February 26, 2025- Back in 1978, over 900 people died at the Jonestown Compound, Guyana, many after drinking a cyanide-laced punch. It was administered at the instruction of cult leader Jim Jones, who himself committed suicide, after watching his followers die en masse. This horror gave rise to the expression “drinking the Kool-aid”, in reference to a sizable group of people accepting a leader’s propaganda, without question. It has been directed at Leftists by Rightists, and vice versa. It is itself reflective of unquestioning loyalty-to an opposing leader.

Every household needs deep cleaning, at least once or twice a year. The larger the house, the deeper the cleaning that would seem to be in order. In the case of large operations, it means review of procedures and of staff performance. It cannot, however, be done in a willy-nilly manner.

No concerted governmental action that is done, within the bounds of law, is ever totally off-base. To wit: Over 100 employees of our national intelligence services have been dismissed, after having been found to have engaged in illicit messaging. That this behaviour puts our nation’s security at risk is quite obvious to the average citizen-and thus justifies a reasonable and systematic review of agency and department staff performance. That review is being directed by a seasoned military commander, who is now a civilian. So far, the review looks to be quite fair and unbiased. As a law-abiding citizen, I trust that this review and the resulting corrective actions, will be emulated by all those department heads who claim to be interested in rooting out corruption.

Just so we’re clear, I prefer water and nothing stronger than coffee, in any case. Be discerning.