Don't Be A Dick.

The Irish Rover took to Facebook on Friday evening to shine a light on the 800-gorilla in the room.

Speaking personally, this sentence stands out: "We hate having to be the mask police."

No kidding. If local and state government possessed an iota of cojones, and they don't, then we'd have a bit of help via enforced mandates, and not have to take time from our own work to apply the government's toothless edicts for it.

But that's the reality of two-party political cowardice.

The Rover's testimony is first, and then a link to a very useful article titled, "Why the libertarians are foolish about face masks."

Business was pretty good today despite the weather, and we saw a lot of regulars, including some we hadn’t seen since the shutdown....a great day, right?

No. Today sucked.

Numerous guests ignored posted mask policy (including seating themselves without masks and creating a scene when asked to leave), and many refused to comply with polite requests to wear the masks when staff approached to serve them.

This isn’t about people who forget to put the masks on...we truly appreciate all of you who are trying to learn the new normal!

We’re talking about people who are openly defiant. Who stuff the mask into a pocket or zip it into a purse. Who laugh and say they’ll “try.”

We hate having to be the mask police. It’s exhausting (and costly...one table walked out cursing at us, and without paying for their drinks). But we are trying to protect the health of our staff and guests.

What’s really upsetting, though, is the complete lack of concern for the health of the people trying to serve you. It’s demoralizing and dehumanizing, and it’s really hurts.

We love the restaurant business, but this is soul crushing. And it has us wondering why we are working so hard to keep going.

There is an incident recounted on local social media that may or may not be true, but it perfectly captures the attitude we encountered so many times today:

A woman enters an empty coffee shop, and, when asked by the barista to put on a mask, she replies:

“Why? There’s no one here”

The article's from the Financial Times, and you may not be able to read it without registering. In the event, allow my sole excerpt to tell the tale.

Why the libertarians are foolish about face masks, by Henry Mance (FT)

Wearing coverings is finally mandatory in England in shops as well as on public transport

Wearing a mask is an act of trust. It does not protect you — it protects others, and their masks protect you. The effect is likely to be small, but it is a sign of shared endeavour, an essential part of getting through this crisis. Just as no one is an atheist in a foxhole, no one is a libertarian in a pandemic.

Hilter Skilter: Here's the sum total of Facebook's non-explanation for censoring me last week.

It was Gwobbels whodunnit: Greetings from Facebook gaol, where I'm serving a sentence for being historically accurate.

Exactly how did my mention of the propaganda minister's family name violate Facebook's exceedingly vague "community standards"?

Cuz Big Brother Zuckerberg says so. In the absence of human contact, that's the best explanation I can find.

This article from March from Forbes goes further toward explaining why the mere mention of Goebbels merited intervention than anything Facebook has said to me, or intends to say.

Last month, a Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered that "despite promises of greater oversight... Facebook has continued to allow advertisers to target hundreds of thousands of users the social media firm believes are curious about topics such as 'Joseph Goebbels', 'Josef Mengele', 'Heinrich Himmler', the neo-nazi punk band Skrewdriver and Benito Mussolini’s long-defunct National Fascist Party."

Whatever. I'm a socialist, not a fascist, and I'm unrepentant. A big lie's still a big lie, eh? And when Jeff Gahan claims to be a street safety savior and Jeff Speck agrees, then that's a great big lie even by Gwobbles's standards.

The secrecy, maybe? "Something doesn’t feel right about David Jones’ group of Louisville powerbrokers."

Tell me if you've heard this one before.

Encroaching nausea as Insider Louisville tracks down Louisville's secretive power brokers, an "elite group of influencers."

Oh, look. How charming. The usual suspects, same old pillars and engorged oligarchs together again, in secret, to huff and puff and -- dear, could you fetch my pitchfork? Just in case One Southern Indiana's already played the copycat.

Gerth nails it.

Something doesn’t feel right about David Jones’ group of Louisville powerbrokers, by Joe Gerth (Louisville Courier Journal)

The group that David A. Jones Sr. brought together is impressive.

There are nearly 70 community leaders — from entrepreneurs to ecclesiastics (and a rabbi thrown in for good measure) — who have joined to address the problems that have held Louisville back for decades.

Good idea. Talented cast.

But something doesn't feel right about this.

It's instructive that Insider Louisville broke this story, and the Courier Journal gives credit where due. Let's hope the News and Tribune is reading.

The group operated in complete secrecy until Insider Louisville wrote about it earlier this week and said that Jones wouldn't turn over a list of members. He relented and gave Courier Journal a list of names the following day.

Encroaching nausea as Insider Louisville tracks down Louisville's secretive power brokers, an "elite group of influencers."

SCALA, not La Scala.

Oh, look. How charming. The usual suspects, same old pillars and engorged oligarchs together again, in secret, to huff and puff and -- dear, could you fetch my pitchfork? Just in case One Southern Indiana's already played the copycat.

By invitation only: Meet Louisville’s power brokers, by Caitlin Bowling, Boris Ladwig and Joe Sonka (Insider Louisville)

Part 1: How an elite group of influencers aims to solve the city’s most vexing issues, including JCPS

At invitation-only meetings during the last seven months, prominent Louisville power brokers from businesses, nonprofits and religious organizations have discussed issues including public safety, air service and — with recent urgency — the state’s potential intervention in or takeover of Jefferson County Public Schools.

The group of about 70 members — modeled after a similar organization in Nashville — has been operating largely under the radar until recently when multiple sources alerted Insider Louisville to its existence. In interviews with dozens of people over several weeks, Insider has learned more about the members, agenda and structure of this influential group.

Its very existence sheds light on how a determined coalition of private citizens can hone in on key issues hoping to expedite outcomes beyond the sphere of government, elected boards or traditional business groups.

In interviews with Insider, founders and members of the group — called the Steering Committee for Action on Louisville’s Agenda (SCALA) — described it as an effective way for “thought leaders” to come together to tackle some of the city’s major problems.

However, SCALA critics who recently learned of the group have blasted it as a covert and “nefarious” attempt by wealthy elites to undermine public education and the democratically elected local school board. Even though public education is a top three priority for SCALA members, the group has not extended an invitation to any current JCPS or public higher education executives.

SCALA is a nonprofit entity that was registered with the state in July by Humana founder David Jones Sr., who is listed on its board of directors along with Chuck Denny, the regional president for PNC Bank in Kentucky and Tennessee, and Sandra Frazier, chief executive of Tandem Public Relations.

Before I go any further, forget the pitchfork: QUICK, GATHER YOUR BUCKETS, PAILS AND BASINS -- LEFTOVER AIR SICKNESS BAGS TOO -- BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT TO GET NASTY.

It seems that one of SCALA's stalwarts is found in Webster's word book under "unctuous son-of-a-bitch."

(Ed Glasscock, chairman emeritus of Frost Brown Todd) told Insider that other SCALA members include Alice Houston, CEO of Houston Johnson; Jim Lancaster, CEO of Lantech; and Koleman Karleski, chairman of Cork Communications and former managing partner of Chrysalis Ventures, which Jones Jr. co-founded. None of the three could be reached.

Glasscock said SCALA represented a carryover from groups of local influencers who had used their expertise to bring about positive change in the community, from the merger of local and county government to construction of the KFC Yum! Center and the Ohio River Bridges Project.

“This is a continuation of some of those coalitions,” he said. “It’s a very progressive group trying to do important things.”

Yep, I definitely remember Glasscock from the bridges project.

Ed Glasscock. Progressive? You know, progressive just like Idi Amin.

Come to think of it, an opera link might soothe the savage turn toward socialism and redistribution.

Opera’s awful role models and the #MeToo moment (Prospero, at The Economist)

A typical work has as much sex and violence as “Game of Thrones”, but a less plausible plot. Should we expose our children to such filth?

 ... “How can I love an artform that is so consistently, insistently cruel to its female characters?” asks Charlotte Higgins in the Guardian, wondering if opera is “the most misogynistic art form”. She has a point. In the age of #MeToo, some directors have decided to adapt old plots to make them more female-friendly.

Hmm. Didn't work. Back to the pitchfork solution, but kudos to IL for the fine article.

Nicklies out, Samuels in at Bridges Coalition; lying expected to continue, perhaps more gently this time around.

Visiting the Bridges Coalition website, I'm reminded that history is littered with the remnants of "simple" truths. Truth seldom is simple, and almost never entirely painted in shades of black and white. The objective of any propagandistic entity like the Bridges Coalition is to simplify selling points to their bare essence, and repeat them tirelessly in the hope that no one will bother contesting their claims.

It helps to have a talented pitchman, and David Nicklies was anything but. Unctuous used car salesman smarmy, leveraged left and right, beholden to the crassest and best heeled interests in the metro area ... not really the ideal carnival barker for selling a product that almost no one in the vicinity views as necessary.

That's why I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news: Bill Samuels Jr. replacing David Nicklies as chairman of Bridges Coalition, by Ed Green at Business First.

The widely venerated Samuels may or may not survive a vote and occupy the position vacated by Nicklies. If he does, you can expect the legendary Makers Mark folksy aphorisms to become the new Bridges Coalition brand, replacing the "up yours, I'm David Nicklies - don't you know who I am?" approach.