healthy work/life balance.”

So Roger started getting baked before work, at break and sometimes even in the restroom. But rather than ask his supervisor for permission, Roger took it upon himself to quietly carve out a little time for himself to attend to his mental health.

“Well, the truth is, my boss was getting super stoned as well. I mean, he was so bloodshot and pie-eyed, I just figured he’d never notice if I snuck a toke or two,” Roger said.

“‘Quiet baking’ is a rejection of extreme ‘hustle culture,’” said leadership expert and Tik Tok guru Emily Armstrong. “These workers are turning their back on the notion that if they go above and beyond their regular duties, then they will be rewarded with raises, bonuses and promotions.”

“That sounds about right,” said Roger. “Often I make sure I get a little ‘quiet compensation.’ As long as I get the waitstaff ‘quiet baked,’ they don’t notice if a few bucks go silently missing from the tip jar.”

Murder Sheet podcast throws pretty big matzah ball out there regarding Delphi investigation

This week’s Murder Sheet podcast details the FBI’s gross mishandling of allegations against Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by agents working out of its Indianapolis field office. These are some of the same agents who were on the scene in Delphi at the very earliest stages of the investigation into the murder of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. According to details released in the podcast, a law enforcement source revealed that “the FBI was in charge of obtaining relevant surveillance from local establishments.” These establishments included a Marathon gas station. At the 31:16 mark, podcasters drop this large, steaming matzah ball into the proceedings: “As it turned out, our sources tell us, Kegan Kline had searched for the location of the Marathon Gas station in Delphi on the day of the murders.” The Murder Sheet podcasters go on to detail how the FBI failed to obtain the surveillance footage from the Marathon Gas station, thus eliminating any opportunity to discover whether or not it contained any footage relevant to the investigation. Could someone resembling Kline or bridge guy have appeared on that footage?

As if Kegan Kline didn’t have enough explaining to do regarding the stack of “coincidences” linking him to Liberty German, or his strange and incriminating online behavior around the time of the murders, now we find out that he or his device is searching a Delphi location the day of the murders. Of course, there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation involving Kegan falling asleep super stoned and his Las Vegas buddy commandeering his device. It isn’t hard to imagine Kline spinning some improbable sequence of events. However, it would be interesting to know when on that day the search took place. Is the search done around the time of communication with Liberty German? Is the search done around the time of the murders? Could the search have been involved in the planning of the crime, or could it have been connected to the commission of the crime? Maybe it’s just a big nothing matzah ball.

It is still hard to imagine Kegan Kline as the perpetrator of these murders. He doesn’t resemble bridge guy and he appears incapable of the physicality required to carry out the attack. It seems more likely someone else is accessing his device, or he is conducting these incriminating communications and searches at the behest of another. Regardless, the more details that come out, the more it appears Kegan Kline is the key to unraveling this case and identifying bridge guy once and for all.

500 health experts sign letter urging public to eat more doughnuts

“A doughnut a day keeps the doctor away,” or at least that’s what hundreds of members of the American Public Health Association are saying in a letter aimed at preventing their colleague Dr. Leana Wen from speaking at their annual meeting. The health officials level a number of charges at Dr. Wen, but perhaps none so serious as being fatphobic, obeseaverse and chubby opposed.

The accusations refer to a tweet Wen wrote in March of 2021 thanking Krispy Kreme for promoting Covid vaccination, but questioning the health benefits of daily doughnut eating. Apparently, as transgressions go, doughnut shaming ranks right alongside not being enough of an anti-racist or anti-eugenicst, two other baseless charges leveled against Wen.

To reinforce their criticisms of Wen, the health experts went on to make a number of startling claims regarding the health benefits of daily doughnut eating. They claim that doughnut binging provides a comforting refuge from the harmful statements made by the likes of Wen and other hurtful word weaponizers like Joe Rogan. Also, a glazed yeast doughnut stuffed inside a properly fitted N-95 mask can provide additional protection against the BA.5 variant.

The signers of the letter are urging Wen to stay away from the conference and to use the time to undergo doughnut sensitivity training and to educate herself regarding the untold health benefits of daily doughnut consumption. “We’re recommending Dr. Wen do the work at obtaining a more “holistic” understanding of the rich, flaky and frosted benefits to be gained from a proper relationship to eating a doughnut everyday,” read the statement.

Elevated elsewhere

Last Sunday our church congregation honored two of its recent high school graduates as they prepared to embark this fall on their college careers. As the worship service opened, one of the college-bound duo, along with her younger sister, performed a selection on piano. Although I am by no means a connoisseur of classical music, I recognized the piece to be a Chopin composition. The young woman performed it expertly. The piece itself is quite beautiful and moving just to sit and listen to a recorded version, but I have to admit to being even more transported by the music upon hearing it performed live in the church sanctuary. In addition to the undeniable beauty of the piece, something about the proximity of hearing the notes and chords struck and feeling the vibrations emanating from that wooden box elevated the experience considerably. It would not be an exaggeration to say that as the notes filled the sanctuary, I could feel some part of myself lifted upward, taking its place among the sounds reverberating in the space.

I can’t speak for others in the congregation. Their experience may have been quite different from mine. However, the round of applause that followed the performance, a rarity at these gatherings, indicated that others were quite taken by the music as well. For much of the pandemic, these services were conducted via Zoom. Trying to simulate a church service over the internet imposes a number of limitations. People gather together to worship, pray, fellowship, make music and sing. Much of that cannot be accomplished via a video/audio link with each person or family stuck inside their box, set apart from the whole. The whole is important. It is vital that individuals gather together to create the body that is offering worship, song and praise. Anyone who has ever been to a large sporting event, and given their attention to cheering and supporting their team, has felt the energy or spirit that is generated by being among the body of supporters. As fun as it is to watch a game on tv or gather with a group of people on the internet, none of it can approximate the experience of gathering together in the same physical location with the collective attention focused on a singular goal or purpose.

Which is why It strikes me as something of a fool’s errand that these tech developers are working so earnestly at creating virtual spaces to simulate physical reality or provide a “better” alternative to it. In the process of duplication, some part of what is being copied is always lost. In the music example, a digital recording is always going to fail to capture the fullness and completeness of the sound. No doubt they will try to simulate a concert experience where you or your avatar can be present at the performance of a famous band or a symphony orchestra. Duplicating the immense complexity of that kind of live performance would be impossible. Both the physics and the previously mentioned nonphysical qualities would preclude it. But, of course, that is not the intention of the techsters. Their aim is to get users to expect less, to be satisfied with a dumbed-down version of reality. They reduce people to an avatar with a flag or a couple of symbols next to their name and then corral them into a virtual space lacking in richness and complexity, a realm they control where the outcomes are predictable. Far from embracing human potential and possibility, the technobrats are engaged in a kind of reductionism. I’ll stick with being elevated elsewhere.

Snapchat attacks continue unabated

Anyone who has followed the Delphi murder case and is familiar with the Kegan Kline police interview transcript might understandably wonder what the hell is going on with these social media messaging apps. According to media outlets, Snapchat and Kik were the preferred avenues for Kegan Kline to connect with underage victims and solicit illegal images. Well, it turns out Kline is not the only predator who has had success utilizing these platforms to victimize children. In fact, the modus operandi is so common in the State of Indiana alone, that one wonders if there isn’t a playbook these criminal deviants follow.

A June press release from the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana offers up two such graduates of the Snapchat and Kik school of child exploitation and victimization. The June 17, 2022 release titled Two Predators Sentenced to Federal Prison for Sexually Exploiting Four Children They met on Social Media Platforms reads in part:

“INDIANAPOLIS – Thomas James Israel, 46, of Ft. Wayne, and Max Schafer, 31, of Brownsburg, were each sentenced to federal prison for their role in exploiting four children between October 2019 and August 2020. One of the victims was exploited by both Israel and Schafer during separate incidents. Israel previously pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child sexual abuse material. On November 15, 2021, Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced Israel to twenty-five years in federal prison. Late yesterday, Schafer pleaded guilty to receipt of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child sexual abuse material. District Judge James R. Sweeney II sentenced Schafer to over fourteen years (175 months) in federal prison.

“According to court documents, between April 2020 and June 2020, Israel met his first minor victim, who was 14, using online applications such as Omegle and Meetme. Using Snapchat and Kik, Israel persuaded this victim to meet with him in person, then forced the victim into sadomasochistic sexual abuse, including forceful oral sex and assault. Israel recorded the sexual abuse on his mobile phone and later sent the video to the victim.

“Israel met a second minor victim using Snapchat and persuaded the victim to send him explicit videos and photos of herself. When this victim was between 14 and 16 years old, she sent her minor boyfriend sexually explicit images and videos of herself. Without her consent, the boyfriend disseminated the images and videos over the internet. Israel downloaded those images and videos onto his online storage account and viewed them for a sexual purpose.

“Israel met his third minor victim, who was between 14 and 16 years’ old, over Omegle. Knowing that the victim suffered from mental health issues, Israel induced her to produce child sex abuse material, and to sell the images and videos to others online. Israel took a percentage of the fees and paid the victim by sending her gift cards from Victoria’s Secret.

“According to court documents, Schafer also met Israel’s first minor victim using Omegle. Knowing that the minor victim was only fourteen years old, Schafer met and engaged in sexually explicit conduct with the victim. Schafer also persuaded the victim to send him the video that Israel produced, depicting Israel’s violent sexual abuse of the child.

“Schafer also met his second minor victim, who was 16, using Omegle and Snapchat. Schafer persuaded this girl to send him sexually explicit images and videos of herself for his sexual purpose.

“Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Indianapolis Field Office made the announcement.

“The FBI Violent Crime Task Force investigated the case. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department also provided valuable assistance. As part of Israel’s sentence, Judge Pratt ordered that he be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for life following his release from prison and pay $16,000 in restitution to the victims. As part of Schafer’s sentence, Judge Sweeney ordered that he be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 40 years following his release from prison and pay $6,000 in restitution to the victims. Both Israel and Schafer must also register as sex offenders wherever they live, work, or go to school, as required by law.”

Here again, we have yet another example of the social media apps Snapchat and Kik facilitating a connection between predators and their victims for the purpose of exploitation and abuse. As we saw with Kegan Kline, who quite openly and brazenly attempted to victimize children using the online profile Emily Anne 45, often the profile ruse is dropped while the predator looks for a reaction to suggestions of sexual activity between the minor and a much older adult. In one interaction, Kline solicits images and information on behalf of his middle-aged father, which eventually leads to a Skype call taking place. How is it that these messaging apps, for all their sophistication, allow these clearly illegal conversations to slip by without any red flags going up?

The cases of Israel and Schafer provide a further glimpse into the despicable world these predators inhabit and may even indicate a level of coordination between them. Israel is using the social media apps Snapchat and Kik to solicit sexual abuse material and arrange meetings to inflict violent abuse and produce CSAM. He appears to possess an extensive knowledge of ways to choose the most vulnerable and inflict his sadistic abuse on them for pleasure and profit. For his part, Schafer is abusing at least one of the same victims as Israel, and he’s aware of the video Israel produced with that victim.

It is difficult to discern with certainty from the press release, but is it the case that these predators are communicating and coordinating with one another on some level? Are they “sharing” victims? Israel targets a teen who has already been victimized by her boyfriend. Schafer targets one of Israel’s victims. It certainly appears that, at least at some level, these predators are loosely associated. It is more than just the case that they are swimming in the same waters, but that they are exchanging victims and probably even exchanging information on how to exploit the vulnerabilities of these victims. Israel produced a video that was in demand. He also coerced one of his victims to make videos to sell for his monetary benefit. Obviously, there is a market for these videos. We know these predators exchange videos, but are they also exchanging information with designs on inflicting abuse? Could Kegan Kline, as seemingly “a member in good standing” in one of these pedophile circles, have passed on information to a member with extremely violent intentions, who turned around and used that knowledge to carry out his twisted fantasies on two innocent children of Delphi. It appears increasingly likely.

Robbie Dupree picked up Friday night attempting to “steal away”

Recording artist Robbie Dupree and an unidentified female companion were picked up outside of Hot Rod’s Bar & Grill attempting to “steal away into the night.” It was the fourth time this year Mr. Dupree has been detained by authorities and one of countless offenses dating back to 1980.

“We received a call about 11:27 p.m. that Mr. Dupree and another female patron were witnessed exiting the premises of Hot Rod’s in an attempt to steal away. Mr. Dupree was stopped by a patrol car as he attempted to exit the parking lot of the establishment. When confronted by officers over his actions, Mr. Dupree replied only, ‘I know it ain’t right,’” said a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department.

The unidentified woman who was later released by authorities said she drank several cocktails with Mr. Dupree over the course of the evening. “I thought he was nice. He just said ‘show me what I want to know’ and later he was like ‘show me what you came here for.’ I didn’t think anything of it. I had no idea we were fixing to steal away into the night,” the woman said.

For Mr. Dupree, this is just the latest in a series of arrests dating back to the 1980’s. “Robbie Dupree has been on our radar for a number of years,” said Sheriff Michael McDonald. “Rest assured, there will be no second chances tonight.”