Got an offer to ride along to Portland, OR, this afternoon to go shoot some mandarin ducks that are hanging out there... they're not native to North America, so these are "escapees" from a local breeder, most likely, but that doesn't make them any less gorgeous, and these two have obviously "gone native" and are living as wild ducks, along with many of their wood duck cousins. It's surprising how much the females resemble wood duck hens. The light was never very good - pretty overcast and dim by the time we got there, and by the time we folded up our tripods, I'd been shooting at ISO 3200 and still only getting 1/125 shutter speeds... definitely gonna go back when it's a bit brighter for more photos!

https://i.ibb.co/cY2jsKc/MG-3809-crop-sm.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/3FxM4f9/MG-3978-crop-sm.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/7QrxpLX/MG-4209-crop-sm.jpg

Schiff, and others like to trot out the "bureaucracy" and elevate them to exalted positions for hearings. They appear in their obligatory dark blue suits, white shirts, and "power" (red, blue) ties. They also may appear in three-piece suits wearing bow ties. They also may wear glasses so they may appear "cerebral", as well as presenting airs of superiority even over members of Congress.

They deign to hold no political bias, but it shows as they read prepared statements from large notebooks. They're the epitome of the gentrified "class" which graduated from one of the power universities (Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, etc.), and have been anointed into positions of power which eventually garner them the connections they seek to sustain that power. With the sustained power, the money then comes. They eventually leave government service for some think tank, or K Street lobbying firms. It's the "old boy" network personified. Comey, Mueller, Kent, Taylor, Brennan, and others.

They frequently have their tickets punched from third assistant attache for government affairs in outer Slobovia, to become the swamp's expert on those issues. They're the faceless bureaucrats, whom you would never recognize on the street, yet they've become intoxicated with their power.

That is smarminess.